English 101 - Evidence

Evidence

Evidence is the specific "proof" that you offer in support of each subpoint. Most of your evidence will be found in the sources you have located through research. For purposes of this class, there are seven types of evidence:

Facts - Statements of observable truth
Statistics - Numerical data
Quotations - Direct quotations, paraphrases, or summaries of other people's ideas
Examples - Real or hypothetical
Illustrations - Extended examples or case studies
Comparisons - Real or hypothetical
Anecdotes - Stories, usually from personal experience

For example, consider this subpoint (in blue) offered by a student in support of one of her main points (in brown): "By tolerating their children's involvement in violent gangs, parents signal to their children they do not care about their children's future. Members of violent gangs often suffer physical injuries, long-term disabilities, or even death. These are possible calamities that no responsible parent would tolerate." Readers will probably not be convinced of this statement at face value--they will demand evidence that gang members really suffer these calamities!

The student could offer the following evidence, located through her research:

Quotation/Statistic: In her three-year study of Hispanic gangs in one Chicago community in the early 1970's, sociologist Ruth Horowitz found that "[a]cts of expressive violence by one or more gang members were relatively common." Although most violent incidents did not end in death, the community experienced an average of five gang-related deaths per year (439).
Examples: In her study of Chicago gangs, Ruth Horowitz reports various examples of gang members who suffered injuries from being hit by a baseball bat, fighting at school, and participating in drive-by shootings (443; 446; 444).
Quotation: According to Kristen Sandor O'Connor, author of "Gangs," "If we don't educate ourselves and our kids, we may find ourselves . . . doing, saying, or wearing the wrong thing at the wrong time, and paying a deadly price."

NOTE: Many different types of evidence in support of a subpoint will probably be more convincing to your readers than just one type of evidence. Also, evidence found from a variety of sources will be more convincing than evidence derived from only one source.

Sometimes, if you do not find enough evidence to support a subpoint, you may want to offer logical explanations, which are short discussions based on the principles of logic. Logical explanations do not come from research, as evidence does, but from your own powers of reasoning. (Although it is not within the scope of this class to teach the principles of logic, you may want to familiarize yourself with them by visiting the Web site, Argumentative Writing & Categorical Logic.)

To better visualize how main points support a thesis--as well as how main points can be further developed with subpoints and evidence--explore the interactive pyramid, "Visualizing the Hierarchy of Argument."

Any questions or comments for Kenn?

Where do I go next?
Go to "Visualizing the Hierarchy of Argument."