Selecting and integrating evidence

Types of evidence 

• Observations and anecdotes
• Primary-text quotations: direct word-to-word evidence 
• Statistics --
• Test or experiment results 
• Visuals  
• Analogies  -- compare two things, creating clarity by drawing parallels 
• Expert testimony
• Illustrations, examples, and demonstrations
• Predictions

    1. Look what happened in Southeast Asia with the Tsunami: 150,000 lives lost to the misnomer of all misnomers, “mother nature.” Well, in Africa, 150,000 lives are lost every month, a tsunami every month. And it’s a completely avoidable catastrophe. – Bono

2. According to the two scientists, the rats with unlimited access to the functional running wheel ran each day and gradually increased the amount of running; in addition, they started to eat less (Mcgovern 1-2) 
3.  Most of us have closets full of clothes: jeans, sweaters, khakis, T-shirts, and shoes for every occasion.

    4.  Pennsylvania spends $30 million annually in deer-related costs. Wisconsin has an estimated annual loss of $37 million for crop damage alone (Blumig).

    5. Hulga blames this affliction for keeping her on the Hopewell farm, making it plain that ‘if it had not been for this condition, she would be far from these red hills and good country people” (O’connor 1994).

Arrange an Argument by Clustering

Clustering can help you explore the relationships among your thesis statement, reasons, and evidence. To create a cluster:

1.      In the middle of a sheet of paper, or in the center of an electronic document (word processing file or graphics file), list your thesis statement.

2.      Place your reasons around your thesis statement.

3.      List the evidence you’ll present to support your reasons next to each reason.

4.      Think about the relationships among your main point, reasons, and evidence, and draw lines and circles to show those relationships.

5.      Annotate your cluster to indicate the nature of the relationships you’ve identified.