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11+ Comprehension: Using Evidence and Short Quotations
Choose relevant evidence, quote accurately and explain your point with three worked examples and six original comprehension questions.
A supported answer shows how the passage led you to your conclusion. This lesson concentrates on selecting evidence and explaining it after you have formed an idea. Practise retrieval and inference first if finding facts or drawing conclusions still feels difficult.
Read the original passage and compare the example answers. The models demonstrate useful features rather than official marks. They are not a school mark scheme, and a particular exam may require a different response format.
Point, evidence and explanation
For an extended response, a helpful structure is point, evidence, explanation, sometimes called PEE. Make a point that answers the question, choose a relevant detail, then explain its connection to your point. This is a planning aid, not a rule that every answer needs three sentences.
If asked to copy one word, copy one word. If asked for your own words, paraphrase rather than quote. If asked to explain a writer’s word choice, quoting the relevant word can make the explanation precise. Always follow the actual question.
Original passage: The bridge model
Paragraph 1. On the classroom table stood Ravi’s bridge, made from thin strips of card. One end sagged. Ravi pushed his chair back. “It will never hold anything,” he muttered. Across the table, Ellie put down her own finished model.
Paragraph 2. “Let’s look underneath,” she said. She crouched beside the table and pointed to the unsupported middle. Ravi fetched two spare strips. Together they folded the strips into triangles and fixed them below the bridge. Ellie waited while Ravi pressed the joins firmly into place.
Paragraph 3. Ravi set a toy car on the bridge. It held. He added another. The card trembled, but the bridge stayed upright. His shoulders loosened. “Try the lorry,” he said, reaching for the largest vehicle in the box.
Paragraph 4. When their teacher arrived, Ravi moved aside so she could see the supports. “Ellie helped me work out what was wrong,” he said. Ellie smiled and returned to her own table.
Choose evidence that supports this particular point
To show Ravi’s early discouragement, his prediction that the bridge will never hold anything is relevant. To show Ellie’s helpfulness, her suggestion and examination of the bridge are stronger choices. A detail can be true without supporting the point you are making.
Keep quotations short enough to discuss clearly, but long enough to preserve the meaning. There is no universal three-word limit. Do not remove words in a way that reverses the original meaning, and do not put changed wording inside quotation marks.
Explain rather than repeat
“His shoulders loosened means his shoulders loosened” adds nothing. Explain that this physical change suggests his tension is easing after the bridge succeeds. Connect the action to its context, rather than assuming relaxed shoulders always mean the same thing.
A response can include precise paraphrased evidence when the question permits it. “He credits Ellie when the teacher arrives” identifies a relevant event without copying the speech. If the question specifically requests a quotation, include one accurately.
Improve a thin answer
For “How does Ravi show appreciation?”, the answer “He is nice” is too vague. “He thanks Ellie” is closer, but the passage does not contain those exact words. A more precise response explains that he acknowledges her help to the teacher, giving Ellie credit for solving the problem.
Before checking the practice answers, underline your point, identify your evidence and ask whether your explanation links the two. Alternative wording can work. These examples do not assign marks or claim that every examiner uses an identical formula.
Worked examples
Example 1: How does Ravi’s speech show that he is discouraged at the start?
- Point: Ravi expects the bridge to fail.
- Evidence: he says “It will never hold anything”.
- Explanation: “never” makes the prediction absolute, showing he has little hope at that moment.
Answer: Ravi expects failure. His words “never hold anything” suggest that he has lost hope in the bridge at this point.
Example 2: Give evidence that Ellie actively helps rather than simply watches.
- Select an action that contributes to finding the problem.
- She looks beneath the model and identifies the unsupported middle.
- Explain how that action helps them decide where support is needed.
Answer: Ellie points to the unsupported middle, helping Ravi identify where the bridge needs strengthening.
Example 3: Explain what “His shoulders loosened” suggests in paragraph 3.
- Quote only the phrase being discussed.
- Connect it to the bridge holding the cars immediately beforehand.
