In informational texts, which task best describes questions about argument and evidence?

• A. Identifying the author’s main argument and the logical structure of evidence.
• B. Explaining how the imagery contributes to mood.
• C. Recalling dates and places mentioned in the text.
• D. Evaluating the effectiveness of the evidence and how it supports the argument.

Answer: (D)

When you read informational texts, questions about argument and evidence focus on how the author uses facts to persuade you. The best choice asks you to judge the strength of the support rather than just restating what is said. Evaluating the effectiveness means looking at whether the evidence directly addresses the claim, whether there is enough and credible data to back it up, and whether the reasoning clearly connects the evidence to the argument. It also involves spotting any gaps, assumptions, or counterarguments that aren’t addressed and considering how well the author handles them. For example, if the author argues that a policy reduces emissions, you’d examine the quality of the data cited, whether the sources are reputable, if trends over time are shown, whether limitations are acknowledged, and whether the evidence actually demonstrates causation or just correlation.

Other options don’t fit this task as well. Describing imagery or mood is about tone and literary devices, not about the strength of argument or the evidence used in informational writing. Recalling dates and places is simply memory of details, not analysis of argument or evidence. Identifying the main argument and how the evidence is organized is related to understanding the structure, but evaluating how effectively the evidence supports the argument goes deeper into how persuasive the piece is and why the reasoning works (or doesn’t).