Close Reading & Textual Evidence — Practice · Grade 8 English

Chapter: Close Reading & Literary Analysis

What this practice covers

By the end of Close Reading & Textual Evidence you should be able to:

10 questions, written answer, each with a worked explanation.

Vocabulary used: evidence, interpretation, qualification.

Problem 1

Explain what is known and what remains uncertain. Give a detail and explain its relevance.
Answer and explanation

The actions show interruption of a revision and preparation to record something else. In context they may suggest reconsideration, but the isolated lines do not identify what the new card will say.

Use the criteria to compare your reasoning, not to copy the model’s wording. A supported alternative interpretation may earn full credit.

Response criteria

  • Make an accurate, focused claim or revision.
  • Use a relevant detail or a clearly explained language choice.
  • Explain the relationship and recognize a relevant limit.

Problem 2

A learner writes: “This proves Maya is always dishonest.” Explain the problem and produce a better response.
Answer and explanation

The detail supports a local inference about concealment. Avoid converting one action into an absolute claim about every situation.

Use the criteria to compare your reasoning, not to copy the model’s wording. A supported alternative interpretation may earn full credit.

Response criteria

  • Make an accurate, focused claim or revision.
  • Use a relevant detail or a clearly explained language choice.
  • Explain the relationship and recognize a relevant limit.

Problem 3

Compare what you must inspect in these two cases. What can transfer, and what must be checked again?
Answer and explanation

Before interpreting, establish who is speaking, what is happening, and what a sentence literally says. Mark an uncertainty rather than guess past it. The method transfers, but the particular detail, scope, and context must be read again. The actions show interruption of a revision and preparation to record something else. In context they may suggest reconsideration, but the isolated lines do not identify what the new card will say.

Use the criteria to compare your reasoning, not to copy the model’s wording. A supported alternative interpretation may earn full credit.

Response criteria

  • Make an accurate, focused claim or revision.
  • Use a relevant detail or a clearly explained language choice.
  • Explain the relationship and recognize a relevant limit.

Problem 4

Using an assigned reading or one exercise source, write a developed response applying close reading & textual evidence. Aim for 120–180 words; name the reading or reproduce the sentence you revise.
Answer and explanation

The text explicitly says she refuses water and conceals the bag’s contents. Those actions suggest embarrassment about the lost key, but they do not prove she dislikes the neighbor. A complete response supplies context, a focused claim, a brief supporting detail, explanation, and a relevant qualification. Do not simply repeat this model.

Use the criteria to compare your reasoning, not to copy the model’s wording. A supported alternative interpretation may earn full credit.

Response criteria

  • Make an accurate, focused claim or revision.
  • Use a relevant detail or a clearly explained language choice.
  • Explain the relationship and recognize a relevant limit.

Problem 5

Write two specific feedback comments on a response to this unit: one on accuracy or meaning and one on evidence or language. Then state a revision priority.
Answer and explanation

Check whether the response explains before interpreting, establish who is speaking, what is happening, and what a sentence literally says. mark an uncertainty rather than guess past it. Ask for a relevant detail and the reason it supports the conclusion. Prioritize the mistaken assumption shown here: “This proves Maya is always dishonest.”

Use the criteria to compare your reasoning, not to copy the model’s wording. A supported alternative interpretation may earn full credit.

Response criteria

  • Make an accurate, focused claim or revision.
  • Use a relevant detail or a clearly explained language choice.
  • Explain the relationship and recognize a relevant limit.

Problem 6

Choose a fresh sentence or detail from the assigned selection. Explain how this unit’s method applies, and identify one uncertainty or limitation.
Answer and explanation

Maya initially conceals a lost key because she equates independence with never needing help. Elena’s account of pretending and the father’s emphasis on safety challenge that assumption. The returned key and ribbon suggest responsibility includes communicating and using practical support. The response must supply its own precise detail and explain it; copying the model without fresh evidence is insufficient.

Use the criteria to compare your reasoning, not to copy the model’s wording. A supported alternative interpretation may earn full credit.

Response criteria

  • Make an accurate, focused claim or revision.
  • Use a relevant detail or a clearly explained language choice.
  • Explain the relationship and recognize a relevant limit.

Problem 7

Record what the source explicitly states before interpreting it.
Answer and explanation

“Jonah changed the label, then stopped. He opened a new blank card.” These are the supplied words; conclusions about motives or causes need additional reasoning.

Use the criteria to compare your reasoning, not to copy the model’s wording. A supported alternative interpretation may earn full credit.

Response criteria

  • Make an accurate, focused claim or revision.
  • Use a relevant detail or a clearly explained language choice.
  • Explain the relationship and recognize a relevant limit.

Problem 8

Give a plausible alternative response and explain which source detail would help choose between responses.
Answer and explanation

The actions show interruption of a revision and preparation to record something else. In context they may suggest reconsideration, but the isolated lines do not identify what the new card will say. A different conclusion needs a source detail it explains at least as well; identify what would confirm or challenge it.

Use the criteria to compare your reasoning, not to copy the model’s wording. A supported alternative interpretation may earn full credit.

Response criteria

  • Make an accurate, focused claim or revision.
  • Use a relevant detail or a clearly explained language choice.
  • Explain the relationship and recognize a relevant limit.

Problem 9

Explain one choice in the model answer that makes it more accurate than the mistaken answer.
Answer and explanation

The detail supports a local inference about concealment. Avoid converting one action into an absolute claim about every situation. The improved answer matches the source’s scope and meaning.

Use the criteria to compare your reasoning, not to copy the model’s wording. A supported alternative interpretation may earn full credit.

Response criteria

  • Make an accurate, focused claim or revision.
  • Use a relevant detail or a clearly explained language choice.
  • Explain the relationship and recognize a relevant limit.

Problem 10

Write a first response, obtain or generate a focused feedback question, and revise. Explain what changed and why.
Answer and explanation

The actions show interruption of a revision and preparation to record something else. In context they may suggest reconsideration, but the isolated lines do not identify what the new card will say. Record an original draft and a revision. A useful change clarifies the claim, adds evidence, or corrects meaning rather than merely swapping synonyms.

Use the criteria to compare your reasoning, not to copy the model’s wording. A supported alternative interpretation may earn full credit.

Response criteria

  • Make an accurate, focused claim or revision.
  • Use a relevant detail or a clearly explained language choice.
  • Explain the relationship and recognize a relevant limit.

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