Unit 4 Tutorials: Persuasive Writing

INSIDE UNIT 4

Writing to Persuade

ENG1010: The Skills in Unit 4

Persuasion in Writing
Rhetorical Appeals
Using Counterarguments
Persuasive Topics and Thesis Statements
Supporting a Persuasive Thesis
Writing to Persuade Effectively

Integrating Research

Accurate and Ethical Use of Sources to Persuade

Evaluating Sources
Applying Evidence
Analyzing Evidence

ENG1010: The Skills in Unit 4

by Sophia Tutorial

 WHAT'S COVERED

In this lesson, you will learn how persuasive writing strengthens your communication, innovation, and
technology skills. Specifically, this lesson will cover:
1. Skills in This Unit
2. Using Skills in Persuasive Writing

1. Skills in This Unit

As you begin this fourth and final unit, you will explore the skills in relation to persuasive writing. You will

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practice rhetorical appeals, counterarguments, and ethically incorporating sources. To successfully complete
these tasks, you will rely on the skills you already have, which will be strengthened as you write to persuade
others. You will begin to understand how you can use these skills to make choices that will benefit you now
and in the future. You will look deeper at how improving your skills can help you continuously review some of
your choices and make changes as necessary.

In particular, we will focus on the following:

Communication

Using rhetorical appeals

Writing effective arguments
Analyzing evidence

Innovation

Developing counterarguments

Technology

Using sources accurately and ethically

Throughout the unit, be on the lookout for various call outs to help you better see the connections between
the skills and the course content.

2. Using Skills in Persuasive Writing

As you’ll discover as you work through this unit, you will use your communication, innovation, and technology
skills throughout the process of persuasive writing. You’ll practice persuasive writing techniques, such as
developing an effective thesis, which will make you a better communicator.

You’ll also consider counterarguments, forcing you to think outside the box and strengthen your innovation
skill. Finally, you’ll take advantage of modern technology to find and evaluate sources to back up your
argument.

 SUMMARY

In this lesson, you explored how communication, innovation, and technology are the skills in this unit.
These skills are useful in persuasive writing, as they can help you construct a convincing argument
with credible evidence. As you continue through the final unit of this course, you’ll see specific details
about incorporating these skills as a writer.

Best of luck in your learning!

 TERMS TO KNOW

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Communication Skill
A skill that helps you effectively write about information, your ideas, and your perspective.

Innovation Skill
A skill that helps you use strategies to develop your ideas and create change.

Technology Skill
A skill that helps you use digital tools and devices to document your writing efficiently and effectively.

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Persuasion in Writing
by Sophia Tutorial

 WHAT'S COVERED

In this lesson, you will learn about the requirements and conventions of persuasive writing, and how
to approach this type of writing. You’ll also discover how persuasive writing strengthens your
communication skill. Specifically, this lesson will cover:
1. Overview of Persuasive Writing
2. Modes of Persuasion
3. Rhetorical Appeals

1. Overview of Persuasive Writing

The primary form of academic writing is driven by argument, or a clear position on a debatable question that
is supported with evidence and reasoning. In an academic context, an argument doesn't refer to fighting,
which sometimes comes to mind when the word is mentioned.

When discussing writing, it's instead useful to think of an argument as a conversation between thoughtful
people who, although they have different views, want to answer the same questions.

The components of successful academic arguments include:

A clear, focused thesis on a debatable question

Support consisting of reasoning, credible research, and evidence
A discussion of counterarguments
Use of rhetorical appeals

Being able to identify the components of an argument is not only a useful skill, it is necessary for anyone who
wants to master written communication. Readers who understand what an argument is (including its structure,
components, and assumptions), and what particular arguments are trying to convince them to accept, derive
the most benefit from what they read.
By identifying the components of an argument, you can analyze its effectiveness. Instead of just being
convinced or unconvinced (perhaps without understanding why), you'll be able to evaluate arguments
critically. You won't be misled by elegant phrasing or false logic.

 TERM TO KNOW

Argument
In writing, a clear position on a debatable question that is supported with evidence and reasoning.

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2. Modes of Persuasion
Although persuasive writing sometimes incorporates other modes of writing (e.g., the persuasive or
informative modes), all essays or reports that present an argument are considered persuasive or
argumentative.

The persuasive mode is similar to the argumentative: Both of these writing modes seek to influence readers to
accept an assertion or take a particular action. The persuasive mode, however, emphasizes pathos (appeals
to readers' emotions) more than ethos (appeals to readers' sense of right and wrong) or logos (appeals to
logic and reasoning).

