WEBVTT

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- [David] All right, readers,

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I wanna talk about choosing text evidence

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to support a claim.

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Readers have to do this all the time.

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You come across a question that asks you

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for the best text
evidence to prove a point.

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You've got a passage in front of you.

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Maybe it's a thousand words,
maybe it's a paragraph,

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but you have to support a claim

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using the best text
evidence you can muster.

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Let's get to our main
example for this video,

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which let me just warn you up top

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is a pretty spicy topic, okay?

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A real friendship ender. You ready?

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Deep breath. Here we go.

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Defining question of our time.

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Is a tomato a fruit or a vegetable?

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It sounds silly, but this
fully went to the Supreme Court

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of the United States in 1893.

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Nix versus Hedden was the name
of the case. Some background.

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An 1883 law imposed
heavy taxes on vegetables

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imported from other
countries, but not fruit.

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Now, scientifically speaking,
tomatoes are fruits.

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They grow out of a flower

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and they've got seeds on the inside.

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This is the argument that
John Nix brought to the court.

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If a tomato is a fruit, you
can't tax it as a vegetable.

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Now in his decision,

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Supreme Court Justice Horace Gray wrote,

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"Botanically speaking, tomatoes
are the fruit of a vine

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just as are cucumbers
squashes, beans and peas.

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But in the common language of
the people, whether sellers

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or consumers of provisions,

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all these are vegetables which
are grown in kitchen gardens

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and which whether eaten cooked or raw,

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are like potatoes,
carrots, parsnips, turnips,

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beets, cauliflower, cabbage,
celery, and lettuce,

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usually served at dinner in
with or after the soup, fish

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or meats, which constitute the
principle part of the repast

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and not, like fruits
generally, as dessert."

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And what's a repast? It's an
old fashioned word for meal.

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So the principle part of a
repast is the main course

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of a meal.

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Which evidence from
this text best supports

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the court's claim that
tomatoes are vegetables?

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And we'll just make it easy,
pare it down to three choices.

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Which of these three
best supports that claim

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that tomatoes equal vegetables?

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Pause the video here and discuss. 3, 2, 1.

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(bright music)

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Okay, and we're back.

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Let's break down some of the evidence

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that Justice Gray uses.

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In this first one here,

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"Tomatoes are the fruit of a
vine, just as are cucumbers,

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squashes, beans and peas."

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That sounds like it's
acknowledging the counterargument.

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That's saying, "Okay, technically

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tomatoes are botanically fruit."

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So while that may strengthen
the overall argument,

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because then you can swerve back around

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and say "That's true, but,

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there's this even stronger evidence."

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This evidence does not support the claim

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that tomatoes are vegetables.

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In fact, it says the opposite.
So let's cross that out.

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Second one, "In the common
language of the people,

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these are vegetables."

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That's kind of a "Because
I said so" argument.

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What's the data that undergirds that?

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Which people? How many people?

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And does the fact

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that people believe a thing make it true?

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People saying these plants are vegetables,

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doesn't really prove that
they're vegetables, right?

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Nevertheless, this is stronger
than "Tomatoes are fruit."

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I'd call this relevant evidence.

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It does provide some
support for the claim,

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but is it the best evidence?

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Let's look at the last piece.

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"Whether eaten cooked or raw,

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vegetables are usually served at dinner,

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and not like fruits
generally, as dessert."

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So this last one is all about
that big list of vegetables,

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including tomatoes that
are served for dinner

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and not for dessert like a fruit would be.

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This is a cultural
definition of a vegetable,

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a question of how the food item is used,

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which is even stronger than
what the food item is called.

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I think this is our best evidence.

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People use tomatoes like
vegetables when they eat them,

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so they're vegetables.

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Good job. Option three.

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You are the best.

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In your own writing,

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when you need to find supporting evidence

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for an argument that you're making,

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look for those strong examples

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that are directly linked
to the claim you're making.

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Keep it as brief and as direct as you can.

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Claim. My sister picked up a
package for me when I was out.

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Evidence. My doorbell camera
captured her doing that.

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I have every confidence
that you'll be able

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to find the best text
evidence for your claims.

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And my evidence for that
is you taking the time

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to learn With me today.

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You can learn anything.

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David, out.