Determining

Textual Evidence

Reading and Writing Skills

A. Identify the word/s that best describe the following statements. Choose your
answer from the word pool. You may write your answer on a separate sheet.

1. It is stated clearly and in detail, leaving no room for confusion or doubt.

2. It means implied or indirect.
3. It means drawing a conclusion based on circumstantial evidence.
4. It is defined as the details given by the author to support his/her claim.
5. This is a statement or series of statements for or against something.
B. Analyze the paragraph and answer the
following questions on your answer sheet.
Four years ago, Emmanuel Cruz graduated from college with a
degree in Economics. Today, he works for a large software company.
Now, at twenty-six, he takes classes twice after work. He is learning to
use computer program Adobe editor. He said he enjoyed college, but
his job doesn’t use information he learned when he was doing his
degree. So, this second course helps him to do his job much better
and he plans to go back to schooling with MBA course. Today, lifelong
learning is becoming more common. People can return to school
regardless of age to get a higher degree such as masters or Doctor of
Philosophy. With many classes available through the internet, it is
easier for anyone to get higher degrees by distance learning.
6. Emmanuel graduated from college when he was____.
A. 24 years old C. 26 years old
B. 22 years old D. 20 years old
7. He is learning computer program Adobe Editor because
__________
A. He enjoyed his college. B. It is part of his MBA course. C. He works
for a large software company. D. It helps him with his job.
8. What type of person is Emmanuel?
A. conscientious C. self-centered B. introvert D. studious
9. Why do people nowadays take more training courses or pursue
higher degree courses?
A. to become more intelligent C. to improve their workplace skills B.
to get higher salary D. to get ahead of the co-worker
C. Analyze each argument below and choose the correct letter of answer Write your
answer on your answer sheet.
10. Argument: School uniforms are very beneficial in schools today. Which would be
a CLAIM for this argument?
A. Uniforms in schools increase student safety. B. Uniforms do not allow students to
express their individuality C. Uniforms can make one feel special in school.
11. Argument: Milk is very healthy for the human body. Which could be a
COUNTERCLAIM for this argument?
A. Milk helps to strengthen bones.
B. Milk contributes to obesity.
C. Milk provides many healthy vitamins and minerals for the body.
12. Argument: Cell phone radiation is harmful to people. Which would be a CLAIM
for this argument?
A. Cell phone radiation is not powerful enough to cause cancer. B. There are
regulations and limits on how much radiation is allowed in cell phones. C. Studies
show that there is a correlation between cell phone radiation and brain tumors.
13. Argument: There are several disadvantages to social media. Which would
be a COUNTERCLAIM for this argument?
A. Social media is not private or secure. B. Social media spreads false
information. C. Social media allows news to be broadcasted quickly.
14. Argument: There are several disadvantages to social media. Which would
be a CLAIM for this argument?
A. Social media allows police to catch criminals. B. Social media helps students
do better in school. C. Students who use social media often have lower
grades.
15. Argument: College athletes should be paid. Which would be a CLAIM for
this argument?
A. College athletes are not professionals; they are just playing at an advanced
level. B. College athletes bring in money for the college because people pay to
come watch them play. C. College athletes would have to pay taxes and likely
not be able to afford tuition expenses if they were paid.
LESSON 1

Determining
Textual Evidence
• You have previously learned that one can give his/ her
own assertions on what he/she has read. Such assertions
can be based on fact, convention, opinion or preference
and these assertions lead to formulating claims.
• As a critical reader, you should be able to recognize
and formulate counterclaims about what was read.
Counterclaims refer to claims that refute previous claim in
your readings. It is necessary to locate evidence provided
by the text to prove one’s counterclaim.
•To clarify one’s position on giving counterclaims, you also
learned how to formulate evaluative statements. Reading
texts should be examined carefully by identifying evidence
that support the author’s claim, finding evidence that
support the claim and evaluate if it is worthy for sharing.
•After learning these skills in formulating evaluative
statement, you must learn to determine textual evidence
to validate assertions and counterclaims made about a text
read.
•A. Try to guess Who am I using the given details.
People come and ask for my prescription. I use stethoscope to hear
heart beats and abnormal sound inside the body.
__________________________________________
•2. People call whenever their tires flattened. I check the radiator and
engine so they can travel safely.
_________________________________________
•3. I use harrow and tiller to cultivate the land. Many depend on me to
live a healthy life.
___________________________________________
B. Read the paragraph and answer the following
questions. You may write the answer on separate sheet.

