Claims and Evidence Review

Front

What is a claim?

Back

An assertion to be proven by evidence.

Front

Which of the following is a more effective claim?

• Mandatory driving tests should be administered each decade of a citizen's life.
• People sometimes get worse at driving as they age.
• Mandatory driving tests are a necessity to protect U.S. drivers and decrease infrastructure costs.
• Last year, there were 6 million car accidents in the U.S.

Back

Mandatory driving tests are a necessity to protect U.S. drivers and decrease infrastructure costs.

Front

Which of the following is a more effective claim?

• U.S. cultural traditions like Halloween and horror movies reveal a deeper obsession with death among today's contemporary U.S. population of today.
• Our obsession with the macabre is never more evident as when we look to the box office: horror movies had 9.72% of the box office market share last year.
• Humanity's obsession with the macabre stems from an existential inability to grapple with the reality of death, evidenced in popular fiction and film.
• Halloween is one of the most popular holidays in the U.S, according to Vanity Fair.

Back

Humanity's obsession with the macabre stems from an existential inability to grapple with the reality of death, evidenced in popular fiction and film.

Front

What type of evidence can be backed up or verified, and citing the source can make it more believable?

Back

Facts/details

Front

A fact or piece of data from a study of a large quantity of numerical data. Numbers are normally involved and give this one away (Ex: “75% of people polled believed that the real loser of Tuesday’s debate was the American people.”) What type of evidence is this?

Back

Statistics

Front

What type of evidence is taking quotes or ideas from famous and credible individuals to support a claim? (Ex. 9/10 dentists recommend Colgate toothpaste)

Back

Expert opinion

Front

What type of evidence is a brief encounter or story meant to communicate an abstract idea or illustrate a point? (Ex. Once, when I was in Croatia, I got lost in the woods while hiking and had to hike to the top of the mountain to find the way down. I am saying this to convince you to always use a map.)

Back

Anecdote

Front

What type of evidence is this? Comparing two things for the purpose of explanation or clarification. (Ex. If you are okay with the law against public nudity, you should be okay with the law mandating masks. Both protect the people around you.)

Back

Analogy

Front

What type of evidence is this? "We see it in the test scores. We see it in the attendance data. We see it in the QOL reports: Students who start school later in the day learn more."

Back

Example/illustration