What constitutes evidence in a text, and how should you evaluate its strength?

• A. Evidence includes facts, statistics, examples, and quotes; evaluate strength by relevance, sufficiency, credibility of sources, and corroboration
• B. Evidence includes rumors and guesswork
• C. Evidence is only valid if it comes from the author
• D. Evidence is not important for analysis

Answer: (A)

Evidence in a text is the material a writer uses to support a claim, and evaluating its strength means asking how well that material backs up the argument. You’ll often see facts, statistics, examples, and quotes as evidence, each helping ground the claim in concrete information. To judge strength, focus on several factors: relevance (does this piece directly support the claim?), sufficiency (is there enough evidence to reasonably back the conclusion?), and credibility of sources (are the sources trustworthy, accurate, and free from obvious bias?). Corroboration also matters—do other independent sources agree with the evidence, reinforcing the claim?

Remember that not all information counts as strong evidence. Rumors and guesswork aren’t reliable, and evidence isn’t limited to what the author alone provides. Strong analysis looks for credible, relevant evidence from appropriate sources and checks that multiple pieces of evidence line up to support the claim. When you apply these checks, you’re assessing how persuasive the argument is based on the quality and coherence of the evidence.