Cite the Evidence
CLUE: This is the term for a specific word, phrase, or sentence from a text used to support an inference or claim.
RESPONSE: What is textual evidence (or a quotation / direct quote)?
CLUE: In a literary text, this is the underlying message or lesson about life that the author wants readers to take away.
RESPONSE: What is the theme?
CLUE: This strategy involves using the surrounding words and sentences to figure out the meaning of an unfamiliar word.
RESPONSE: What are context clues?
CLUE: This is the attitude an author or narrator takes toward the subject — think word choice and details.
RESPONSE: What is tone?
Clue: This is the term for a group of lines in a poem, similar to a paragraph in prose.
What is a stanza?
CLUE: When a text says a character "slammed the door and refused to look at her," this is what the reader does to figure out the character is angry — even though the text never uses that word.
RESPONSE: What is make an inference (draw a conclusion)?
CLUE: In an informational text, we call this the "theme's cousin" — the most important point the author is making about the topic.
RESPONSE: What is the central idea (or main idea)?
CLUE: The prefix "mal-" in words like "malfunction" and "malevolent" means this.
RESPONSE: What is bad or wrongful?
CLUE: The narrator says "I" and "me" throughout the story. This is what point of view.
RESPONSE: What is first person?
Clue: "The wind whispered through the trees." The wind can't actually whisper — this figurative language technique gives human qualities to something non-human.
What is personification?
CLUE: When answering an MCAP essay question, citing evidence from the passage is usually most convincing when you do these two things together.
RESPONSE: What is quote AND explain (cite the text and analyze how it supports your claim)?
CLUE: A theme is NOT this — a one-word topic like "friendship" or "courage" — but rather a complete statement ABOUT the _________.
RESPONSE: What is a topic (themes must be full sentences / complete thoughts)?
CLUE: Words like "cheap" and "inexpensive" share a denotation, but differ in this — the feelings or associations attached to them.
RESPONSE: What is connotation?
CLUE: When an author arranges events out of chronological order using a flashback or flash-forward, they are manipulating this element.
RESPONSE: What is structure (or plot structure / sequence)?
Clue: "Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers" uses this sound device — the repetition of initial consonant sounds.
What is alliteration?
CLUE: In a constructed-response, a student writes: "The narrator is lonely." To strengthen this with evidence, they should do this.
RESPONSE: What is add a direct quotation or specific detail from the text (e.g., "She ate lunch alone every day")?
CLUE: This two-part task is what MCAP often asks for after you identify the central idea: trace how it develops across the text.
RESPONSE: What is analyze its development (how it is introduced, shaped, and refined by specific details)?
CLUE: In the sentence "Her smile was sunshine after the storm," this figure of speech is being used (no "like" or "as").
RESPONSE: What is a metaphor?
CLUE: A third-person narrator who knows the thoughts and feelings of multiple characters is using this specific point of view.
RESPONSE: What is third-person omniscient?
Clue: When a poet uses words like "crash," "buzz," and "sizzle" — words that imitate the sounds they describe — they are using this device.
What is onomatopoeia?
CLUE: On MCAP, when a prompt asks you to cite "several pieces of textual evidence," this is the minimum number of distinct examples you should provide.
RESPONSE: What is two or more (typically two to three distinct examples)?
CLUE: A passage features a boy who lies about his grades, gets caught, and finally tells his mom the truth — feeling lighter afterward. State a possible theme as a complete sentence.
RESPONSE: What is "Honesty brings relief, even when the truth is hard to share" (or any full-sentence life lesson about honesty/consequences)?
CLUE: The Greek root "chron" appears in "chronological," "chronic," and "synchronize." It means this.
RESPONSE: What is time?
CLUE: When two characters or ideas are placed side-by-side to highlight their differences, an author is using this literary technique.
RESPONSE: What is juxtaposition (or contrast)?
Clue: In the line "Her words were daggers," the poet compares words to daggers without using "like" or "as," AND creates a vivid mental picture the reader can almost see and feel. Name BOTH techniques at work.
What is a metaphor and imagery?