EvidenceThe Substance upon which the Argument Rests

             Evidence: The Substance upon which the Argument Rests by Matthew Bloom is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

What you will be able to do:1. Define “evidence” and explain how it works in an

argument (its purpose)2. Distinguish evidence from reasoning and conclusion 3. Define “relevance”4. Determine the relevance of statements in a list5. Determine the relevance of evidence to a specific

argument6. Choose the most relevant evidence to illustrate

reasoning7. Identify types of evidence in a given

passage/source/argument8. Evaluate the quality of evidence by asking critical

questions

part one: WHAT IS EVIDENCE?

Define “evidence” and explain how it works in an argument (its purpose)

Distinguish evidence from reasoning and conclusion

Free Writing

“Evidence” is a common word. What is your definition of it?

Why is it important?

An argument consists of a

conclusion

reasoning

evidence.

that is with

by explained

validated

illustrated

A pyramid scheme… but in a good way

Evidence is…

Reading is important because it opens one’s

mind to new ideas and experiences. For example, when I read "The Bear" by William Faulkner, I felt the haunting darkness of the wilderness and connected that feeling with humanity's struggle for survival.

Conclusion (abstract)

Reasoning (still abstract, though more specific)

Evidence (concrete and specific)

Evidence is the concrete proof that illustrates abstract reasoning in support of an argument’s conclusion.

Example:

In groups of 2-3,identify the Conclusion, Reasoning, and Evidence

1. According to my brother, who’s a huge computer dork, Ubuntu runs 50% more efficiently than Windows because it’s free of bloatware. The increased performance is why I think that Ubuntu is the better operating system.

2. I’m going to start wearing my sunglasses as often as possible because they’re great attention-getters. I went to the mall the other night and people kept staring at me, no matter which store I went into.

part two: ANALYZING RELEVANCE

Define “relevant” Determine the relevance of statements in a list

Determine the relevance of evidence to a specific argument

Choose the most relevant evidence to illustrate reasoning

Free Writing

What does it mean for a statement to be “relevant?” Why would irrelevancy be a problem for an argument?

Why? What do you mean?My email doesn’t work.

Can you type into any other field? Try your search engine.

Well, look. When I try to reply to someone… like here’s an email from

this old friend of mine. He’s ridiculous. This old TV show he’s talking about is horrible. I can’t

believe I used to hang out with that guy. Anyway, when I click here I can’t

type anything.I can go to all kinds of other websites.

I can get into my email, too. I just can’t type anything.

It’s Not Worth Trying to Help You:A Story About an Annoying Friend

(Starring these two stick figures)

Hmmm…But can you type anywhere? I want to know if you keyboard’s working at all . What?

Just type something, okay?

I’m not helping you anymore.

So you can type. It worked.

What? Did it work?

I’m not sure if I should search for shoes or a new overcoat.

But my email doesn’t work!

All right. Shoes. I really need a pair of low-cut boots. Camouflage, but

not the real military kind. More like that neon pink and green camo

design that’s all ironic because it’s so flashy. Okay… c-a-m-o… Huh…

I’m just not sure which one of these pairs of

boots is nicer.

Relevance

Something that is closely related or appropriate to something else.

Jimbo’s car has broken down. He goes to his good friend Bilnash, who is a car expert. “My car doesn’t work!” he cries. “What should I do?”

“What kind of car do you drive?” Bilnash asks him. “A blue one.” “A 1981 De Lorean.”

Irrelevant Relevant

Irrelevancy tends to be obnoxious Most people have probably had irrelevant

information presented to them in one form or another.

Words associated with relevancy: Unity, focus, cohesiveness Generally effective in writing

Words associated with irrelevancy: Randomness, confusion, strangeness Generally not effective in writing

Which is irrelevant? (choose all that apply)

Conclusion: Talented musicians have the tendency to say things that may seem eccentric or rude.

a. The free-jazz musician Sun Ra claimed to be from Saturn.b. David Byrne, the frontman of the influential The Talking Heads,

said of his old band that “a piece of _____ in the right place is fertilizer, but in your pants it’s an embarrassment.”

c. Urban legend has it that when jazz icon Miles Davis was invited to a White House function in the mid 1980’s, first lady Nancy Reagan asked him what he’d done to be invited. His alleged answer: “I’ve changed the direction of music several times. What have you done except sleep with the president?”

d. Charlie “Bird” Parker, one of the greatest jazz saxophonists of all time, reportedly got his nickname for cooking and eating two road-killed chickens he’d found during a time of drug abuse and poverty.

e. Calvin Broadus, a.k.a. Snoop Dogg, recently changed his name to Snoop Lion to signal his conversion to Rastafarianism.

