How Do I Use Evidence?

It is an assertion about the way things are, or were, or will be, or should be. Claims are, almost by definition, controversial, in the sense that not everyone agrees with them. That is why they require evidence. Evidence is the concrete facts used to support a claim.

The evidence is the data used to support the claim. It can be either quantitative or qualitive depending on the question and/or lab. The evidence could even be a data table the student creates. Students should only use data within their evidence that directly supports the claim.

1. Make sure your evidence is appropriate to the paper you are writing.
2. Make sure the evidence does, in fact, support your argument or your claims.
3. Tell your reader why this evidence supports your argument/claims.
4. Make sure you have an appropriate amount of evidence.

Write down the question. State the idea you had about the text (if you are responding to a specific question, be sure your idea restates the question). Now give supporting evidence from the text. To cite explicitly, paraphrase or use quotes from the text.

C.E.R. Paragraph Format

1. Claim: »This is a statement of your topic (what your paragraph is about) AND your specific opinion or observation about it.
2. Evidence: This is a quote, statistic, or other piece of evidence that supports your claim.
3. Reason: This is an explanation of how your data supports your claim.

As a writer, you must also use evidence to persuade your readers to accept your claims. A strong thesis also requires solid evidence to support and develop it because without evidence, a claim is merely an unsubstantiated idea or opinion.

7 Tips to Write a Killer Conclusion (and Keep Your Audience…

1. Define your own takeaways.
2. Recognize the value of a conclusion’s placement.
3. Reiterate or establish your call to action.
4. Use simple language and leave a lasting impression.
5. Consider the skimmer.
6. Don’t conclude (the irony!)

Six Things to AVOID in Your Conclusion

• 1: AVOID summarizing.
• 2: AVOID repeating your thesis or intro material verbatim.
• 3: AVOID bringing up minor points.
• 4: AVOID introducing new information.
• 5: AVOID selling yourself short.
• 6: AVOID the phrases “in summary” and “in conclusion.”

Conclusions are often the most difficult part of an essay to write, and many writers feel that they have nothing left to say after having written the paper. A writer needs to keep in mind that the conclusion is often what a reader remembers best.

This conclusion just restates the thesis and is usually painfully short. It does not push the ideas forward. People write this kind of conclusion when they can’t think of anything else to say.

The length depends on the size of the essay. For a 1,000-word essay, a balanced length for the introduction and conclusion would be about 4 to 5 sentences each paragraph.

In the findings section ( results) one reports what the analysis revealed, only the factual matter of the results, not their meaning. While conclusions are logical deductions based on the data in the findings section.