Identify Indirect evidence

Command-of-evidence questions ask which choice best supports a claim, and the trap is indirect evidence: a choice that connects to the claim only if you first assume something the text never states. \ Direct evidence reaches the claim on its own. \ The difference is clearest in complete examples.

An archaeologist argues that an ancient people were skilled astronomers. As evidence, she points to a stone circle at their settlement whose gaps line up with the sunrise on the longest day of the year. \ Choice A: Nearby, several other stones are precisely aligned with the rising points of specific stars and the phases of the moon. \ Choice B: The same people are known to have built large, well-organized cities that required careful planning. \ Choice A is direct, because more sky alignments show astronomical skill outright. Choice B is indirect, since it supports the claim only if you assume that people who plan cities well must also be skilled astronomers — a leap the text never makes.

A historian argues that the printing press caused literacy to rise across Europe. Before the press, books were copied slowly by hand and were rare and expensive. \ Choice A: In the century after the press spread, the share of people who could read climbed steadily in every region that adopted it. \ Choice B: Once the press appeared, printed books quickly became far cheaper than hand-copied ones. \ Choice A is direct, because rising reading rates support the claim by themselves. Choice B is indirect, because cheaper books only back the claim if you assume that cheaper books led more people to learn to read.

So the rule is strict: the correct choice must reach the claim on its own, with no added assumption. \ Keep the direct choice, and eliminate any choice that needs a leap of logic to connect.

Mary Shelley's Frankenstein follows Victor Frankenstein as he pours all his energy into creating life from lifeless matter. A scholar argues that the novel shows how Victor's unchecked ambition leads directly to his own ruin.
Which quotation would most directly support that claim?
(A) A passage in which Victor, horrified by the creature his ambition produced, watches it destroy everyone he loves and ruin his life.
(B) A passage describing Victor's trembling hands and racing heart as he labors late into the night.
Choice (A) links ambition straight to Victor's ruin, exactly the claim.
Choice (B) only shows his physical state, so connecting it to his downfall requires an assumption, making it indirect.

Researchers filmed a tropical bird performing long, elaborate dances. They hypothesize that the birds use these specific dances to communicate messages to one another.
Which finding would most directly support that hypothesis?
(A) Birds that watched a particular dance reliably responded with the exact behavior that dance seemed to signal.
(B) The birds' dances tended to look more energetic whenever birds of other species were nearby.
Choice (A) shows the dances actually carrying meaning between the birds, supporting the claim directly.
Choice (B) is indirect: linking nearby species to communication within the species requires an assumption.

A recent excavation uncovered a tomb whose walls boast of a forgotten pharaoh's great power. Historians propose that this pharaoh may have toppled a rival dynasty.
Which choice provides direct rather than indirect evidence for that proposal?
(A) The inscriptions record specific battles in which the pharaoh defeated and annexed the rival dynasty's kingdom.
(B) The inscriptions note that the pharaoh's court was famous for its skilled military planners.
Choice (A) shows the pharaoh actually defeating the rival, connecting straight to the claim.
Choice (B) is indirect, since having skilled planners only helps if you assume they produced victories.