Evidence is relevant only when it aligns with the purpose of an explicit point of discussion in an argument.

Is it relevant?

Claim:

Reading is a healthy activity.

1. “I had plenty of pimples as a kid. One day I fell asleep in the library. When I woke up, a blind man was reading my face.”(Rodney Dangerfield)

2. “Any book that helps a child to form a habit of reading, to make reading one of his deep and continuing needs, is good for him.” (Maya Angelou)

3. “Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body.” (Joseph Addison)

4. “Reading builds the educated and informed electorate so vital to our democracy.” (Brad Henry)

5. “When I read about the evils of drinking, I gave up reading.”(Henny Youngman)

Conclusion: Pizza is a good choice for lunch. Reasons: Pizza is (a) very delicious and (b) simple

to eat.1. Look! A bear!2. I don’t like to drink beverages containing artificial

sweeteners.3. I personally think that even bad pizza is good

pizza, if you know what I mean.4. As long as you don’t mind a little grease on your

fingers, you don’t need to use a plate (let alone silverware).

5. There are 30 pizza restaurants near my house.6. I was able to save up some money last month,

and I bought you a present. Here you go!7. A blue one.

Relevance Example 1: As a Class

Conclusion: Pizza is a good choice for lunch. Reasons: Pizza is (a) very delicious and (b) simple

to eat.1. Look! A bear!2. I don’t like to drink beverages containing artificial

sweeteners.3. I personally think that even bad pizza is

good pizza, if you know what I mean.4. As long as you don’t mind a little grease on

your fingers, you don’t need to use a plate (let alone silverware).

5. There are 30 pizza restaurants near my house.6. I was able to save up some money last month,

and I bought you a present. Here you go!7. A blue one.

Relevance Example 1: As a Class

Conclusion: Shop online for the holidays. Reasons: (a) One can avoid long lines/crowds.

(b) There are deals online, too!1. Many people have similar work schedules, and going to a

store when you can during the hectic holidays inevitably means dealing with an unruly throng of season-crazy fellow citizens.

2. Last year, many stores had the same sales online as in-store.3. When you purchase a gift online, you often have the option of

gift-wrapping.4. Many companies exist only online.5. Some companies will often promote offers that are only valid

in-store because the foot traffic encourages impulse purchases.

6. Purchasing online is as easy as a few clicks—you don’t even have to put clothes on!

7. I’m sure we’ve all had to wait in long lines before.8. Some companies will offer big savings on items if you

purchase directly from their warehouse via the internet.Relevance Example 2: Individual Practice

Choose the most relevant statement

Argument:

Higher safety standards should be implemented in youth football because head-related injuries are too common.

1. My child had to be treated for a concussion last year after a vicious hit in a Pop Warner match.

2. When I was in the youth league, I felt pain all the time—before, during, and after games.

3. Star linebacker Junior Seau took his own life in 2012, which many attribute to the effects of the repeated head trauma associated with professional football.

4. Children’s skulls aren’t rubber balls that can be smacked around without consequence.

5. Over 300 cases of football-related concussions in children between the ages of 10 and 16 were reported last year in this state alone.

Now it’s up to you1. Identify the Conclusion, Reasoning, and Evidence2. Determine whether or not the evidence is

relevant

Because of the likelihood of getting in an accident, it is best to avoid entering or exiting the campus parking lot at times of peak congestion. Campus safety officials released last year’s report on vehicular incidents on or adjacent to the campus parking lot. The report shows that students were involved in an average of 2 minor accidents per school day. I myself witnessed three car accidents between students entering/leaving campus in one semester.

part three: TYPES OF EVIDENCE

Identify types of evidence in a given passage/source/argument

Can you tell which one of these pieces of evidence is different than the others?

1. I myself have been in two car accidents just outside of campus in my time at this college.

2. I witnessed three minor accidents in only one semester.

3. Every Wednesday afternoon, just before my class starts, I see students in their cars either rushing away from campus or rushing to class.

