Evidence is a record that shows how you did a task: a screenshot, a short note or a saved settings view. Good evidence shows the relevant setting, meaning the exact formula, rule, option or value, not just the finished page. It supports your work in file organisation and evidence and lives in the 04_evidence folder from the folder structure lesson.
All examples below are invented. Check your centre for how evidence must be produced.
What makes evidence useful?
- Decide what you are proving before you capture: a formula, a format, a page setting, a validation rule.
- Open the place where that setting lives: the formula bar, the dialog or the properties panel.
- Make the setting readable: enlarge or select the cell so the value is visible.
- Capture only that area and include a landmark such as the cell reference or dialog title.
- Name the file for what it proves, for example
evidence_total_formula.png. - Add a one-line caption in a notes file.
Worked example
Invented task: show that the total in cell D5 of a stock sheet is calculated by formula, and that the quantity column only accepts whole numbers from 0 to 100.
Evidence 1. Select D5. The formula bar shows =SUM(D2:D4). Capture the cell reference box, the formula bar and the nearby cells. Save as evidence_total_formula.png. Caption: “D5 total uses SUM over D2:D4.”
Evidence 2. Open the validation dialog for the quantity column. Capture the dialog with “whole number, between 0 and 100” visible. Save as evidence_qty_validation.png.
Evidence 3. Add notes.txt listing both files and what each shows.
If D2:D4 holds 42, 34 and 64, the total is 140, and showing 140 on its own would not prove it came from a formula.
The mistake to watch for
Aiman (invented) screenshots the whole sheet showing 140 and calls it evidence of a formula.
Mistaken evidence: the value 140 is visible, the formula is not.
The value could have been typed. The correction: select the cell so the formula bar displays =SUM(D2:D4), and capture that.
Check yourself
1. You applied a rule that rejects ages below 11. What should the screenshot show?
Show answer
The validation dialog with the rule visible, such as whole number, minimum 11, not a screenshot of the finished data.
2. Name a good file for a screenshot proving landscape page orientation.
Show answer
For example evidence_page_landscape.png, taken from the page setup dialog with the orientation option visible.
3. Why add a caption?
Show answer
It states what the image proves, so the reader does not have to guess.
Where this leads next
Finish with checking a filename before submitting. The export lesson shows what to keep alongside an export. Test everything with the mixed practice set, and use the practical task and evidence checker for a final pass.
A teacher can look at your evidence files and say what is missing. That is what online one-to-one ICT tuition is for.