Citing Textual Evidence, step by step
A quotation proves nothing on its own. Introduce it, cite it, explain it.
- INTRODUCESet the scene — who is speaking, and when.
- QUOTEKeep it short. Embed it inside your own sentence.
- PUNCTUATE AND CITEQuotation marks, then the page or line reference.
- EXPLAINAt least two sentences on what it proves and how.
sentence stems
- "The text states that…" · "This suggests…"
- "The writer's choice of ___ implies…"
If the quotation is longer than your explanation, the balance is wrong.
Questions about the Citing Textual Evidence poster
- What’s on the Citing Textual Evidence poster?
- 4 numbered steps, with a full worked run-through. A quotation proves nothing on its own. Introduce it, cite it, explain it. INTRODUCE — Set the scene — who is speaking, and when.; QUOTE — Keep it short. Embed it inside your own sentence.; PUNCTUATE AND CITE — Quotation marks, then the page or line reference.; EXPLAIN — At least two sentences on what it proves and how.. If the quotation is longer than your explanation, the balance is wrong.
- Who is the Citing Textual Evidence poster for?
- Citing Textual Evidence is filed under 7th Grade (ages 12–13), so it matches what that year asks a child to remember. It is equally useful to an older student revisiting literacy, and to the parent or teacher answering the question at the kitchen table.
- When should you use the Citing Textual Evidence poster?
- Never end a paragraph on a quotation. The last word must be yours. A wall chart earns its place by being glanceable from where the work is happening, so Citing Textual Evidence belongs on the wall where that literacy work actually happens, within glancing distance, rather than filed away.
- What other posters go with Citing Textual Evidence?
- Active and Passive Voice, Argument Essay Frame and Literary Devices sit alongside Citing Textual Evidence in the 7th Grade set. Printed together they make a wall rather than a single sheet, which is how a reference set actually gets used.Active and Passive VoiceArgument Essay FrameLiterary Devices
- Is the Citing Textual Evidence poster free to download and print?
- Yes. Citing Textual Evidence downloads as a free PDF with no account, no email and no watermark, like everything else in the 7th Grade set. Print as many copies as you like for a home, a classroom, a library or a tutoring group; reselling the file is the only thing the licence rules out.Read the licence
- What size does the Citing Textual Evidence poster print at?
- Citing Textual Evidence is a vector PDF laid out for US Letter, and prints on A4 with Fit to page — the same file, no separate download. Because every mark on it is drawn rather than photographed, it stays sharp enlarged to A3, A2 or A1 at a copy shop. Colour carries emphasis only, so a greyscale print of Citing Textual Evidence loses nothing.Printing guide
Related posters
Charts that sit alongside Citing Textual Evidence on the same wall.
Browse every 7th Grade poster, or start from the full catalogue.