Note, however, that persuasive writing can and should make use of all three types of appeals. The goal of
persuasive writing is to persuade your audience to take some sort of action; while some forms of
argumentative writing share this goal, argumentative writing may also simply aim to demonstrate the validity
of a particular viewpoint without convincing the audience to act in a particular way as a result of hearing the
argument.

Writing in the informative mode does not argue a specific point, but instead provides information about a
subject. This sometimes involves analysis and interpretation, however, which require a form of argumentation.
Since the purpose of informative writing is to inform—not to convince or persuade—this mode is a different
kind of writing with different requirements.

The following paragraph is an excerpt from an essay. As you read it, look for elements of persuasive,
argumentative, and informative writing.

Part of the reason why Hawaii seems like such a paradise is that it's not home to many of nature's
less pleasant organisms: no nettles or poison ivy, few thorny plants or poisonous plants, no snakes
or apex predators. Until humans arrived, Hawaii was a paradise for many organisms. But now that
rats, cats, sheep, pigs, and invasive vines, trees, and grasses have been introduced, the ecosystem
that had been at stasis for so long is slowly and steadily becoming more like that of the continental
United States (Harjo, 2005). Steps have been initiated to prevent, as much as possible, the infiltration
of yet unidentified species from entering the island. Projects are also in place to protect endangered
birds and turtles. However, more should be done to better re-establish the delicate and rare
ecosystem Hawaii once had. The measures being taken are merely the start of what needs to be a
more thought-out process of deliberate actions and interactions with both agencies, tourists, and
relocating individuals and families.

Multiple modes of writing are used in this excerpt. The writer attempts to inform the reader about the subject,
but he also takes—and supports—a position. In addition, the persuasive mode is evident at the end of the
excerpt, when the writer makes a logical appeal as to why additional action needs to be taken in order to
restore Hawaii’s fragile ecosystem.

 BIG IDEA

The lines between the different modes of writing can be crossed. In fact, those lines are blurred to some
extent in most essays and reports. Therefore, most argumentative writing incorporates some elements of the

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persuasive and informative modes.

3. Rhetorical Appeals
Rhetorical appeals are strategies used in writing that are designed to persuade or convince the reader. There
are three types of rhetorical appeals, which you will learn more about in the next lesson.

For now, here is a brief description of each:

Pathos is used to convince readers by evoking their sympathy or compassion for the claims that are
made. Pathos can be used unethically, especially when it is not balanced by evidence and reason.
Ethos bases appeals on credibility. Although the term used to refer only to the credibility or character of
the writer (or speaker), modern ethos-based arguments are likely to rely on the credibility and
trustworthiness of the information sources used in an essay.
Logos bases appeals on logic and reasoning. Logos-based arguments use facts and evidence to support
logical claims. This form of appeal is the primary focus of many argumentative essays.

Note that most instances of persuasive and argumentative writing use all three forms of appeal in one way or
another.

Communication: Skill Tip

You’ll continue practicing your communication skill by drafting your persuasive message so that it
appeals to your audience’s emotions as well as their logic. When you inspire people on an emotional
level, they are more motivated to act. That’s why it is important to remember who your audience is
and what your purpose is—so you can effectively appeal to your readers and drive your main points
home. By continuing to build your ideas around credible evidence, you’ll also solidify readers’ trust in
your point of view. Learning to align the power of emotion with rock-solid evidence to support your
writing will make your communication unforgettable—now and throughout your career.

 BIG IDEA

Imagine serving 20 years in prison for a crime you didn’t commit. That’s exactly what happened to Derrick
Hamilton. The chance for exoneration looked looked slim until Hamilton decided to put the power of his
words into play. In this Sophia Story, you’ll hear how Hamilton used his communication skill to write his way to
freedom.

 TERM TO KNOW

Rhetorical Appeal
A strategy used in writing that is designed to persuade or convince the reader.

 SUMMARY

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In this lesson, you received an overview of persuasive writing. Persuasive writing takes a clear
position on a debatable question and backs up claims with evidence and reasoning. You then learned
that there are different modes of persuasion. This means that persuasive writing often incorporates
elements from the argumentative and informative modes of writing. Persuasive writing also requires
the use of rhetorical appeals, which are strategies that you can use to try and convince your readers
of your position. Finally, you discovered how persuasive writing strengthens your communication skill.

Best of luck in your learning!

 TERMS TO KNOW

Argument
In writing, a clear position on a debatable question that is supported with evidence and reasoning.

Rhetorical Appeal
A strategy used in writing that is designed to persuade or convince the reader.

