Find initial piece of evidence for the hypothesis

A Command of Evidence passage typically presents two things: an observation someone made, and an interpretation built on top of it. These questions ask for the initial piece of evidence — the concrete observation the hypothesis rests on — not the interpretation itself. Telling the two apart is the entire task.

Identify the hypothesis first by its interpretive language: "suggests," "indicates," "may have been," "likely," "points to." A choice worded that way is the conclusion, so it cannot be the evidence. The evidence, by contrast, states something that was actually found, seen, or recorded, with no interpretation attached.

The evidence must also connect directly to the hypothesis. A statement can be perfectly true yet still be wrong here if the hypothesis does not depend on it — that is a distractor, not the founding evidence. Sometimes the evidence is two findings taken together, and you need both parts.

So the routine is: state the hypothesis in your own words, then look for the choice that gives the observation it is built on. That observed fact — not the interpretation, and not a loosely related detail — is the initial evidence.

A passage states: "Excavations uncovered vividly colored murals depicting daily life and religious ceremonies. These murals indicate that the city was a thriving ceremonial center." The question asks for the initial evidence the hypothesis rests on.
Choice A: "The city was a thriving ceremonial center."
Choice B: "Murals depicting daily life and religious ceremonies were uncovered at the site."
Choice B is the evidence — it is the concrete discovery. Choice A uses "indicate," marking it as the hypothesis drawn from that discovery, so it is not the evidence.

A passage states that researchers concluded an ancient community domesticated water buffalo. The question asks for the evidence the conclusion is based on.
Choice A: "Water buffalo bones showed wear patterns consistent with use as work animals."
Choice B: "Antelope bones from the same site showed no such wear patterns."
Choice C: "The community was among several living along the river."
The evidence is A and B together — the wear on the buffalo bones plus its absence on the wild antelope bones jointly support domestication. Choice C is true but unrelated to the claim, so it is not the evidence.

A passage proposes that certain dinoflagellates glow when the water is disturbed because agitation opens ion channels in their cells. The question asks for the initial evidence.
Choice A: "In experiments, agitating the water triggered the glow by stimulating the ion channels."
Choice B: "These organisms are found in coastal waters around the world."
Choice A is the evidence — an observed result the hypothesis is built on. Choice B is a true but unrelated fact about where the organisms live, so it is a distractor, not the evidence.