Tracy High School US History
Social Studies Department 2015-2106
Writing Basic Evidence/Quote Sandwiches
RULE: You may not cite evidence or quotes in your paper unless it is in a “sandwich.”
An evidence/quote sandwich is part of a body paragraph. An evidence/quote sandwich has three parts.
· The TOP part is a statement that introduces the evidence by telling some details about its origin.
· The MIDDLE is the evidence itself and the citation.
· The BOTTOM explains, in your own words, what the evidence says, what the evidence means, and why it matters to the claim.
Below are example of how to introduce evidence/quotations for the top part of the sandwich.
1. ______states,
(author)
2. In book/article/chart/map/illustration/political cartoon ______,
______maintains that, (title of text)
(author)
3. According to ______,
(author)
4. In book/article/chart/map/illustration/political cartoon ______,
______shows that, (title of text)
(author)
5. In ______’s view,
(author)
6. ______agrees when he/she writes,
(author)
7. ______disagrees when he/she writes,
(author)
8. ______adds to the argument when he/she writes,
(author)
The middle part is the quote itself. Below are examples of the top and middle part.
1. ______states , “______” (citation).
(author) (evidence/quote)
2. According to ______, “______” (citation).
(author) (evidence/quote)
3. In ______’s view, “______” (citation)
(author) (evidence/quote)
4. ______agrees when he/she writes, “______” (citation)
(author) (evidence/quote)
The bottom part of the sandwich is your warrant or your reasoning. It contains 3 parts.
The first sentence of the bottom part is paraphrase of the evidence in words that a 1—year-old could understand. This ensures that the readers understands what the evidence is saying. We call this part the “SAYS” sentence.
1. Basically, ______is saying ______.
(author) (explanation)
2. In other words, ______believes ______.
(author) (explanation)
3. In making this comment, ______argues that ______.
(author) (explanation)
The second sentence of the bottom part is where you tell the reader the meaning of this evidence. This is your interpretation of the evidence. We call this the “MEANS” sentence.
The third and final sentence in the bottom part is where you tell the reader what is significant about this evidence to your claim, or, in other word, how this evidence matters to the claim. We call this the “MATTERS” sentence.
· This matters to the claim because ______
(explanation)