- Interpret the physical change without inventing a new event.
Answer: “His shoulders loosened” suggests relief: the bridge has held the cars, so his tension begins to ease.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Adding a quotation without explaining how it supports the answer.
- Choosing evidence that is true but irrelevant to the question.
- Changing the text inside quotation marks.
- Using the same detail twice as if it were two separate pieces of evidence.
- Applying PEE to a question that asks only for a word or short fact.
Try it yourself
Write your response before opening the model answer. Equivalent accurate wording can be acceptable. Compare the meaning and evidence with a parent or teacher; this activity does not automatically grade your writing.
Your writing and review choices stay in this page session and are cleared when you leave or reload. They are not sent to our server or analytics.
Read the original passage alongside your answers
Paragraph 1. On the classroom table stood Ravi’s bridge, made from thin strips of card. One end sagged. Ravi pushed his chair back. “It will never hold anything,” he muttered. Across the table, Ellie put down her own finished model.
Paragraph 2. “Let’s look underneath,” she said. She crouched beside the table and pointed to the unsupported middle. Ravi fetched two spare strips. Together they folded the strips into triangles and fixed them below the bridge. Ellie waited while Ravi pressed the joins firmly into place.
Paragraph 3. Ravi set a toy car on the bridge. It held. He added another. The card trembled, but the bridge stayed upright. His shoulders loosened. “Try the lorry,” he said, reaching for the largest vehicle in the box.
Paragraph 4. When their teacher arrived, Ravi moved aside so she could see the supports. “Ellie helped me work out what was wrong,” he said. Ellie smiled and returned to her own table.
0 of 6 reviewed · 0 flagged to revisit
These are your review choices, not a test score or a measure of mastery. Retrying clears the written drafts of flagged questions and closes their model answers.
1. Copy one word from Ravi’s first speech that makes his prediction sound absolute.
Show answer and explanation for question 1
Model answer: never
“Never” rules out any future success in his prediction. The instruction asks for one word, so no paragraph is needed.
Does your answer include the required information and support from the passage?
2. Which quotation better supports the point that Ellie investigates the problem: “put down her own finished model” or “pointed to the unsupported middle”? Explain.
Show answer and explanation for question 2
Model answer: “pointed to the unsupported middle”.
This identifies the weak part of Ravi’s bridge. Putting down her model shows that she stops her work, but not that she finds the problem.
Does your answer include the required information and support from the passage?
3. Explain how Ravi’s request “Try the lorry” suggests growing confidence.
Show answer and explanation for question 3
Model answer: He is willing to test the bridge with the largest vehicle, suggesting that he now expects it to cope with a greater challenge.
The passage identifies the lorry as the largest vehicle. The answer links this choice to increased confidence without claiming the lorry test succeeds.
Does your answer include the required information and support from the passage?
4. Use your own words to explain how Ravi gives Ellie credit.
Show answer and explanation for question 4
Model answer: He tells the teacher that she helped him discover the problem.
This paraphrases his final speech accurately. It avoids claiming that Ellie did all the building or that he explicitly says thank you.
Does your answer include the required information and support from the passage?
5. Improve this answer to “How does Ellie show patience?”: “Ellie is patient because she is patient.” Use a detail from paragraph 2.
Show answer and explanation for question 5
Model answer: Ellie waits while Ravi secures the joins, allowing him time to finish the task himself.
The waiting is evidence; allowing him time explains why it suggests patience. The original answer merely repeats the point.
Does your answer include the required information and support from the passage?
6. A pupil writes: “The bridge carries the lorry successfully.” Is this supported? Explain what the passage actually establishes.
Show answer and explanation for question 6
Model answer: No. The bridge holds two toy cars, and Ravi suggests testing the lorry, but the result of that test is not given.
A request to try something is not evidence that it happened successfully. This response distinguishes the stated result from an unsupported extension.
Does your answer include the required information and support from the passage?
Sources and context
The questions and worked examples on this page are original practice material, not official past-paper questions. Exam requirements vary by school and entry year.