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Rhetorical Appeals
by Sophia Tutorial

 WHAT'S COVERED

In this lesson, you will learn about the three main rhetorical appeals and how to deploy them
effectively in persuasive writing. Specifically, this lesson will cover:
1. Types of Rhetorical Appeals
a. Logos
b. Ethos
c. Pathos
2. Using the Appeals Effectively

1. Types of Rhetorical Appeals

Recall that rhetorical appeals are strategies used in writing that are designed to persuade or convince. You
can use these categories of convincing strategies to describe the various ways that you try to reach out to
your readers and appeal to them so that they will agree with you and trust your arguments.

There are three main rhetorical appeals:

Logos
Ethos
Pathos

These tools can help you as a writer strengthen your arguments and become more successful and convincing.
1a. Logos

Appeals to logos are appeals to logic; these appeals use logic to persuade or convince. When you appeal to
logic, you appeal to your reader’s intelligence, intellect, and understanding of the world.

Logos is thus meant to support your central argument with claims that are based in fact, reason, and logic.

IN CONTEXT
If you are trying to convince someone to buy your used car, you might use logos to appeal to the
potential buyer by describing the miles per gallon that your car gets, how reliable it is, or what its
safety crash rating is—all to show that it is a smart choice for the potential buyer.

Or imagine you’re taking a writing class, and you’ve been assigned a persuasive paper. If you’ve
chosen to make the argument that high school should start later in the day, you might appeal to

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logos by providing research that shows that the teenage brain works best later in the day, or by
giving a hypothetical example of a student who gets to sleep in a little later and performs better in
class because of it. In those ways, you’d be providing data and reasoning to show your reader that
your position in this debate is the smartest one, the best one to believe.

 TERM TO KNOW

Logos
An appeal to logic; uses logic and factual information in order to persuade or convince.

1b. Ethos

Appeals to ethos are appeals to ethics and credibility; these appeals use the author’s own trustworthiness to
persuade or convince. When you appeal in this way to ethics, you demonstrate that you—and your expert
sources—are believable and trustworthy because you’re credible.

In other words, you’re basically making an appeal to your readers to trust in your believability. You’re making
the claim that you are ethical and trustworthy, and therefore, that your research and opinions ought to be
believed.

Ethos is meant to support your thesis by asserting that your claim is backed up by trustworthy research, uses
valid and credible expert sources, and has ethically considered all possible arguments before choosing a side.

IN CONTEXT
Imagine that you’re taking an economics course, and your final assignment is to argue policy on a
particular energy sector. You might use an appeal to ethos by demonstrating that your position is
backed by ethical, neutral sources. For example, maybe you’re going to argue against subsidies for
the coal industry. In appealing to ethos, you would use nonpartisan, non-biased sources of
information, not just data directly from the coal lobby or from its opponents. You would respond to
counterarguments reasonably and ethically, and you would vouch for the trustworthiness of your
sources by explaining who and what they are.

Or, if you’re holding a fundraiser, you might encourage people to donate by making an appeal to
ethos, arguing that your charity is more deserving than others because of the way it uses its funds.
You could present its internal statistics, showing the percentage of donated funds that directly
support the cause. This would show your potential donors that your organization can be trusted to
ethically allocate its donations.

 TERM TO KNOW

Ethos
An appeal to ethics; uses ethical guidelines and credibility in order to persuade or convince.

1c. Pathos

Appeals to pathos are appeals to emotion; these appeals evoke emotion to persuade or convince. When you
appeal to pathos, you appeal to your reader’s emotional feeling.

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Pathos is thus meant to cause your readers to feel the emotions you want them to feel, such as anger,
sadness, or excitement in order to cause them to believe that your thesis is valid.

IN CONTEXT
If you need a day off work and you’re trying to get a colleague to cover your shift, you might appeal
to emotion by describing why you want the day off, telling your colleague excitedly that your mom is
coming to visit and you can’t wait to see her. Showing your excitement appeals to your colleague’s
emotions and will hopefully encourage him to switch shifts.

Or imagine you’re writing a cover letter for a job. You want this job badly because it has long been
your dream to work in a field where you can provide support for a community that you are
passionately engaged with. You might include language like that in your letter, causing the reader to
feel passionate about your candidacy as well and give you an interview.

 TERM TO KNOW

Pathos
An appeal to emotion; evokes emotions in order to persuade or convince.

2. Using the Appeals Effectively

Now that you’ve had a taste of these three appeals, you can think about how you can use them most
effectively. You want to start by thinking about the purpose of your argument.