Wooosh! The rain poured and the thunder struck. Luis stepped
inside the house with a smile on his face. He dropped his ball and
waltzed his feet towards his room and silently closed the door. His
mother followed him in the room and said, “You really love rainy
days huh?” He grinned wider and excitedly grabbed his gadget.
4. Why is Luis happy?
A. Because it was raining.
B. Because he didn’t really like to play ball outside.
C. Because he loved the crackling sound of thunder.
D. Because he had the chance to use and play with his gadget.
5. What phrase in the text gives you hint
that Luis is happy that it is raining?
A. thunder struck
B. silently closed the door
C. waltzed his feet towards his room
D. mother followed him in the room
•6. What do you think he is supposedly
planning to do if it didn’t rain?
A.He wants to go to school.
B. He wants to play basketball.
C. He wants to have picnic with his mother.
D. He wants to go to the mall with his friends.
•7. What line from the text support the idea
that he responded to his mother?
A. He grinned wider.
B. He dropped his ball.
C. He silently closed the door.
D. Luis step inside the house with a smile on
his face.
•8. What kind of boy was Luis?
A.He is patient.
B. He loves playing basketball.
C. He loves playing with his gadgets.
D. He wants to be alone most of the
time.
C. Read the poem, “Harlem” by Langston Hughes and answer
the following guide questions.
What happens to a dream deferred? Does it dry up
Like a raisin in the sun? Or fester like a sore ----
And then run? Does it stink like rotten meat? Or crust and sugar
over—
like a syrupy sweet?
Maybe it just sags
like a heavy load.
Or does it explode?
(SOURCE:
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/46548/harlem)
•Guide Questions:
•1. What does deferred mean?
•2. How was dream compared to a raisin? rotten meat? and heavy load?
•3. What are the author’s descriptions of a dream deferred?
•4. Based on the poem, what happens when you don’t go after your
dreams, and you defer them at a later time?
•5. If you were the author, how would you feel upon writing the poem?
•6. Do you agree with the author’s idea that a dream deferred stinks like
a rotten meat? Why?
•After answering the questions in the
previous activity, you are able to
identify words from the poem that
help you understand what the author
is trying to tell. The words and
phrases like deferred, fester like a
sore, stink like rotten meat, and sags
like heavy loads are examples of
textual evidence you can find in the
poem. These will help you formulate
your claim and counter claim about
the author’s tone and mood in
writing his poem.
•Textual evidence is
defined as the details
given by the author in
order to support his/her
claims. It reveals the
position of the writer
and makes the reading
more interesting.
Evidence are details
that strengthen, add
variety or weight to any
argument.
Let’s take this paragraph as a sample essay about the poem:

“Harlem”
by Langston Hughes
Gives me the feeling, or mood of anger and depression. It feels
like the idea of deferring dreams is hurtful and maybe even causes
one to become resentful before eventually being overcome by anger.
I know this because the poem uses the words “foster like a sore,”
which gives me a feeling of pain. Further, describing deferred dreams
as if they “stink like rotten meat” is an unpleasant image, giving me
the feeling of resentment. Finally, when the poem end with “Or does
it explode?” makes me think of a person who boils over in anger.
Here, the author claimed that the poem gives him the feeling of
anger and depression. He uses exact words from the poem like foster like
a sore, stink like rotten meat or does it explode which are directly
relevant to his idea of anger and depression. Thus, we can say that the
writer’s claim in this essay is valid and relevant.
In addition, finding textual evidence on a read text helps you make
inferences using concrete evidence on your claim. To support one’s claim,
you should explicitly cite the ideas that support your claim in your
writings.
There are different ways on how you can present textual evidence
in your writings. It can be through paraphrasing or restating the text in
your own words, through summarizing or stating in a shorter way the text
and other relevant details to support the idea, through referencing or
mentioning a specific section in the text and through quoting or directly
restating a part of the text.
•Remember that textual
evidence validates and
strengthens your writings,
showing that you read and
understand a text.
A.Express your claim or counterclaim on the following topics below
and explain your answers.

1. Disproportional Impact of Covid-19

2. Anti-Terrorism Bill
3. Distribution of cash aid under the Social Amelioration Program
in the Philippines
B. Read the text below. Identify the assertion made by the author and the textual
evidence used to strengthen his argument. Write your answers on the diagram
provided.

