Integrating Evidence into Your Argument

So you have your evidence. Now, how do you put that evidence into your writing? Basically there are two ways to do it: direct quote or paraphrase.

(1) Direct Quote

If some of the exact words from the text will make your evidence stronger, then quote those directly, but be sure to put quotation marks around the part that is word-for-word from the text. If you don't, it's plagiarism. Also, only quote the section that is going to help your argument; this is better than including long passages from the text.

By the way, we call it a quote because you are quoting someone else's exact words, even if they are written. You might think of a quote as something a person says out loud (and therefore gets put in quotation marks), but it works the same way if you are quoting someone else's written words, like from an article that they wrote.

Suppose you was to convince parents to cut down on the snacks they give their kids. You read a blog post by dietitian Sarah Renner, and found this paragraph:

I often hear parents say that their kids are "grazers" rather than "meal eaters." In other words, their kids like to snack for most of the day and don't often eat much at meal times. This can be very frustrating for parents. Snacks tend to be less nutritious than meal foods, and they also tend to be eaten on the go, instead of at the table in a non-distracted environment. When snacks are available all of the time, kids won't have the chance to work up an appetite for meals (which tend to be more nutritionally balanced). Kids should be given 2-3 hours between eating opportunities so that they can establish an appetite and distinguish what it feels like to be either hungry or comfortably full.

You'd like to use some of this paragraph to support the idea that frequent snacking can be bad for your kids, but quoting the while paragraph would be letting Sarah write the essay for you! Instead, write your own ideas, supported with one direct quote from the expert:

Another reason snacks should be limited for kids is because it makes their overall daily intake less nutritious. Snacks fill them up, so they don't eat as much of their healthy meals. Registered dietitian, Sarah Renner explains it in this way, "When snacks are available all of the time, kids won't have the chance to work up an appetite for meals (which tend to be more nutritionally balanced)." So it stands to reason that cutting back on snacks will make it more likely that kids will eat more at regular times, and this will improve their overall nutrition.

(2) Paraphrase

When you paraphrase someone else's ideas, you are summarizing what they said, rather than quoting their exact words. Suppose you wanted to paraphrase Sarah Renner's point rather than quoting her directly. Using the same paragraph as above, here is how you would paraphrase her:

Another reason snacks should be limited for kids is because it makes their overall daily intake less nutritious. Snacks fill them up, so they don't eat as much of their healthy meals. Registered dietitian, Sarah Renner points out that snacks are often less healthy and balanced than regular meals, and if kids constantly snack, they never really get hunry for meals. So it stands to reason that cutting back on snacks will make it more likely that kids will eat more at regular times, and this will improve their overall nutrition.

Putting it All Together

Now it's time to weave those direct quotes or paraphrased information into your pargraphs. A simple way is to do this is to follow the claim-evidence-reasoning pattern.

CER

Styling Your Language

Here are some ways you can weave evidence and reasoning into your paragraphs.

evidence starters

Now go to your body paragraphs and be sure to structure them using the claim-evidence-reasoning pattern.