IN CONTEXT
Politicians want citizens to vote for them, so they use these kinds of argumentative tools to
encourage those votes and thereby meet their ultimate purpose of getting elected. In your own
writing, you’ll likely use a variety of these appeals as well, deploying different ones for different
situations and audiences.

For instance, if you’re writing a paper advocating for an end to the death penalty, you might use
many different appeals to connect all possible readers. Some people would be more convinced by
facts about the way the death penalty is imposed, and others by the credibility of your ethical
argumentation. Still others will be most convinced by emotional appeals that ask them to consider
how this policy makes people feel.

However, it’s important to choose wisely because for every reader convinced by one appeal, another might
be repelled by the same. A misused or mistimed appeal can lose you your argument, so you’ll want to follow
these steps to effectively deploy appeals:

 STEP BY STEP

1. First, consider your audience: Appeals to logic might not go over well for an audience expecting to hear

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personal experiences; the lack of emotional appeal could be read as insensitive. In contrast, overly-
emotional writing in an academic setting might seem a little unprofessional.
2. Second, consider how often to make each appeal: Used sparingly and selectively, each of these types of
appeals can have huge impacts, but too many can fatigue your readers.

In particular, appeals to emotion should be used carefully. Using too many emotional appeals can cause a
host of unintended consequences:

Readers might feel manipulated.

Readers might become bored by hearing about emotions that they just aren’t feeling, and stop reading.
Readers might begin to perceive that the writer is being self-righteous or even moralizing.

Thus, be strategic when you select your emotional appeals.

 TRY IT

See if you can recognize the rhetorical appeals in action in the following three writing samples. Read them
and decide which appeal each one is using.

All across this country, students are making the hard choice to go into debt or drop out of school.
For many years, higher education was accessible to everyone who wanted it. But the rising cost of
college is restricting this vital tool to only those most privileged and lucky. Shouldn't all students
have the chance to gain the skills and experience they need to fulfill their own version of the
American Dream? We must all join together to create change, lowering the cost of college and giving
everyone the education that is our birthright.

Student debt has reached an all-time high. Current data from the Institute for College Access and
Success shows that the average college student leaves higher education with an average of
$28,950 in debt, and that, over the last 10 years, the amount of college debt held by students has
risen at more than double the rate of inflation. These statistics show that student debt is growing
disproportionately and is unsustainable, which indicates that something must be done to reduce the
cost of higher education.

Currently, many students can only earn an education by taking on what the Pew Charitable Trust, a
nonpartisan think tank, calls “unsustainable debt.” Thus, it would be wise for the United States to
lower the cost of college. Some worry about the effect such policies could have on the nation's debt.
This is a fair concern, as the national debt is a burden we all share. Yet what that argument misses is
that a more educated populace will be more prosperous, so spending money on education is an
investment in the future. With more education, our citizens will be better able to solve problems, be
more self-sustaining, and contribute more taxes toward paying down debt.

The first is an appeal to emotion. You know this not just because it likely makes you feel sad and angry,
although your own feelings as a reader are clues. But you also know this is an appeal to pathos because you
can see a lot of emotional words, and words that have strongly emotional connotations:

All across this country, students are making the hard choice to go into debt or drop out of school.

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For many years, higher education was accessible to everyone who wanted it. But the rising cost of
college is restricting this vital tool to only those most privileged and lucky. Shouldn't all students
have the chance to gain the skills and experience they need to fulfill their own version of the
American Dream? We must all join together to create change, lowering the cost of college and
giving everyone the education that is our birthright.

Looking for those elements of a text’s tone can help you see what kind of appeal it’s making. Words such as
“vital,” “privileged,” “lucky,” “birthright”—those are evocative emotional clues that this is an appeal to pathos.

The second example has a pretty different tone from the first, even though it’s covering the same topic. Look
at all that data and the even, unemotional tone of the language:

Student debt has reached an all-time high. Current data from the Institute for College Access and
Success shows that the average college student leaves higher education with an average of
$28,950 in debt, and that, over the last 10 years, the amount of college debt held by students has
risen at more than double the rate of inflation. These statistics show that student debt is growing
disproportionately and is unsustainable, which indicates that something must be done to reduce the
cost of higher education.

Those factors tell you that this is using logos to make an appeal to your logic.

The last example again takes a different tone; it’s full of ethos. See how the author presents the claim using
trustworthy sources, responds considerately to the opposing side, and concludes with a logical and credible
argument about how his proposal will play out in the future?

