 An unsupported assertion is a statement of fact without any evidence to support that fact.  Avoid them in your essays.

An example of an unexplained/unsupported assertion is: Men are naturally more violent than women.

1.Topic Sentence 2.Quote #1 3.Restate that quote 4.explain how the quote proves our thesis 5.explain how the quote proves our thesis 6. Quote #2 7.explain how the quote proves our thesis 8.explain how the quote proves our thesis 9.Concluding sentence

The statement, “Men are naturally more violent than women” is an unsupported assertion because: 1.there is no evidence to back it up 2.there is no citation to suggest someone has evidence to back it up 3.It seems to rely on the author’s own personal experience

 Today, meet with your debate team and discuss individual arguments.  Make sure no one is using an argument that contains an unsupported assertion.

 A plagiarized paper uses someone else’s words, facts, or ideas without giving that person proper credit with parenthetical citation.  Neglecting to cite your sources is plagiarism.  Any plagiarism, no matter how small, will earn you an “F” on Essays #4 and #5

 Remember, because one person has personally experienced something doesn’t mean it’s true for all.

 Saying “studies show” is NOT enough to support your assertion.  You must tell which studies show what.

 Further, “common knowledge” is often unreliable.  Do not use “common knowledge” to support your claims.

 Additionally, any facts you present need to have scholarly evidence.  That’s because your reader needs evidence to believe you.

 It is NOT ENOUGH to use a fact without outside evidence even when you are sure you’ve heard the evidence somewhere before.  It is NOT ENOUGH to use a fact without outside evidence and then say “studies show” to support your fact  It is NOT ENOUGH to give a fact without outside evidence even if you believe your readers will agree with it.

 Sample:  Most cars sold in the United States today are SUVs.

 Remember, you must prove with every sentence that you know what you’re talking about.  To do that, provide outside evidence to support any and all assertions you make.  If you can’t find evidence to support it, you can’t use it.

 Also, not all evidence you find in your research is valid.  Since your authors are human, they may have made mistakes.  They may have even cut corners.

 Avoid using misleading data  Think your evidence through before you use it.

Sample of misleading data:  Almost twice as many male thieves and robbers use guns as their female counterparts do (Blum 512).  This proves that men are more violent than women.  Does it?

Sample of misleading data:  In domestic partner murders, “3/4 of men use guns in those killings; 50% of women do”(Blum 512).  This proves that men are more violent than women.  Does it?

 Statistics can be tricky to analyze.

 Statistic:  In cases where a person kills his or her spouse, 51.8% of the time, the argument that lead to the violence had been instigated by the male (Blum 512).  What does this prove?

 Always think about where statistics come from and who, if anybody, has anything to gain by them.  Sometimes, you need more than one statistic in order to draw any conclusions.

Ask yourself: 1.What conclusions can you draw from the statistic? 2.Who provided the information? Are they biased? 3.What more would you need to know in order to process the information?

 The LAPD Police Commission found, between 2003 and 2004, that 252 out of 320 allegations of officers confronting someone solely because of race were unfounded.  The remaining cases were dropped due to insufficient evidence or a lack of evidence of misconduct.

 The ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) looked at 810,000 LAPD field stops between July 1, 2003, and June 30, The group found there were 4,569 stops per 10,000 black residents, compared to 1,750 stops per 10,000 white residents.

Ask yourself: 1.What conclusions can you draw from the statistic? 2.Who provided the information? Are they biased? 3.What more would you need to know in order to process the information?

 African Americans and Hispanics were more than twice as likely to be ordered out of their vehicles than whites, and were vastly more likely to be frisked, asked to submit to a search, searched and arrested.  Although African Americans and Hispanics were more likely than whites to be frisked or asked to submit to a consensual search, officers were actually less likely to discover evidence during these frisks or searches.  Individual officers who arrested disproportionately more African Americans generally also arrested disproportionately more Hispanics.  Racial disparities in arrest rates for stopped African Americans were smaller when the stops were conducted by African American officers.

Police Chief William Bratton vehemently denied the allegation. "We do not [use racial profiling]. We have not," Bratton said. "I disagree strongly with their findings and interpretation."

 Who is correct? The ACLU or Bratton?