Pacific Collegiate School History Department Style Guide Section Three: Evidence & Analysis

3.1 All claims require evidence. All major claims need to be supported by evidence. In a standard essay, the thesis statement is supported by the topic sentences, and the topic sentences are supported by the supporting sentences in each paragraph.

3.2 Evidence comes in many forms, but not all evidence is of equal value. Some sources are stronger than others. Learning to tell the difference between a strong source and a weak source is one of your primary tasks as a researcher.

3.2 Evidence comes in many forms, but not all evidence is of equal value. Strong sources: Scholarly books Scholarly articles Textbooks Credible newspapers Proper encyclopedias Scholarly translations of primary sources Scholarly websites. While these sources are not necessarily perfect and completely trustworthy, they are all sources that are refereed, which means they are externally evaluated by experts to insure they are accurate and reliable.

3.2 Evidence comes in many forms, but not all evidence is of equal value. Weaker sources: Books written for a popular audience rather than a scholarly one. Articles on partisan, political websites. Unrefereed blogs and random websites. These sources all lack referees: the claims they make are not inspected by experts prior to publication.

3.3: Evidence requires context and explanation Evidence requires context and explanation: Evidence does not speak for itself. Prior to presenting evidence, you need to establish a context or background that explains the evidence. After the evidence has been presented, you need to provide analysis that connects your evidence to your thesis.

3.4 Insertion of quotations Quotations need to be properly introduced. You can’t just toss in a quotation without introduction, context, or explanation. You have to explain what the quotation is and what work it is performing in your argument. For example: As further evidence against Smith’s theory, Professor Lisa Miller agues that the cliff dwellers at Mesa Verde abandoned their villages because of a drought. In her 2005 article, “Ancestral Puebloans and Climate Change,” Miller writes, “The strongest evidence for drought comes from …”

3.4 Insertion of quotations Summary is not analysis. When you present a quotation, what should follow the quotation is analysis and explanation, not merely a summary of the quotation.

3.4 Insertion of quotations Example of summary following a quotation: As Professor JL Mason notes, “While religion was used to justify the Crusades, the actual cause of the Crusades was a combination of religious, economic, and cultural factors.” Religion was important to the Crusades, especially as a way of justifying why they were happening, but they were actually caused by many different factors. Note: The sentence following the quotation is merely summary of the quotation and therefore contributes nothing to the discussion. It’s just verbal filler, and doesn’t constitute analysis, explanation, or argument.

3.4 Insertion of quotations Example of explanation/analysis following a quotation: In her 2005 article, “Ancestral Puebloans and Climate Change,” Miller writes, “The strongest evidence for drought comes from carbon dating and evaluation of tree rings that show a rapid decline in rainfall for several decades.” This evidence is important because other theories about why the Ancestral Puebloans left their home rely on speculation while Miller’s theory relies on scientific evidence.

3.4 Insertion of quotations Quotations need to be properly incorporated into a sentence and properly punctuated. If you don’t understand how to work with quotations, it’s very hard to write effectively about historical events. Historical writing relies heavily upon sources, and most sources are written sources, and you therefore must present the sources through quotations.

3.4 Insertion of quotations Quotations need to be seamlessly incorporated into the sentence. Sometimes, when quoting a complete sentence, incorporating quotations can be relatively easy, as in this example (to the right): According to Source B, “The widespread appearance of coinage in the Persian Empire was one factor that greatly increased trade.” Note: When quoting a complete sentence, capitalize the first word.

3.4 Insertion of quotations If you aren’t quoting a complete sentence, but only portions of a sentence, it can be more challenging to incorporate the quotation seamlessly. Sometimes, you end up making a mistake, such as we see in this example (to the right): Also, germs played an important role in conquest because they could destroy large populations very rapidly and they were created by, “humans evolved in areas with many wild plant and animal species” (Diamond 86). What’s wrong with the above example?

3.4 Insertion of quotations Incorrect: Also, germs played an important role in conquest because they could destroy large populations very rapidly and they were created by, “humans evolved in areas with many wild plant and animal species” (Diamond 86). Correct: Also, germs played an important role in conquest because they could destroy large populations very rapidly and they were created by “humans [who had] evolved in areas with many wild plant and animal species” (Diamond 86).

3.4 Insertion of quotations To make a quotation grammatically seamless and coherent, you can add words in brackets. A bracket looks like this: [bracket]. In the above sentence, the word “who” needs to be added in brackets after “earliest” and before “ended.”

3.4 Insertion of quotations In the above example, the sentence from the previous slide has been clarified by adding “who” in brackets. Note: If you add words to a quotation without putting brackets around the added words, this is considered to be a form of academic dishonesty.

3.4 Insertion of quotations In the example below, look at how the author has: a)incorporated the quotation seamlessly into the sentence; b)added words using brackets; c)placed and punctuated the parenthetical sourcing.

3.4 Insertion of quotations In both of the examples below, quotations have been dumped into the sentence without proper punctuation and without any concern for seamlessly incorporating the quotation into the rest of the sentence.

3.4 Insertion of quotations Incorrect (errors are hi-lited): Correct:

3.4 Insertion of quotations Incorrect (the error is hi-lited): Correct: