Our text The Craft of Research in chapter nine discusses assembling reasons and evidence. Every good research paper has reasons and evidence, right? Well the authors duly point out that it is important to order reasons in a logical way and to distinguish evidence from reasons. Readers or an audience that seek out research for answers to their own questions will be skeptical readers. So even if your research and conclusion are “correct” if you have no bedrock fact to back up your claims/arguments say your research will be dismissed as unreliable.
The same is true when having a verbal argument with friends or family. If you have no factual backdrop to support your claims you will lose and look like a fool. We can think of research and writing our papers as a matter of winning or losing an argument. The more evidence you have for your reasons makes you a much more persuasive person. Or in terms of writing, you will be able to prove your point (thesis statement) in your paper.
William Coyle
I agree with William, the research and conclusion you provide in your paper needs to be backed up by solid fact or else the audience will see your work as unreliable. It is very important to have correct evidence and reason in your paper, they should be written in a way in which the audience can distinguish between the two. Organizing your paper in this way can help the reader understand your view, as well as trust it as a valid reliable source.
ReplyDeleteThis is true with every day life, for example: a child trying to persuade his/her parents to buy a new book bag. When children try to persuade his/her parents to buy them the coolest book bag that everyone else has in their class (Reason: everyone else has the bag) he/she will proceed to give them evidence by saying: My book bag is old, isn’t big enough and hurts my shoulders. Knowing that the child just wants the new book bag and that the evidence is false, the parents will tell the child they will not get them the book bag. However, if the evidence the child gives is true, the parents will buy the book bag.
I agree with this post and it is so crucial to be able to back up your research. If your not able to then the reader will see your research as unreliable and readers won't want to see your point of view. Also, it is so important to be able to distinguish the difference between evidence and reason. Without that distinction it makes it your paper seem unreliable because if you can't back it up correctly your research paper will suffer.
ReplyDeleteJeffrey said:
ReplyDeleteThe decisive point that Jon Pratt elaborates about, on which the authors from The Craft of Research explained will greatly benefit the way one drafts a research paper. Just jumping from a topic to collecting data may seem like an easy task, and one not worth sweating over, but your readers want more than a mound of random facts. Beginning with a question will help guide your research for an answer to the problem brought up through the interrogating process. You want to intrigue not only yourself but your readers just as well. Also, starting a rough outline of your research paper is a beneficial way to spit down your main focus and points to include into your piece of writing. Having access to a rough outline as you begin to draw up your first draft will help you stay on the topic, hitting your main points, and not forgetting to answer your question that you drew up beforehand. Forgetting about what you want your reader to take away from your research paper will lead you into a problem, and if you go too far off topic, then you will have lost your audience. I have drafted outlines before and other times I did not think it was necessary to. I have witnessed how drafting an outline, kept me from just rambling on fact after fact, and instead hitting topics to help the reader better understand why /how this is the way it is. Some of you may think that drafting an outline is time consuming, but some sort of plan helps you write efficiently, and helps your readers read productively. To further my point, the book states: “an experienced carpenter just does not start sawing. They draw up a second plan, a rough blueprint for a first draft – maybe no more than a sketch of an outline.” So as you can see, draft plan after plan until you find one that works best for you.
I think William makes a good point in stating that not matter whether one is writing a paper or arguing a point verbally, the claim is made more potent and legitimate when it is founded in sound, thorougly-researched evidence. He also correctly points out that even if your claim and reasons are correct, they are of little value without evidence. Without evidence, a research paper transforms into more of an opinion piece.
ReplyDeleteTo begin, the whole idea of assembling reasoning and evidence is a crucial part of any researcher paper. Without a reason or evidence, the information collected by the researcher would be poorly organized and they would not have a way to back up their ideas. In the paper, the reasoning should always come before the evidence or else the paper will not make sense whatsoever. For example in the sentence "I hate the TV show Beavis and Butthead because the show uses too much vulgar language. In the show, a curse is said almost every other word." With the sentence as it is, the reader can easily tell what the reasoning is from the evidence. However, if the two statement were to be switched then the idea would be incorrect.
ReplyDeleteJust as everyone else has said, we use reasoning and evidence in our lives almost everyday of the week. From debates in a history class, to an argument with a best friend we use reasoning and evidence to support a variety of claims/ideas. In order to make sure our ideas are stated correctly, we must be sure to follow the correct format.
Reasoning and evidence usually go hand in hand. I say usually because when someone writes a poorly written paper reasoning usually goes without evidence. For example a person may write a great deal about their own opinion and not site any specific evidence which would back it up. Rather they simply contend that their opinion is the only one that is correct. Also, they draw outrageous conclusions based on nothing but their own opinion which seldom holds any truth.
