GCSE · English Language · AQA · Spec 8700

Evaluating texts critically with textual references

You have never seen the text before. So when you say something about it, there is only one thing you can point to: the words on the page.

Find the proof

You've never read this before. Prove it.

An illustrative unseen passage

I have swum at Castle Lane Lido every morning for eleven years. The water is never warm. Even in June it reaches sixteen degrees on a good day, and the regulars still queue before the gates open at seven.

On Monday a notice appeared on the fence. The pool will close at the end of September. It does not say why. It was fixed with four cable ties, as if someone expected it to be torn down.

Mr Hale, who has run the kiosk since before I started coming, read the notice twice. 'End of September,' he said, to nobody in particular. 'And not a word about why.' Then he went back inside and carried on stacking cups, although there was no one waiting to be served.

I swam my usual forty lengths. The water felt colder than it has all summer.

Question 1 of 2

A point of view: the writer is devoted to the lido. Tap the words that support this view.

Tap the words in the passage that prove your answer.

Exam line: Say it, then show it: every point of view and every inference gets the exact words that back it up.

UK note

AQA GCSE English Language: none of the exam texts will have been studied during your course. Every one is unseen, so the words on the page are the only evidence you will have.

Supported or not?

Can you point to it?

Is each statement backed by words in the lido passage?

Still to sort

Supported by the text (0)

You can point to words in the passage that back it up.

Where the line is: It can be reworded or inferred. What matters is that the words are there to point to.

Not supported by the text (0)

It might sound likely, but nothing in the passage proves it.

Where the line is: A statement can use a real quotation and still be unsupported, if it claims more than those words show.

8 of 8 still to sort.

Each statement is about the lido passage you've just read. Sort it, then read why.

Watch out: "Not supported" doesn't mean "false". It means the passage doesn't give you the evidence, so you can't claim it.

Different responses

Same ending, two readings

Look at how each reader uses the text. One of the pieces of evidence is the same.

How is the writer feeling at the end of the lido passage?

Reader A: the writer is grieving

The notice has hit the writer hard, even though they never say so.
"Usual" shows nothing outside has changed: same pool, same lengths. So if the water feels colder, the change is in the writer.

"I swam my usual forty lengths.""The water felt colder than it has all summer."

Reader B: the writer is refusing to give in

The writer answers the news by carrying on, just as Mr Hale does.
"Usual" shows the writer keeping their routine. The notice won't change what they do, even if the water feels colder.

"I swam my usual forty lengths.""carried on stacking cups"

Common ground

Both readers agree the notice has changed how the morning feels.
Both point to the same word, "usual", and use it in two different ways.

Switch between the readers. Watch what each one does with the word "usual".

What makes both worth making

Neither reader is guessing: each can point to the words. The passage never names the writer's feeling, so it leaves room for more than one response. What you can't do is offer a reading with nothing in the text behind it.

Comparing 2 positions: Reader A: the writer is grieving, Reader B: the writer is refusing to give in.

Watch out: "Any reading is fine" is not the lesson. A response is only worth making when the words back it up.

Reading for a purpose

Same passage, two purposes

You're reading the lido passage twice, once for each purpose. Which purpose is each detail relevant to: A, B, both, or neither?

A A: When does the pool close, and has a reason been given?
B B: How are people at the pool reacting to the news?

The pool will close at the end of September.
The notice does not say why.
Mr Hale says, to nobody in particular, "And not a word about why."
Mr Hale read the notice twice.
The water felt colder than it has all summer.
The regulars queue before the gates open at seven.
The water is never warm.

Your turn: a new unseen text

Write it, then check it

Priya arrived at the bakery twenty minutes early for her first shift and stood across the road until the lights came on. When Mrs Dunne unlocked the door, Priya smiled so widely that her face ached. She was shown the ovens, the till and the list of orders pinned above the sink. "Any questions?" Mrs Dunne asked. Priya had eleven, written on the back of her hand in biro. She put her hand in her pocket and said, "No, I think I've got it."

"Priya is confident on her first day." How far do you agree? Refer to the text to support your answer. [4 marks]

Your answer

0 words · your answer stays on this page and is not sent anywhere.

