Evidence

methods or strategies to make sure a paragraph is well-developed:

Use examples or illustration

Cite data (facts, statistics, evidence, details)

Examine what other people say (quotations and paraphrases)

- - - interviews
    - authorities in the field
    - opinions of experts in the field

Use an anecdote or story [a narrative]

Define terms

Compare and contrast

Evaluate causes and reasons

Examine effects and consequences

Analyze the topic

Describe the topic

Offer a chronology of an event (time segments)

Personal observation, experience, opinion

Description: concrete detail, sensory impressions

Source

Driscoll, Dana and Allen Brizee. “On Paragraphs.” 2010. OWL: Purdue Online Writing Lab. Purdue U.

Note that in an essay, the purpose of the evidence is two-fold: (1) to support the topic sentence and (2) to support the main idea of the thesis.

Evidence should be

Relevant, Unified:

Relates directly to the topic sentence of the paragraph

Relates to the thesis of the essay

Consistent with the focus of the thesis

Specific:

Helps reader “see”

Concrete (substantive) vs. abstract (a skeleton)

Adequate

A single, extended example

A variety: facts, statistics, examples, reasons, personal experience or observation, expert opinion

Dramatic

Helps reader "see"

Representative

Typical or usual

Accurate

Not overstated or downplayed

Not disregarding information

Not misquoted

No fictionalized detail

May be documented

When? Evidence comes from sources "outside your head"

Rule of thumb: Information found in three or more independent sources is considered "common knowledge" and does not require documentation

See MLA for documentation rules: in-text and listing sources

Source

Nadell, McMeniman, Langan. "Chapter 4: Supporting the Thesis with Evidence." The

Longman Wrier: Rhetoric and Reader. Brief Edition. 48-52