Sources, when used responsibly, can support an argument.
Paraphrasing, summarizing, and quoting sources: R2-c
Punctuating direct quotations: P5-a
Citing sources: MLA-4b, APA-4b, and CMS-4b
You will need to support your central claim and any subordinate claims with evidence: facts, statistics, examples, visuals (such as graphs or photos), expert opinion, and so on. Debatable topics require that you consult some written sources to establish your ethos and to persuade your audience. As you read through or view the sources, you will learn more about the arguments and counterarguments at the center of your debate.
using sources responsibly: Remember that you must document the sources you use as evidence. Documentation gives credit to authors and shows readers how to locate a source in case they want to assess its credibility or explore the issues further.
Using facts and statistics
A fact is something that is known with certainty because it has been objectively verified: The capital of Wyoming is Cheyenne. Carbon has an atomic weight of 12. John F. Kennedy was assassinated on November 22, 1963. Statistics are collections of numerical facts: Alcohol abuse is a factor in nearly 40 percent of traffic fatalities. More than four in ten businesses in the United States are owned by women.
Most arguments are supported at least to some extent by facts and statistics. For example, in the following passage the writer uses statistics to show that college students carry unreasonably high credit card debt.
A 2009 study by Sallie Mae revealed that undergraduates are carrying record-high credit card balances and are relying on credit cards more than ever, especially in the economic downturn. The average credit card debt per college undergraduate is more than three thousand dollars, and three-quarters of undergraduates carry balances and incur finance charges each month (Hunter).
Writers often use statistics in selective ways to bolster their own positions. If you suspect that a writer’s handling of statistics is not quite fair, track down the original sources for those statistics or read authors with opposing views, who may give you a fuller understanding of the numbers.
Using examples and illustrations
Examples and illustrations (extended examples, often in story form) rarely prove a point by themselves, but when used in combination with other forms of evidence they flesh out an argument with details and bring it to life. Because examples are often concrete and sometimes vivid, they can reach readers in ways that statistics and abstract ideas cannot.
In a paper arguing that online news provides opportunities for readers that print does not, Sam Jacobs describes how regular citizens using only cell phones and laptops helped save lives during Hurricane Katrina by sending important updates to the rest of the world.
Using visuals
Visuals can support your argument by providing vivid and detailed evidence and by capturing your readers’ attention. Bar or line graphs, for instance, describe and organize complex statistical data; photographs can immediately and evocatively convey abstract ideas. Writers in almost every academic field use visual evidence to support their arguments or to counter opposing arguments. For example, to explain a conflict among Southeast Asian countries, a historian might choose a map to illustrate the geography. Or to refute another scholar’s hypothesis about the dangers of a vegetarian diet, a nutritionist might support her claims by using a table to organize and highlight detailed numerical information. (See C2-b.)
As you consider using visual evidence, ask yourself these questions:
Citing expert opinion
Although they are no substitute for careful reasoning of your own, the views of an expert can contribute to the force of your argument. For example, to help him make the case that print journalism has a one-sided relationship with its readers, Sam Jacobs integrates an expert’s key description.
With the rise of the Internet, however, this model has been criticized by journalists such as Dan Gillmor, founder of the Center for Citizen Media, who argues that traditional print journalism treats “news as a lecture,” whereas online news is “more of a conversation” (xxiv).
When you rely on expert opinion, make sure that your source is an expert in the field you are writing about. In some cases, you may need to provide credentials showing why your source is worth listening to, such as listing the person’s position or title alongside his or her name. When including expert testimony in your paper, you can summarize or paraphrase the expert’s opinion, or you can quote the expert’s exact words. You will, of course, need to document the source, as Jacobs did.