Correct And Effective Use Of Evidence In Argumentative Essays For Academic Researchers

Introduction

Argumentative essays are about providing enough pieces of evidence to support an argument. You select a topic, research it, and collect all the information. The information you collected is, in fact, the evidence. In the later stages of the writing, you will use that information to support your perspective. You know that you will use that information, but do you know how to use that information effectively? Many academic researchers are unaware of how to use the evidence. Today’s topic is to learn how to use the evidence effectively and correctly in argumentative essays. There will be a mention of all the types of evidence. Also, this article will discuss which type of evidence can work better for you. So, let’s start our discussion with the following question:

Why is evidence important in an argumentative essay?

A piece of evidence holds immense importance in an argumentative essay. Basically, the whole essay revolves around the pieces of evidence that you provide. The evidence compels your readers to think that your argument is right. Also, it is the evidence that supports your claims. Therefore, academic researchers need to present their arguments in light of proper evidence. The stronger the evidence is, the stronger your essay will be.

The pieces of evidence tend to serve as support for the reasons. As you criticise the viewpoint of others in argumentative essays, it is important to provide enough evidence to counter them. Otherwise, it is useless to write this type of essay. One more thing is that you should use the right type of evidence for the right type of writing. Many academic researchers just do not know about it and use irrelevant pieces of evidence. It eventually undermines the credibility of their essays. Hence, all these things make using evidence important in academic writing. Still, you have the option to buy essays online in case of any issues.

What are four types of evidence in writing?

As described earlier, there are different types of evidence used in argumentative writing. You have to decide which type of evidence suits your topic. A brief description of all the four types of evidence is as follows;

Statistical evidence

Statistical evidence is the most widely used type of evidence in argumentative writing. This evidence provides a particular form of proof related to collecting the data. Upon collecting the data, the academic researchers apply some mathematical formulae to extract the critical information. The researcher runs the statistical analysis of the collected data to formulate this evidence. The analysis provides an approximation to the unknown that is hard to measure. Every time you see a number to support the main argument, it is statistical evidence. A typical example of this evidence is as follows;

• A toothpaste TV commercial says, “4 out of 5 dentists recommend (dash) toothpaste.” The numbers here are shown after running a statistical analysis of the collected data.

Testimonial evidence

It is the second type of evidence used in most argumentative essays. Academic researchers commonly use this evidence to prove a point through a testimony. The quotes and sayings of the greats come in this kind of evidence. For example, you are writing an argumentative essay on a topic of sociology. Mentioning any quote from Karl Marx or Max Weber in the essay, for instance, will serve as testimonial evidence. You can use testimonial evidence in any type of academic writing. This is because almost every field of study has some greats, and you can quote them in your essay.

Anecdotal evidence

Different people observe the world differently. Evidence-based on the observation of a person about nature is called anecdotal evidence. All you need in this type of evidence is one kind of example that contradicts a claim. You carefully observe nature and its habitats and then prove your point concerning that evidence. Be careful when you use this type of evidence in your argumentative essay. Most of the time, the personal desire to look for something particular can influence the results.

Analogical evidence

The last type of the pieces of evidence is called analogical evidence. This type of evidence is very underutilised. Academic researchers use this evidence when they deal with under-researched topics. When you do not have a statistical thing to refer to something, you take support from analogy. You make analogies of the argument with some other arguments and move forward this way. Analogical evidence must be logically true because you do not have statistical data to refer to.

What type of evidence is effective in an argumentative essay?

After describing the evidence types above, it is now easy to answer this question. However, the type of evidence depends on the type of academic writing. Mostly, academic researchers prefer to use statistical evidence in their argumentative essays. The reason behind this use is that this evidence is based on numbers. Many people believe the evidence is based on numbers and statistics. Hence, statistical evidence is the most effective in argumentative essays.

What is the proper way to use evidence in an argumentative paragraph?

There is a proper way to use evidence in an argumentative essay. Many academic researchers neglect this and hence fail to achieve the desired results. A brief description of the proper way is as follows;

• Before introducing the evidence, you need to make a claim. Making the claims means you should introduce your argument.
• After making a claim, you have to introduce the evidence. You should not drop in a quote or evidence without introducing it first.
• Stating the evidence in the paragraph comes next. Carefully state the evidence in light of your claim.
• Explaining the evidence is the next step after starting it. You need to explain every angle of the evidence.
• Show its relation to your thesis statement. This link is very important as it develops the understanding of the reader.

Conclusion

Presenting the argument with facts and figures in an argumentative essay. It helps the readers know that your argument holds some weight. Also, you must follow a proper structure like the one mentioned above to use the evidence.