It is commonplace to say that nationalism is one of the most potent

factors in the cultural development of a people. Love of one’s own is
essential in the equipment of all truly civilized human beings; it is the only
safe and sensible basis for the appreciation of things that pertain to
others. Only those who truly love their country and people – their
tradition, history. and destiny – can develop sincere interest in, and
admiration for, the tradition, history and destiny of other countries
peoples. Only they can genuine cosmopolites, or “citizens of the world”.
-S.P. Lopez, “Return to the Primitive”
C. Read the article. Then, identify the claim on the text and think about
your assertion and counterclaim related to the text read. Write your
answers on the table that follows.
MANILA, Philippines – Citing a 10% novel coronavirus test positivity
rate, the Philippines' Department of Health (DOH) claimed the country has
begun to "flatten the curve."
Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire made this claim on
Friday, May 8, even as the country's number of confirmed COVID-19 cases
grew to 10,463 due to an additional 120 cases, and its testing capacity is
far from the target.
The DOH's basis was the country's new positivity rate – the
percentage of people who test positive for COVID-19 out of the total
number of persons tested.
Reflect on
what you have
learned in this
lesson by
completing the
diagram:
•A. Prove your response
in the question “Are we
ready for the new
normal?” Write your
answers on the given
quadrants below.
B. Practice determining the best set of textual evidence in a
material read by doing the following:
1. Search for any article or reading material online on any of the
following topics below:
a. COVID 19 pandemic
b. Anti -terror bill in the Philippines
c. Black Lives Matter Movement
d. Bayanihan to Heal as One Act
2. Construct your claim/assertion or counterclaim on the chosen
topic;
3. Provide at least three (3) textual evidence to support your
opinion.
Use the graphic
organizer for
your answers.
C. Read the article below. After reading it, you need to do the
following:
1. Think about your opinion on this prompt: President Duterte
wanted a vaccine first for coronavirus disease 2019 before classes
resume in the Philippines. Should we postpone classes in the time
of COVID 19?
2. Find the best textual evidence from the article to prove your
assertion or counterclaim; and
3. Write an opinion paragraph on the issue by stating your
assertion/counterclaim, citing the textual evidence to prove your
claim, and explaining how this set of evidence support your
opinion.
No Vaccine, No Classes? School Opening In Limbo; Alternative Modes Of Learning
Pushed
By: Janvic Mateo
President Duterte declared he wanted a vaccine first for coronavirus disease 2019 before
classes would resume in the country. His spokesperson and other officials said learning
could continue through various means.
Government officials appear to have differing views on the specific circumstances that
will allow the reopening of classes in the country. The debates were heightened with
President Duterte’s pronouncement that it is useless to be talking about the resumption
of classes without a vaccine for coronavirus disease 2019.
“I will not allow the opening of classes na magdikit-dikit iyang mga bata na ’yan (where
children would go near each other) Bahala na hindi na makatapos (We would leave it to
fate if they don’t graduate). For this generation, wala na matapos na doktor pati
engineer (no doctor or engineer will graduate),” the President said.
“Wala nang aral. Laro na lang (No more studying. Just play). Unless I am sure that they
are really safe…That’s what I meant. Para sa akin, bakuna muna. ’Pag nandiyan na ang
bakuna, OK na (For me, there should be a vaccine first. Once there’s a vaccine, it would
be OK),” he added.
Duterte expressed hope that a vaccine would be developed by the end of the year.
“We will rely on the experts and the rich nations. They are feverishly working on it. Once it
is developed, I will ask you to go out. If you refuse, I would drag you. Come on, let’s stroll
around once there is a vaccine,” he quipped. “But without a vaccine, it’s really (dangerous).
It spells disaster.”
Some parents agreed with Duterte, saying they were worried about sending their children
to school amid the pandemic. This is despite the Department of Education (DepEd)’s
announcement that only 15 to 20 students will be allowed to attend physical classes in
schools.
There are also concerns about internet connection and lack of preparedness for home
schooling or online learning for many students in the country.
Presidential spokesman Harry Roque, in his virtual press briefing on May 26, offered a
different take on when classes can physically resume. In the absence of what he described
as a new normal, he said the government would turn to flexible learning modes using
television, radio and the internet.
“Yung anunsiyo ni Presidente tungkol sa pasok sa
eskwelahan, ang face-to-face po ay kung meron na
tayong new normal by Aug. 24,” Roque said. “At kung
wala naman tayong new normal, we will resort to
flexible learning, gagamitin ang telebisyon, ang radyo
at ang internet.”
The new normal, according to Roque, means that the
community quarantine protocols are already lifted.
While the President said that there should be a vaccine before
classes can resume, Roque said being in a “new normal” is
already enough to allow the school opening.
“Pero kapag dumating naman po ang veinte cuatro (ng) Agosto at
nasa new normal tayo, pupuwede naman po. But kung hindi po
talaga dumating ang new normal at hindi mai-lift ang mga
community quarantines, hindi naman po ibig sabihin na hindi na
mag-aaral ang ating mga kabataan (But if we are under new
normal on Aug. 24, it can be done. But if we are not yet under
new normal and the community quarantines are not yet lifted, it
does not mean that our youth can no longer study),” he stressed.
“The bottomline is, we will not compromise the health of our
youth.”
Roque said the President’s statements also cover higher educational
institutions and the post-graduate levels.
“I’m advising all types of schools to prepare for the new normal.
The possibility really is we will have to be more creative. They will
have to
(adopt) more blended or flexible learning. The President was right
when he said we are not safe until there is a vaccine,” Roque said.
“Let’s hope by the 24th (of August) or by September, at least we
reach that point that we are in the new normal because more or
less we would be able to manage the risks. That means we have
slowed down significantly the doubling rate of (COVID-19) and we
have enough critical care facilities,” he added.
At a Senate hearing on Tuesday, May 26, Health Secretary Francisco
Duque III said it is safe to reopen classes on Aug. 24 provided that
minimum health standards are followed.
“Sa ngayon, tingin namin, ligtas naman po kung bubuksan natin ang
klase by Aug. 24. Kinakailangan po dito, siguraduhin lamang na lahat ng
ating minimum standards for health ay nakatalaga,” Duque said.
Later, however, Duque supported calls to suspend face-to-face classes
until a vaccine against COVID is available to the public.
Source: Janvic Mateo, “No Vaccine, No Classes? School Opening In
Limbo; Alternative Modes Of Learning Pushed”, OneNews, last modified
May 27 ,2020, https://www.onenews.ph/no-vaccine-no-classes-school-
opening- in-limbo-alternative-modes-of-learning-pushed
Here is the rubric for your opinion paragraph:
Assessment
A. Analyze each argument below and choose the correct letter of answer. Write your
answer on your answer sheet.
1. Argument: School uniforms are very beneficial in schools today. Which would be a
CLAIM for this argument?
A. Uniforms in schools increase student safety. B. Uniforms do not allow students to
express their individuality. C. Uniforms can make one feel special in school.
2. Argument: Cell phone radiation is harmful to people. Which would be a CLAIM for this
argument?
A. Cell phone radiation is not powerful enough to cause cancer. B. There are regulations
and limits on how much radiation is allowed in cell phones. C. Studies show that there is a
correlation between cell phone radiation and brain tumors.
3. Argument: College athletes should be paid. Which would be a CLAIM for this argument?
A. College athletes are not professionals; they are just playing at an advanced level B.
College athletes bring in money for the college because people pay to come watch
them play. C. College athletes would have to pay taxes and likely not be
able to afford tuition expenses if they were paid.
4. Argument: There are several disadvantages to social media. Which
would be a CLAIM for this argument?
A. Social media allow police to catch criminals.
B. Social media help students do better in school.
C. Students who use social media often have lower grades.
5. Argument: Milk is very healthy for the human body. Which could
be a COUNTERCLAIM for this argument?
A. Milk helps to strengthen bones.
B. Milk contributes to obesity.
C. Milk provides many healthy vitamins and minerals for the
body.
6. Argument: There are several disadvantages to social media. Which
would be a COUNTERCLAIM for this argument?
A. Social media is not private or secure.
B. Social media spread false information.
C. Social media allow news to be broadcasted quickly.
B. Identify the word/s that best describe the following statements.
Choose your answer from the word pool. You may write your answer on a
separate sheet.
Inference textual device implicit
Explicit argument
7. It is stated clearly and in detail, leaving no room for confusion or
doubt.
8. It means implied or indirect.
9. It means drawing a conclusion based on circumstantial evidence.
10.It is defined as the details given by the author to support his/her
claim.
11. This is a statement or series of statements for or against
something.
C. Analyze the paragraph and answer the following questions on your answer
sheet.

