Choosing the best text evidence | Reading | Khan Academy

- [David] All right, readers,

I wanna talk about choosing text evidence

to support a claim.

Readers have to do this all the time.

You come across a question that asks you

for the best text
evidence to prove a point.

You've got a passage in front of you.

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

but you have to support a claim

using the best text
evidence you can muster.

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

which let me just warn you up top

is a pretty spicy topic, okay?

A real friendship ender. You ready?

Deep breath. Here we go.

Defining question of our time.

Is a tomato a fruit or a vegetable?

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

of the United States in 1893.

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

An 1883 law imposed
heavy taxes on vegetables

imported from other
countries, but not fruit.

Now, scientifically speaking,
tomatoes are fruits.

They grow out of a flower

and they've got seeds on the inside.

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

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

Now in his decision,

Supreme Court Justice Horace Gray wrote,

"Botanically speaking, tomatoes
are the fruit of a vine

just as are cucumbers
squashes, beans and peas.

But in the common language of
the people, whether sellers

or consumers of provisions,

all these are vegetables which
are grown in kitchen gardens

and which whether eaten cooked or raw,

are like potatoes,
carrots, parsnips, turnips,

beets, cauliflower, cabbage,
celery, and lettuce,

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

or meats, which constitute the
principle part of the repast

and not, like fruits
generally, as dessert."

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

So the principle part of a
repast is the main course

of a meal.

Which evidence from
this text best supports

the court's claim that
tomatoes are vegetables?

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

Which of these three
best supports that claim

that tomatoes equal vegetables?

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

(bright music)

Okay, and we're back.

Let's break down some of the evidence

that Justice Gray uses.

In this first one here,

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

squashes, beans and peas."

That sounds like it's
acknowledging the counterargument.

That's saying, "Okay, technically

tomatoes are botanically fruit."

So while that may strengthen
the overall argument,

because then you can swerve back around

and say "That's true, but,

there's this even stronger evidence."

This evidence does not support the claim

that tomatoes are vegetables.

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

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

these are vegetables."

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

What's the data that undergirds that?

Which people? How many people?

And does the fact

that people believe a thing make it true?

People saying these plants are vegetables,

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

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

I'd call this relevant evidence.

It does provide some
support for the claim,

but is it the best evidence?

Let's look at the last piece.

"Whether eaten cooked or raw,

vegetables are usually served at dinner,

and not like fruits
generally, as dessert."

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

including tomatoes that
are served for dinner

and not for dessert like a fruit would be.

This is a cultural
definition of a vegetable,

a question of how the food item is used,

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

I think this is our best evidence.

People use tomatoes like
vegetables when they eat them,

so they're vegetables.

Good job. Option three.

You are the best.

In your own writing,

when you need to find supporting evidence

for an argument that you're making,

look for those strong examples

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

Keep it as brief and as direct as you can.

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

Evidence. My doorbell camera
captured her doing that.

I have every confidence
that you'll be able

to find the best text
evidence for your claims.

And my evidence for that
is you taking the time

to learn With me today.

You can learn anything.

David, out.