Support for Claims A Presentation by Angie Ostaszewski

How to Prove a Claim You must always use evidence/proof to support a claim. Comes in three basic forms: -testimony -statistics -fact Can use examples, illustrations, incidents, comparisons, descriptions, and definitions to develop a claim.

What Evidence is Needed Different kinds of claims require different kinds of evidence: -fact: support with definitions, statistics, testimony, and example -value: support with definitions and testimony -policy: support with wide range of evidence Should always consider what will convince the audience.

Tests of Evidence Can use a test to see how audience will respond to evidence. Must pass these four tests to be suitable for proving a claim. Evidence can be tested based on: -relevance -sufficiency -recency -consistency Specific types of evidence also require specific tests.

Relevance Data used must be relevant to the issue at hand. Can be determined irrelevant if: -comes from a related area rather than your subject area -evidence can’t be applied specifically to your claim Example: Claim- Labrador retrievers are quick learners. Evidence- “According to Dr. Lovesdogs, many dogs are quick to learn house-training and various tricks.” Is it Relevant?- If the evidence spoke specifically about labrador retrievers, the evidence would be much more effective.

Sufficiency Need to apply enough evidence to be convincing Ask yourself… -Do the statistics represent a wide range of situations? -How necessary is it to read an endless list of evidence? -Does the evidence demonstrate that the claim is not based on isolated examples? Quality also necessary to establish efficiency Well-respected sources= More authority Example: -An essay claiming that labrador retrievers are the most low- maintenance dog is more convincing if it quotes articles by veterinarians such as Dr. Lovesdogs instead of an ‘I Love Puppies’ geocities page.

Recency Evidence must be recent and up-to-date. Conditions always changing and changing rapidly. Can use older evidence for establishing historical background. Test of Recency: -Does claim require most recent information for its validity? Many policy claims rely on recent evidence. Example: -If you are writing a paper about the effectiveness of flea medicine on labrador retrievers, you should use recent articles as evidence, because medicine is always advancing and changing. An article about flea medicine from 1986 is by no means as convincing as an article by Dr. Lovesdogs from last June.

Consistency Evidence should be consistent with other facts. Evidence should be from more than one source, and the sources should agree. Don’t rule out evidence simply because it’s inconsistent with your previous beliefs- new discoveries are always being made. Example: -When writing an essay that claims that labrador retrievers have the least health issues of all dog breeds, make sure that all of your sources share that opinion. If Dr. Lovesdogs’ article states, “Although labrador retrievers can develop a multitude of health problems later in life, they have great resilience as puppies,” don’t use that! It won’t quite agree with your other sources or your claim.

Tests of Testimony Once your evidence passes the previous four tests (relevance, sufficiency, recency, and consistency), then it still must be tested for three additional things: bias, competence, and context. Bias determines if source is objective of subjective. Source should be objective. Claim supported with fact=not biased. Example: -If Dr. Lovesdogs wrote an article about how much better dogs are as pets than cats, he would have to have conducted experiments or have factual evidence to explain why. If he simply stated that dogs rule and cats drool, that is neither objective nor credible.

Competence Authority=Expert on topic he/she addresses. Expert on one subject isn’t necessarily an expert on another. Well-known experts do not require explanation of authority, but little-known experts require short introduction to instill confidence in their knowledge of the subject. Example: -Simply because Dr. Lovesdogs is an expert on the labrador retriever does not mean that you should quote him in an essay arguing the importance of frequently bathing your pet ferret. <-- No.

Context Should represent ideas of sources fairly and accurately. Select quotes that represent your ideas best. Meaning of quote should not change from source to essay and should reflect author’s original message. Example: -If Dr. Lovesdogs writes a paper stating, “All breeds of dog, including the labrador retriever, the poodle, the greyhound, and the dalmation, would make a great pet for you and your family,” and you edit it in your essay to say, “… the labrador retriever… would make a great pet for you and your family,” then you are changing Dr. Lovedogs’ message that all breeds of dog make good pets, not just the labrador retriever.

Tests for Studies Facts and statistics usually taken from reports of studies. Should know who conducted study for research you use. Must apply tests of bias, competence, and context to this evidence as well. Commonly accepted research methods will more likely convince the audience than obscure ones. Example: -If Dr. Lovesdogs conducts a study on the behavior of female labrador retrievers, the statistics he comes up with will be more convincing to an audience if he used testing methods that people are aware of in society. If he used something obscure, such as testing a dog’s reaction to various Led Zeppelin songs, it might make an audience skeptical.

Pup Quiz! (Get it? Pup sounds like pop and…) 1.Name the four tests of evidence. 2.What is the test of evidence that determines if a piece of evidence is up-to-date enough to be used? 3. If you change the message of Dr. Lovesdogs’ article when you quote him, which test of testimony have you not passed?

Answers! (No pun here…) 1.Relevance, sufficiency, recency, and consistency. 2.Recency 3.Context

The End