Which CCSS Reading Practice requires analyzing the author's use of evidence and reasoning?

• A. Analyzing the central idea and supporting details
• B. Identifying the author's purpose
• C. Reading informational text to analyze evidence and reasoning
• D. Comparing two texts

Answer: (C)

Analyzing how an author uses evidence and reasoning focuses on how a writer builds an argument in informational text. You look at the claim or position being presented and examine the evidence used to support it—facts, data, examples, expert testimony—and how that evidence is connected through reasoning. The goal is to judge whether the evidence actually backs the claim, whether the reasoning is clear and sound, and whether there are gaps, assumptions, or potential biases.

This choice matches that skill precisely: it centers on reading informational text to evaluate the argument, the quality and relevance of the evidence, and the logic that links them. Other options target different tasks, like identifying the main idea and supporting details, figuring out the author's purpose, or comparing two texts, which don’t focus on evaluating how evidence and reasoning are used to make an argument.