Prose judgement: naming the qadi's quality from evidence
Your revision group is working on the prescribed prose passage about a village qadi who settles a dispute between a baker and a traveller over a loaf of bread. The passage runs to about 260 words. The board-style question carries 5 marks and asks: 'Which quality of the qadi does the story prove, and how?' Three classmates offer different answers. Ayesha says generosity, because the qadi gives the loaf to the traveller. Imran says intelligence, because the qadi weighs the loaf against a stone and asks the baker to explain the weight. Sana says piety, because the qadi prays before speaking. The text says the qadi heard both sides, weighed the bread, and the traveller then admitted eating part of it. You have 12 minutes to write 60-80 words and must cite two textual details. One classmate insists that any good quality is acceptable if it is supported by a sentence.
1. Which quality is best supported by the passage, and which two details should be cited? Draft the core of a 5-mark answer.
Read the worked answer
The best quality is judicial intelligence / careful judgement, not generosity or piety. The reasoning must move from the qadi's action to the resolution of the dispute:
- Detail 1: he weighs the loaf against a stone and asks the baker to explain the weight. This is an investigative act, not a gift.
- Detail 2: the traveller admits eating part of the loaf after that test. The admission proves the qadi's method worked.
Ayesha's 'generosity' fails because the text does not say the qadi gives the loaf away; the loaf is evidence. Sana's 'piety' is a private act, not the cause of the settlement. A safe answer begins: 'The qadi shows intelligence and fairness. He hears both sides, then weighs the loaf and asks the baker to explain its weight; when the traveller admits eating part of it, the qadi's careful method is proved.' This answers 'which quality' and 'how' with two details, which is what the rubric rewards.
2. A classmate writes: 'The qadi was generous because he gave the traveller bread.' Explain why this loses marks and repair it without changing the story.
Read the worked answer
It loses marks for two reasons. First, it misreads the action: the loaf is placed on the scales as evidence, not handed over as charity. Second, it does not answer 'how': no textual detail shows generosity, so the claim is unsupported. The word 'because' is followed by an invention.
Repair it by replacing the quality and keeping the same evidence: 'The qadi was intelligent and fair because he heard both sides and weighed the loaf against a stone; when the traveller admitted eating part of it, the test settled the dispute.' This keeps the story intact, cites two details, and links quality to proof. In the exam, if a quality cannot be tied to an action and a result, it is a guess, even if it sounds morally attractive.