Commentary: explaining how the evidence supports the claim

Learning objectives

Write commentary that explains how the evidence proves the claim, rather than repeating the evidence in different words

Keep the ratio of commentary to evidence high, following each piece of support with more explanation than quotation

Connect every piece of evidence back to the thesis explicitly, so the reader never has to infer why the example is present

Explain the reasoning that links evidence to claim, making the underlying assumption visible where an audience might not share it

Avoid the common failure of summarizing a passage or listing devices, and test each sentence by asking whether it says how or why

Develop commentary in more than one sentence when the evidence is complex, building the explanation rather than stopping at a single assertion