EFFECTIVELY using EVIDENCE in ESSAY writing

First and foremost- REMEMBER: Your essay is your argument First and foremost- REMEMBER: Your essay is your argument! Evidence should be selected, and incorporated, with the intent of improving your writing!

Improving the Use of Evidence WHEN do I use evidence? WHAT evidence do I use? HOW do I effectively incorporate evidence in my writing? HOW do I cite evidence?

WHEN DO I USE EVIDENCE? To validate my points To further my analysis To solidify my ethos To appeal to logos To engender pathos

WHEN DO I USE EVIDENCE? Too many quotations, too many voices, can overpower your own. Quotations should fit into your argument, not appear out of thin air.

WHAT EVIDENCE SHOULD I USE? Types of Evidence: Supporting details Supporting quotes

WHAT EVIDENCE SHOULD I USE? Quote only sentences, passages, or words that are especially succinct, memorable, or powerful. Save direct quotations for brilliant comments, controversial statements, certain statistics, and personal testimony that you believe will strengthen your argument. Choose quotes that support what you are saying; if you have solid ideas, you need supporting quotes, not quotes that are saying the exact same thing you are trying to say.

WHAT EVIDENCE SHOULD I USE? If a quotation is long, or if you can say it better or more concisely, paraphrase it (restate it in your own words). Remember, you must indicate a source even when paraphrasing. Keep paraphrasing to a minimum because it is your ideas, your argument that counts to convince your readers.

HOW SHOULD I INCORPORATE EVIDENCE IN MY WRITING? Always integrate quotations into your text. NEVER DROP A QUOTATION IN YOUR ESSAY!

HOW SHOULD I INCORPORATE EVIDENCE IN MY WRITING? Quotes should be grammatically consistent with the rest of your essay. If punctuation pronouns, and verb tenses don't flow with your own words, paraphrase and cite the needed material, or make minor changes within the quotation, surrounding them with brackets [ ]. All quotations should be unobtrusive.

HOW SHOULD I INCORPORATE EVIDENCE IN MY WRITING? In order to make your own writing flow as smoothly as possible, it's usually best to use only an effective part of a quotation as part of one of your own sentences. So instead of boring your reader with this -The narrator says, "Who can even imagine me looking a strange white man in the eye?" (232) write something like this: The narrator asks if anyone could imagine her "looking a strange white man in the eye" (232).

HOW SHOULD I INCORPORATE EVIDENCE IN MY WRITING? To integrate a quotation properly within a paragraph, a good writer usually writes one sentence to introduce the quotation, a second sentence that includes the quotation, and a third sentence to comment on the significance of the quotation. Here are some examples:

HOW SHOULD I INCORPORATE EVIDENCE IN MY WRITING? ORIGINAL: The shadow of a cloud moved across the field of grain and she saw the river through the trees. SMOOTHLY INTEGRATED QUOTATION: Hemingway uses the image of a momentary darkness to suggest the woman's growing disillusionment. After her quarrel with the man, "[t]he shadow of a cloud moved across the field of grain . . ." (21). A similar shadow gradually develops over their relationship.

USING ELIPSES… Ellipses indicate that some unnecessary words have been left out of a quotation. When quoting just a word or a short phrase, no ellipsis is necessary. Also, do not use an ellipsis to indicate that you have left out the beginning of a sentence Only missing words from the end or somewhere in the middle of a sentence need to be indicated with an ellipsis.

USING BRACKETS [ ] Use brackets to indicate any changes you make to quotations while fitting them into your sentences Such changes might be made for reasons of style, verb tense, or general understanding

USING BRACKETS [ ] Examples: SAMPLE 1: “Not to mention, Candido is not the model character Spencer set him out to be here: “even poor Candido whose plight has been engaging our sympathies throughout the novel…”(Spencer). Candido has good intentions to help America, often beat her and drank. INSTEAD: “Moreover, although Spencer believes Candido is a character “whose plight [engages] our sympathies throughout the novel…”(Spencer) Candido is far from perfect. Despite has good intentions to help America, he succumbs to frustration, beating her and drinking away what little money they have.

CITING EVIDENCE: IN TEXT CITATIONS Provide parenthetical when outside evidence is presented Direct quotation: “Lunch was disgusting” (Smith 45). Author’s last name, page number “Lunch was disgusting” (School Cafeteria Today ). Title of the web page Paraphrase: Student Tony Smith says that school lunches are less than appetizing (Smith 65).

CITING EVIDENCE: WORKS CITED PAGE Provides the complete publication info for your source Helpful resource: http://www.citationmachine.net/