4. I have seen both campus safety and local police officials stopping reckless drivers and handing out citations.

We must be able to tell the difference between types of evidence if we wish to evaluate them.

Different types of evidence have different characteristics and are effective or not based on context.

Types of Evidence

iAPPFEST

(Because everybody loves acronyms, and this is the best I could come up with!)

ntuitionnalogyersonal experienceersonal observation actual statementxpert opinion tatisticestimony

A sample argument

Issue: Should we go out on a boat?

Conclusion: No, we should not go on a boat.

Reason: Boating is dangerous.

This photo is © lpiepiora is available under a CC BY 2.0 license

Dangerous

Check your gut.

Because I

don’t feel

like going on

your damn

boat,

alright?!

© Original Image Copyright Alan Walker and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons License

Personal Experience

“Last time I was on a boat, I fell out and was almost eaten by some vile leviathan!”

Personal Observation

“Every time I go near the water I see people jumping off of boats in terror.”

© Original Image Copyright Albert Bridge and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.

“My uncle said that when he was young and crazy he went to Antarctica on a whim along with some buddies and their boat was nearly taken under by a giant squid.”

Testimony

Expert Opinion

Statistic

“There was a study that indicated that 15% of trips taken by boat end up with someone losing an eye.”

“Yar,” said the pirate, “it be my professional opinion.”

Factual Statement

“Look it up. In 2011, there were 152 incidents in this state alone involving moving boats and rattlesnake stowaways.”

Analogy

“We’ll be adrift… like ants clutching to a leaf on the surface of a swimming pool—and some punk kid’s about to do a cannonball.”

Identify the type of evidence.1. Of course the CEO

should boast last year’s gains along with what has been done this year—when you’re on a diet and someone asks you how much you’ve lost, you say “15 pounds in the last 6 months” not “2 ounces so far today.”

a) Intuitionb) Analogyc) Personal experienced) Personal

observatione) Factual statementf) Expert opiniong) Statistich) Testimony

Identify the type of evidence.2. I once wrote a

letter by hand to a sweetheart and, well, now we’re married. That’s why you should always write things out by hand rather than typing them.

a) Intuitionb) Analogyc) Personal experienced) Personal

observatione) Factual statementf) Expert opiniong) Statistich) Testimony

Identify the type of evidence.3. Nobel Prize-winning

economist Paul Krugman claims that raising the Medicare age is “a terrible policy idea,” especially because it wouldn’t save all that much money.

a) Intuitionb) Analogyc) Personal experienced) Personal

observatione) Factual statementf) Expert opiniong) Statistich) Testimony

Match the evidence with its type.1. Literary analysis is like running; although it never

really gets easier, the more often you do it, the more you can do.

2. A recent study suggested that binge drinking among undergraduate students has dropped by between 12 and 14% over the last five years.

3. When I worked at a restaurant downtown, I saw the chef try to serve a steak that he’d dropped on the floor.

4. Only eight of 100 senators voted “no,” which shows how bipartisan (if not popular) the deal was.

5. I don’t feel like it. >shrug<6. My mother told me that last week, at Chez

Malodorante in downtown, she was served a steak that had been dropped on the floor in the kitchen.

7. I was served a floor-steak at that restaurant as well.

8. “Fooling around with AC electricity is just a waste of time. Nobody will use it, ever,” claimed Thomas Edison in 1899.

a. Intuitionb. Analogyc. Personal

Experienced. Personal

Observation

e. Factual Statement

f. Expert Opinion

g. Statistich. Testimony

Some of these examples are from Browne and Keeley

The Big Picture (1)

Read the passage and then

1) break down the argument by identifying the conclusion, reasoning, and evidence, and

2) classify the evidence by type.

When privates Howard, Baines, and Teegarten were discovered in the prison camp by my squad near the end of the war, they seemed to have sincerely turned against their home country. They hurled epithets at us, their former squad mates. Baines was disdainful, insecure, and aggressive, emotions that a recent Harvard psychiatric study suggests result from “severe and sustained forced isolation coupled with emotional trauma” (Rucker et al. 142). The prisoners of war had clearly been brainwashed.

