For command-of-evidence questions involving competing source explanations, identify what the favored explanation uniquely predicts. Prioritize evidence that establishes direct use, correct chronology, and independence rather than evidence showing only that a source existed or was generally accessible.
Hints
- Hint 1
Separate the two explanations
Ask what would distinguish direct copying from two writers' independent use of an earlier source.
- Hint 2
Examine the chronology
Consider whether each finding comes from before or after one playwright could have encountered the other's script.
- Hint 3
Distinguish access from use
Evidence that a source was available is weaker than evidence showing how it was used during composition.
Step-by-step
- Step 1
Identify the competing accounts
The conventional account says Reyes copied Voss. Patel instead proposes that each playwright independently adapted the same stagecraft manual.
- Step 2
Determine what the evidence must establish
Strong evidence should document each playwright's use of the manual during composition and should predate any opportunity for one script to influence the other.
- Step 3
Compare the findings
The separate drafts meet both requirements: they were created before either script circulated, each explicitly cites the manual, and the different optional details indicate that the playwrights made separate selections from that source.