Question

highlight the claim, evidence, and reasoning in the paragraph below.
claim evidence reasoning remove highlight
cigarettes help gus feel less powerless over his fate. although gus has no control over his cancer, he can choose whether cigarettes harm him. as he explains, “cigarettes don’t kill you unless you light them. . . . you put the killing thing right between your teeth, but you don’t give it the power to do its killing” (green 44). by not lighting the cigarettes, gus prevents them from hurting him, thus giving him a sense of power over his health.
the fault in our stars john green

Explanation:

• Claim: The main assertion is "Cigarettes help Gus feel less powerless over his fate." This is the central statement the paragraph is trying to support.
• Evidence: The direct quote from the text and the explanation about Gus's control: "[Cigarettes] don’t kill you unless you light them.... You put the killing thing right between your teeth, but you don’t give it the power to do its killing" (Green 44) and "Although Gus has no control over his cancer, he can choose whether cigarettes harm him." These are the facts or quotes used to back up the claim.
• Reasoning: The logical connection between the evidence and the claim: "By not lighting the cigarettes, Gus prevents them from hurting him, thus giving him a sense of power over his health." This explains how the evidence supports the claim by showing the cause - effect relationship between Gus's choice with cigarettes and his sense of power.

Answer:

• Claim: Cigarettes help Gus feel less powerless over his fate.
• Evidence: Although Gus has no control over his cancer, he can choose whether cigarettes harm him. As he explains, "[Cigarettes] don’t kill you unless you light them.... You put the killing thing right between your teeth, but you don’t give it the power to do its killing" (Green 44).
• Reasoning: By not lighting the cigarettes, Gus prevents them from hurting him, thus giving him a sense of power over his health.