ReplyDeleteOn that note, I feel that organizing one's evidence is key to writing a proper paper. While opinions and stances on subjects are important it is important to provide proper evidence as to why you believe a certain way. If one does not properly organize both their opinions and evidence their paper will hold no creditability.
Jeffrey says,
ReplyDeleteThere are two kinds of support for a claim: reasons and evidence. The two kind of go hand in hand. An argument which the researcher throws at his/her audience needs to be organized using reasons. The reasons are then supported by sufficient evidence. Evidence proves the reasons that the researcher states are correct and true. The researcher can use factual information as evidence because numbers are extremely difficult to argue. An example of a claim supported by reasons, which are then supported by evidence that The Craft of Research provides is as follows:
“American higher education should review its ‘hands-off’ policy toward off-campus drinking (claim), because dangerous binge drinking has become a common behavior (reason). In 2001-2006, there was a 19 percent increase in episodes of binge drinking resulting in death or injury by first-year students at a representative sample of small colleges (fewer than two thousand students) – evidence.”
This example sets forth a claim, supported by a reason and evidence. The evidence uses statistics, enhancing the strength of the claim, while decreasing the amount of skepticism which may spring up in the reader’s mind. William Coyle indicates that factual backdrop is needed to support your claim, or else you will lose. I could not agree with him anymore. If one can imagine readers plausibly asking, not once but many times, How do you know that? What facts make it true?, you have not yet reached what readers want: a bedrock of uncontested evidence.
In my opinion the difference between evidence and reason should be obvious. Reasons are ideas you construct mainly on your own, and evidence supports those ideas. I don't see the need to spend time clarifying between the two in a paper.
ReplyDeleteThis entry was very well written and I thought that the example given of arguing with your friends or family was great. In chapter nine, reasons and evidence are discussed by the authors very intensely. When writing any good paper you have to have evidence to back up your reasoning’s. If you are unable to support your points/claims as a writer, then how are you supposed to expect your reader(s) to understand your writing? You should have confidence in yourself as a writer, but also have strong evidence.
ReplyDeleteKRISTI QUINN
Assembling reasons and evidence is very much like an argument you have with friends or family. The more evidence you have the better the chances of you winning the argument and being able to persuade your friends or family. The only difference that I see between a verbal argument and a writing argument is that a verbal argument is usually on the spot. So your evidence has to come to you through experience and you have to communicate your point in a very persuasive way. Whereas writing, you have more time to put thought into your argument and you can pull your evidence from difference sources, not just through your own experiences. This is however, a very important part to be able to articulate in your writing to persuade your readers to agree with your thesis statement.
ReplyDeleteThe point I think William is trying to make here is to never under any circumstance lie. Many people as well as researchers I believe try to dismiss the truth about the facts and try to make up some weak reason. As researchers we should always avoid using opinion to corrupt facts and especially never try to jam it down our audiences throats. No, they have a right to agree or disagree. But more importantly to learn.
ReplyDeleteArgument is a major part of everyday life, and William is correct by saying his past that the more evidence you have to back up your argument the more likely people will start to agree with you. Persuasion is also a part of getting your argument across. The more evidence and facts you have the more likely you are to persuade someone. This blog entry stresses the importance of evidence: if we have evidence to back up what we are saying no one will ever think you have any idea what you are talking about.
ReplyDeleteJessica Young said:
ReplyDeleteI’m going to respond about the difficulty I am having writing the paper about 2 songs. I have researched a couple different groups based out of Germany. As I am from Germany, I want to focus on a rock band from that country. My problem is creating an argument for the songs I chosen. I fear without a proper argument and claim; my audience will sense my lack of research skills and doubt my evidence as soft reason. I’m hoping I can create an argument soon, as this paper’s due date is right around the corner! Any advice?
That response was written in class when we were provided time to respond. Since then, I have chosen two completely different songs and have used the advice provided by the students of our class, during our discussion of the responses, to create my claim. The paper then flowed quite easily from there. Thank you guys!
Rachel said:
ReplyDeleteI believe that William makes a very good point when saying that writing a paper is like having an argument with a family member or friend. You need good evidence and reason in an argument to win that argument as well as you need strong evidence and reason to write a good research paper.
I agree with Meghan and William that your conclusion does back up all of your facts. Because if your readers don't believe you, who will. It's one of the first steps that I learned when I wrote my first paper. Was to prove my facts and show the reader that I know what I am talking about and not someone just making things up.
ReplyDeleteI agree with William that every good research paper has both reason and evidence. I believe that in order to maintain credibility, a writer must provide examples and facts to back up their claims. Anyone can make a claim but in order for your readers to believe the facts that you are giving them, a writer must use examples.
ReplyDelete