The mark scheme

Gives a clear view on the statement and backs it with a reference to the text (for example, disagrees, citing that she hides her questions in her pocket). (1 mark)
Makes an inference beyond the literal and justifies it with evidence (for example, standing across the road until the lights came on suggests nerves, not eagerness). (1 mark)
Weighs how far the statement holds rather than simply agreeing or disagreeing (for example, she looks confident on the outside but the evidence suggests she isn't). (1 mark)
Recognises that another response is possible and backs it with the text (for example, eleven written questions could show she is well prepared). (1 mark)

Model answer

I mostly disagree. Priya puts on a confident show: she "smiled so widely that her face ached" and says "I think I've got it." But the ache suggests the smile is forced, and standing "across the road until the lights came on" suggests nerves rather than eagerness. The clearest evidence is that she hides her eleven questions in her pocket, so her confidence is something she performs rather than feels. Another reader could argue that writing eleven questions shows she is well prepared, which is a kind of confidence. But hiding them suggests she's afraid to look unsure.

The strongest answers do four things: take a view, prove it with the words, read between the lines with evidence, and admit what another reader might say.

Exam line: Don't just agree or disagree. Weigh the statement against the evidence, and show you know another reader could see it differently.

WHAT YOU'VE LEARNED

A quick recap of today's lesson.

No proof, no point: every claim about a text needs words from the text behind it.

What you need to know

Support a point of view by referring to evidence within the text: the exact words that back it up.
An inference is something the text suggests but does not say outright. Justify every inference with evidence.
A supported statement can be backed by words in the text. An unsupported one might sound likely, but nothing in the text proves it.
Different responses to the same text are possible. What makes a response worth making is the evidence behind it.
Content is useful or relevant for a purpose. Read the same text for a different purpose and different content matters.
Critical, evaluative reading also uses the context of the text and knowledge and skills from wider reading.

The big picture

Evaluating a text critically means every point you make is backed by words you can point to in the text. A point of view is supported by referring to evidence in the text, and an inference (something the text suggests but never says outright) is justified with evidence too. That lets you tell a supported statement from one that only sounds likely, and it explains why different readers can reach different responses to the same text: each is fine as long as the words back it up. How useful and relevant a piece of content is depends on your purpose for reading.

Key points

1Find the words before you make the claim.

2Quote the short, exact words that do the proving, not the whole paragraph around them.

3For an inference, say what the words suggest, then check you have not claimed more than they can carry.

4If you cannot point to it in the text, it is an unsupported statement, however likely it sounds.

5Two readers can disagree and both be right, if both can point to evidence.

6Ask what you are reading for before you judge whether content is useful or relevant.

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Worked example

Problem

Read this: "Dev checked his phone again. Still nothing. He turned it face down on the table, then turned it straight back over." Someone says: "Dev is anxiously waiting for a message." Is that a justified inference? Back it up with evidence.

⚠ Watch out

Writing a point and leaving it there. "The character is lonely" is only a claim until you add the words from the text that show it.

🧠

Memory hook

No proof, no point. If you can't put your finger on the words, you haven't got a point yet.

✓

Check yourself

Think of something you said about a book, article or film this week. Could you point to the exact moment that proves it, or was it a guess that just felt right?

Flashcards

(10)

What does it mean to support a point of view with evidence?

Back your view with a reference to the exact words in the text that show it.

What is an inference?

Something the text suggests but never says outright, like working out that a character is nervous from what they do.

How do you justify an inference?

Point to the words that suggest it, and say what they suggest.

What makes a statement about a text supported?

You can point to words in the text that back it up.

What makes a statement unsupported?

Nothing in the text backs it up, even if it sounds likely or might be true.

Does 'not supported by the text' mean 'false'?

No. It means the text does not give you the evidence, so you can't claim it.

Can two different responses to the same text both be valid?

Yes. Different responses are possible, as long as each is backed by evidence from the text.

What decides whether a piece of content is useful or relevant?

Your purpose for reading. The same detail can matter for one purpose and not for another.

Why quote only a few words instead of a whole sentence?

The short, exact words show which part of the text is doing the proving.

In the GCSE English Language exam, will you have studied the texts before?

No. Every exam text is unseen, so the words on the page are your only evidence.

Tap any card to flip it, or use Study as deck to go through them one at a time. In the full lesson these run as a spaced-repetition deck — you rate each card Hard, Good or Easy and the tricky ones keep coming back until they stick.

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