Question

1. how are the thesis statement, reasons, and textual evidence related within a comparative essay?

○ textual evidence, which appears in the thesis statement, explains the reasoning behind a claim.
○ the thesis statement explains how textual evidence supports the essay’s reasoning.
○ reasons explain how or why the textual evidence supports the claim expressed in the thesis statement.
○ reasons express the essay’s main claim; textual evidence is described and defended by the thesis statement.

Explanation:

To determine the correct answer, we analyze the relationship between thesis statement, reasons, and textual evidence in a comparative essay:

• The thesis statement presents the main claim.
• Reasons (supporting points) explain how or why the textual evidence supports the claim in the thesis.
• Let's evaluate the options:
• First option: Misrepresents the roles (textual evidence is not explained by the thesis in this way).
• Second option: The thesis explains the essay’s reasoning? No, the thesis is the claim, and reasons connect evidence to the claim.
• Third option: Reasons explain how/why evidence supports the thesis’s claim. This matches the logical flow (thesis = claim; reasons bridge claim and evidence by explaining the support).
• Fourth option: Incorrectly frames the thesis as defending evidence (thesis is the claim, evidence defends the thesis).

Answer:

The third option (the one with "Reasons explain how or why the textual evidence supports the claim expressed in the thesis statement.")