Giving Evidence
Achieving Level 4
Providing evidence in your writing.
ENG 3U0—Mrs. Griffiths
Giving Evidence

It is crucial that
you PEE in your
writing to make
it as accurate as
possible.
PEE = Paraphrase,
Evidence, Explain
But what is the evidence?

The evidence you need to use is
anything from the text. If you
make a point, then you need to
refer back to the text to show
where you are getting your
ideas from and you’re not just
making them up.
Act III, ii

Look at the text from Act III, ii.

How do we know that Macbeth’s
relationship with his wife has
changed from the first Act?

In your notes, jot down the key
words to prove the statement.
Macbeth
L. Macbeth
Macbeth
there shall be done
A deed of dreadful note.
What’s to be done?
Be innocent of the knowledge, dearest
chuck
Till thou applaud the deed. Come,
seeling night,
Scarf up the tend eye of pitiful day . . .
Thou marvell’st at my words: but hold
thee still;
Things begun make strong themselves
by ill:
So, prithee, go with me.
(III, ii, 43-46, 54-57)
Macbeth
L. Macbeth
Macbeth
there shall be done
A deed of dreadful note.
What’s to be done?
Be innocent of the knowledge, dearest
chuck
Till thou applaud the deed. Come,
seeling night,
Scarf up the tend eye of pitiful day . . .
Thou marvell’st at my words: but hold
thee still;
Things begun make strong themselves
by ill:
So, prithee, go with me.
(III, ii, 43-46, 54-57)
Finding the evidence is one
thing, but how do we write it?
Paraphrasing

This means taking the words from the text
and putting them in your own words. You
do need to make sure that you keep the
same meaning.
ie: “Be innocent of the knowledge”
Becomes

Macbeth tells his wife not to worry about
things—that he has a plan for Banquo that
he has not shared with her.
Your turn . . .
“Thou marvell’st at my words: but
hold thee still;”
Becomes

Answer:
“Thou marvell’st at my words: but
hold thee still;”
Becomes

Macbeth knows that his wife is
curious about his plan, but he
will not tell her its details.
Remember that the greater
amount of information you
include, the more you are
showing that you understand
the text.
Quoting

This means taking the exact
words that are used in the text.
You must always use quotation
marks (“”). You must make sure
that the sentence still makes
sense.
From Act I, v
Lady Macbeth has a very commanding
presence in the first part of the play. In Act
I, scene v, she speaks to her husband in a
condescending manner when she puts the
planning of Duncan’s murder into her
“dispatch”. Of the murder plan, she tells
Macbeth to “leave all the rest to me” even
though he is not entirely convinced that the
murder of Duncan will be a good thing.
The quotes are only short but make your
point and link back to the text. You do not
have to include whole lines but choose
selected phrases.
Your turn …
Look at Act I, sc. vii, ll. 35-41. Write a
sentence or two which shows how Lady
Macbeth persuades Macbeth to act against
his wishes.
Was the hope drunk,
Wherein you dress’d yourself? hath it slept since,
And wakes it now, to look so green and pale
At what it did so freely? From this time
Such I account they love. Art thou afeard
To be the same in thine own act and valour
As thou art in desire?
Long Quotations

Sometimes your quote will not fit into
the sentence. This is usually true if
you want to use a longer quote.

If this is the case, put the quotation
on a new line and indent. Do try to
avoid this as you don’t very often
need to include quotes longer than 4
lines.
Example:
Lady Macbeth shows that she has a huge command
over her husband when she states,
What beast was’t then,
That made you break this enterprise to me?
When you durst do it, then you were a man;
And, to be more than what you were,
(I, vii, 47-51).
Her tone is very nasty, and very convincing, toward her
husband. When she accuses him of not being “manly”
it would be considered a huge insult and something
very surprising for a woman of this era to say. Lady
Macbeth appears to know her husband’s weaknesses
very well and, thus, has complete control over his
actions.
A quick note about formatting:

When you work 2, or more, lines of text into
the body of your essay, you need to show
line breaks. You do this by using a /.
ie: One of Lady Macbeth’s most disturbing
arguments to sway her husband is her
comment about what she would do to a
nursing baby: “I would … Have pluck’d my
nipple from his boneless gums, / And
dashed the brains out” (I, vii, 56-7). She
swears she would do this if it was, infact,
something she had promised Macbeth.
Explaining/Relating

Remember to always explain
the quotations you have
selected. Tell me why you
chose them—how do they
support the paragraph’s main
idea and your thesis as a
whole? (This is the “R” of the SI-R Method.)
From the MLA Handbook:
If you quote dialogue between two
or more characters in a play, set
the quotation off from your text.
Begin each part of the dialogue
with the appropriate character’s
name indented 10 spaces from
the left margin and written all in
capitals, ie: MACBETH. (follow
name with a period) Indent all
subsequent lines and additional
3 spaces.
Dialogue Example:
We can see a shift in who holds the
power in the relationship with the
following dialogue:
LADY MACBETH. You must leave this.
MACBETH. O, full of scorpions is my
mind, dear wife!...
LADY MACBETH. What’s to be done?
MACBETH. Be innocent of the knowlege, dearest chuck (3.2.39-50)
Macbeth is worried about Banquo, but
refuses to let Lady Macbeth in on his
Putting it all together

So, now you understaning why
PEEing is important. When
supporting your ideas:
- Paraphrase, or use direct
- Evidence (quotes) and always
- Explain your fabulous ideas!
Now, to practice your PEEing . . .
Assignment

Trace the change in the
relationship between Macbeth
and Lady Macbeth as the play
progresses.

You are required to complete the
essay outline I have given you, and
hand it in to me.
The End.
Mrs. G. 2009