Types of Evidence in Academic Arguments
Robin Jeffrey
All academic writers use evidence to support their claims. However, different writing tasks in different fields require different types of evidence. Evidence is not simply “facts”. Evidence is not simply “quotes”.
Evidence is what a writer uses to support or defend his or her argument, and only valid and credible evidence is enough to make an argument strong. What is valid or credible changes, however, according to the academic discipline.
Evidence in the Humanities: Literature, Art, Film, Music, Philosophy
- Scholarly essays that analyze original works
- Details from an image, a film, or other work of art
- Passages from a musical composition
- Passages of text, including poetry
Evidence in the Humanities: History
- Primary Sources (photos, letters, maps, official documents, etc.)
- Other books or articles that interpret primary sources or other evidence.
Evidence in the Social Sciences: Psychology, Sociology, Political Science, Anthropology
- Books or articles that interpret data and results from other people’s original experiments or studies.
- Results from one’s own field research (including interviews, surveys, observations, etc.)
- Data from one’s own experiments
- Statistics derived from large studies
Evidence in the Sciences: Biology, Chemistry, Physics
- Data from the author of the paper’s own experiments
- Books or articles that interpret data and results from other people’s original experiments or studies.
It is important to remember that evidence NEVER speaks for itself. Any evidence used to support a position must be explained – the author of the text must prove that the evidence supports his or her thesis.
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