The Big Picture (2)

Football is clearly America’s real favorite pastime. While there may still be big payrolls and audiences for professional baseball, football has definitely risen to the top in terms of popularity and cultural significance. According to CBSSports.com, the 2013 Super Bowl was viewed by more than 164 million people across the world, which is many, many times more than have ever watched a single baseball game. Additionally, cultural critic and author Chas Blackberry recently predicted that the 21st century in America would be “as intense, brutal, and glittering as a Monday-night football game, bell-ringing concussions included.” That the sport he describes is football is significant: in the 20th century, such a cultural connection would have been most certainly made to baseball. Times, however, have changed, and with them have changed the public’s taste in spectator sport.

Read the passage and then

1) break down the argument by identifying the conclusion, reasoning, and evidence, and

2) classify the evidence by type.

Remember:

Just because something is evidence…

…does not mean that it is effective evidence.

part four: EVALUATING EVIDENCE

Evaluate the quality of evidence by asking critical questions

Free Writing

Based on our discussions so far and on your own prior experiences,

what might be some characteristics of “good” evidence?

Different ways to sort through the chaos… Things that happened or are happening may

seem obvious, but communicating these “obvious” things to others can be quite complicated.

The goal is to “prove” that some event or situation is, was, or will be happening by presenting some form of concrete evidence.

Not all evidence is created equal.

Not everybody talks about evidence in the same way.

Let me illustrate it like this…

Something happened (or is happening)

Free Writing

Reflect on the difference between experiencing something and witnessing

something. How does being directly involved change

our perception of an event?

Some things to remember:1. Humans have imperfect sensors.

2. Our prior experiences and values tend to influence our perceptions.

3. Something is not necessarily likely to happen again because it happened once (or a few times).

4. Everyone is biased.

5. Everyone is biased.

Intuition

“Knowing without knowing”

A.K.A. “Not knowing” (at least, not

empirically)

Evaluate the Evidence 1

1. Identify the conclusion and reasoning

2. Identify the evidence by type.

3. Determine the relevancy of the evidence to the argument.

4. Evaluate the quality of the evidence.

Cigarette smoking should be banned in all places because it’s annoying. At the grocery store near my house, it seems like no matter when I go, there are employees on smoke break under a nearby ramada. I can smell it, therefore, every time I go shopping, which is often. I’ve witnessed other customers bothered by the smoke as well. I just don’t understand why a person has to deal with that rancid smoke in addition to the copious amount of car exhaust fumes already present in the parking lot.

Evaluate the Evidence 2

1. Identify the conclusion and reasoning

2. Identify the evidence by type.

3. Determine the relevancy of the evidence to the argument.

4. Evaluate the quality of the evidence.

I don’t care what you say. It doesn’t matter. The fact is that Nickelback is a true American rock band to be cherished. Why? Because they’re awesome. No, seriously, shut up. Shut up. Shut your mouth. Shut up. They’re awesome.

Evaluate the Evidence 3

1. Identify the conclusion and reasoning

2. Identify the evidence by type.

3. Determine the relevancy of the evidence to the argument.

4. Evaluate the quality of the evidence.

Buying organically-grown produce might not be worth the extra cost, at least if one’s main concern is health. First of all, while organic produce may be free of pesticides, the amount of pesticides allowed by the FDA in the production of non-organic fruits and vegetables is well below what would be necessary to cause adverse effects on the body. In other words, organic produce is pesticide-free and non-organic has so little pesticide that it doesn’t matter. Furthermore, non-organic produce is washed in an ammonia solution which is harmless to humans but virtually annihilates bacteria responsible for food-borne illness. On the other hand, organic produce is free of this ammonia wash, which may be why so many outbreaks of food-borne illness are associated with organic labels. This evidence clearly suggests that paying that little extra for organic foods may be a waste of money because it’s not necessarily better for your health.

Evaluate the Evidence 4

1. Identify the conclusion and reasoning

2. Identify the evidence by type.

3. Determine the relevancy of the evidence to the argument.

4. Evaluate the quality of the evidence.

Word games can help to combat the onset of diseases associated with aging. For example, a 1996 study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association suggested that the development of linguistic and memory-retrieval skills early on is associated with a lower risk of Alzheimer's. Based on an analysis of 93 autobiographical accounts written by young women about to enter into a convent, researchers noted that the women with accounts that were the most detailed and vivid were overwhelmingly less likely to suffer from diseases affecting memory. Since word games exercise these mental faculties, it’s clear that working word games into one’s daily life is a good idea at any age.

Evidence: The Substance upon which the Argument Rests by Matthew Bloom is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.