Four years ago, Emmanuel Cruz graduated from college with a degree in
Economics. Today, he works for a large software company. Now, at twenty-six,
he takes classes twice after work. He is learning to use computer program
Adobe Editor. He said he enjoyed college, but his job doesn’t use information
he learned when he was doing his degree. So, this second course helps him to
do his job much better and he plans to go back to schooling with MBA course.
Today, lifelong learning is becoming more common. People can return to
school regardless of age to get a higher degree such as masters or Doctor of
Philosophy. With many classes available through the internet, it is easier for
anyone to get higher degrees by distance learning.
12. What type of person is Emmanuel?
A. conscientious C. self-centered B. introvert D. studious
13. Emmanuel graduated from college when he was____.
A. 24 years old C. 26 years old B. 22 years old D. 20 years old
14. Why do people nowadays take more training courses or pursue
higher degree courses?
A. to become more intelligent B. to get higher salary C. to improve
their workplace skills D. to get ahead of the co-workers
15. He is learning computer program Adobe Editor because
__________
A. He enjoyed his college. B. It is part of his MBA course. C. He works
for a large software company. D. It helps him with his job.
Write a persuasive
paragraph on any topic that
interests you. You may
include either your
Additional assertion or a counterclaim
on your chosen topic and
Activities cite textual evidence to
support your opinion. The
rubric in the previous
activity may still be used for
this writing task.