Building an argument

Evidence is information from other sources of knowledge that supports your claim and helps your audience understand why you believe that claim to be true. While evidence in North American academic writing can come from sources that you may not use every day, such as scholars' published research or industry data and reports, you likely already have practice in making evidence-based arguments. For example, if you were trying to convince your friends to go for a hike instead of going to the movies, you would probably present some reasons why you think a hike is a better choice, and emphasize the ones your friends would find most convincing. If you know one friend is working on a novel, you might remind them of the benefits of exercise and fresh air for creativity; to convince the friend who is trying to visit as many waterfalls as possible, you might suggest a riverside trail and send them links to photos and reviews of your destination. The evidence you present can educate or persuade your audience, and help convince them that your argument is correct. 

In North American academic writing, evidence usually consists of facts, rather than opinions. Evidence may come from a variety of sources, such as personal experiences; other sources of knowledge, such as Indigenous Knowledge; industry-or sector-specific publications, such as annual reports; data produced by social science researchers; data on industries or markets; and information obtained via scholars' published research. The evidence you choose should be appropriate to your topic. North American academic writing in many fields has historically privileged peer-reviewed or published written sources over other types of evidence, such as personal experience, oral traditions, or non-published sources of information; however, taking a more expansive view of "good" evidence for scholarship and practising inclusive citation can bring additional depth to your work.  

When you're choosing the evidence to support your claim, there are a few questions you can ask yourself:

• How do you know the claim is true?
• What information can you provide to support the claim?
• What evidence best supports the argument?

When you're choosing your evidence, more isn't necessarily better; instead, choose the evidence that best supports your claim, and allows you to tell the story of your argument in a way that makes sense to your reader. It's also important to note that evidence does not make your claim for you, and it does not speak for itself. As the writer, it's your job to demonstrate for your audience how the evidence you present fits into the argument you are making.