If we think of an online review as an argument, the claim would be the rating (in this case, one star), and the evidence would be the text or images explaining why the user gave this rating (in this case, the fact that the vacuum burst into flames).

When an online review posts an image of a broken product alongside a 1-star review, the photograph and accompanying text is functioning as evidence. It is the proof that the author offers in support of their claim– that the product is not worth buying.

Recognizing how an author uses evidence in an argument can help us dive deeper into understanding its claims. As writers, the way we select, present, and elaborate on evidence is key to developing complex claims that speak to an audience.

Writers use different types of evidence based on their field of study and the claims made in that field. In the Fine Arts, a photographer might use features of an image to make an abstract claim about the nature of civilization; in education, a researcher might use previous published studies to make a specific claim about the importance of classroom management. Overall, what “counts” as evidence depends on who you are, who your audience is, and the nature of the academic conversation you’re joining.

In the social sciences as in the natural sciences, evidence is typically qualitative or quantitative data that has been collected in a scholarly way. For instance, a paper in Sociology might use survey data as evidence, while a Biology paper will likely offer research findings of a lab experiment.

In the humanities, “textual evidence” is the most common form of evidence used in academic writing. In arguments about literature, the evidence is typically quotations from the text at hand. As “facts of the text,” quotations serve as evidence for interpretive claims. In History papers, the evidence is typically some form of primary historical document–newspaper articles, diaries, court records, legislations, etc. These serve as the source texts upon which historians base interpretive claims. (Sometimes, Humanities papers will borrow methods from other disciplines to advance an interdisciplinary argument; for example, a cinema studies paper might use quantitative data about a film’s box office results in order to advance a claim about the film’s reception.)

However, in all these instances, the main thing to remember is that evidence is the raw data that is offered in support of an interpretive claim.

Here are some types of evidence you might encounter in different academic contexts:

Interpreting Evidence

What remains consistent no matter the discipline in which you are writing, however, is that evidence NEVER speaks for itself—you must integrate it into your own argument or claim and demonstrate that the evidence supports your thesis. In addition, be alert to evidence that seems to contradict your claims or offers a counterargument to it: rebutting that counterargument can be powerful evidence for your claim. You can also make evidence that isn’t there an integral part of your argument, too. If you can’t find the evidence you think you need, ask yourself why it seems to be lacking, or if its absence adds a new dimension to your thinking about the topic. Remember, evidence is not the piling up of facts or quotes: evidence is only one component of a strong, well supported, well argued, and well written composition.