Currently, many students can only earn an education by taking onwhat the Pew Charitable Trust, a
nonpartisan think tank, calls “unsustainable debt.” Thus, it would be wise for the United States to
lower the cost of college. Some worry about the effect such policies could have on the nation's debt.
This is a fair concern, as the national debt is a burden we all share.Yet what that argument misses
is that a more educated populace will be more prosperous, so spending money on education is an
investment in the future. With more education, our citizens will be better able to solve problems,
be more self-sustaining, and contribute more taxes toward paying down debt.

This shows that the argument itself is credible and that the author can be trusted to tell the truth and
represent any data honestly.

 SUMMARY

In this lesson, you learned that rhetorical appeals are strategies used in writing for the purpose of
persuading or convincing the reader. There are three main types of rhetorical appeals: Logos
appeals to logic, using facts to persuade or convince; ethos appeals to ethics, using trustworthiness
to persuade or convince; pathos appeals to emotions, evoking certain feelings to persuade or
convince.

You also learned how to use these appeals effectively. It’s important to consider your audience, as

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what’s appropriate in one context may not be appropriate in another. You should also use appeals
sparingly and selectively; an overuse of appeals (particularly emotional ones) can actually make your
writing less believable.

Best of luck in your learning!

 TERMS TO KNOW

Ethos
An appeal to ethics; uses ethical guidelines and credibility in order to persuade or convince.

Logos
An appeal to logic; uses logic and factual information in order to persuade or convince.

Pathos
An appeal to emotion; evokes emotions in order to persuade or convince.

Rhetorical Appeal
A strategy used in writing that is designed to persuade or convince the reader.

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Using Counterarguments
by Sophia Tutorial

 WHAT'S COVERED

In this lesson, you will learn about the role of counterarguments in persuasive composition, and how
to introduce and refute them in an essay. By analyzing counterarguments, you will be strengthening
your innovation skill. Specifically, this lesson will cover:
1. Counterarguments in Writing
2. Introducing and Refuting Counterarguments
3. Examples of Counterarguments

1. Counterarguments in Writing
In the context of an academic argument, a counterargument is a representation of an opposing viewpoint or
argument. Counterarguments are a key component of classical argumentation, but they are also commonly
used in other types of argumentation.

Just as there can be more than one argument on a topic, there can be more than one counterargument to a
specific thesis. Although it may seem counterintuitive, writers should choose the best—the toughest—
counterarguments to address in their essays. Including counterarguments without your refutations of them will
not strengthen your writing project.

In short essays or reports, it is standard practice to devote a paragraph to a counterargument. In longer works
writers may need to address several counterarguments and use many paragraphs to do so. Small, focused
counterarguments are sometimes addressed in a sentence or two (or less) throughout an essay.

IN CONTEXT
As an example, here is a short passage that quickly introduces and refutes two counterarguments:

We shouldn't fight the development of genetically-modified food crops because this is the wave of
the future. Though some find the idea of man-made plants and animals frightening, this is real life,
not science fiction. We cannot allow fear to prevent scientific progress because if we don't make
these advances, someone else will. Those who advocate for restricting GMO research in the United
States will not stop the future from happening. All they can do is make sure that Americans don't
profit from it.

When introducing counterarguments, you can use direct quotes, paraphrases, or summaries from sources that
take the counterargument's position. Conversely, you can use hypothetical situations and representative
examples, as in the preceding passage.

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 BIG IDEA

Addressing a counterargument is a sophisticated way for writers to demonstrate the depth and strength of
their thoughts and knowledge about a topic and thesis.

 TERM TO KNOW

Counterargument
In persuasive and argumentative composition, a representation of an opposing viewpoint or argument.

2. Introducing and Refuting Counterarguments

When incorporating counterarguments into essays, writers sometimes make one of three kinds of mistakes:

1. Possibly the easiest mistake to make is to oversimplify or mischaracterize the opposing view. This mistake
is called the straw man fallacy. To avoid this mistake, imagine the person who holds the opposing
viewpoint and ask yourself whether that person would agree with the way you are presenting their idea,
even if they disagree with your conclusion. If your answer is “yes,” you have almost certainly represented
the opposing viewpoint accurately and ethically.
2. Another mistake is when writers attack someone who holds the counter-viewpoint, rather than the
counter-viewpoint itself. This is called the ad hominem fallacy. To avoid this, focus on opposing ideas, not
on the person or people who express those ideas.
3. Finally, writers sometimes focus so much of their attention on the opposing position that they fail to
support their own position adequately. Even though you must devote a fair amount of time and space to
counterarguments, your main goal must be to show the validity of your thesis. Don't forget to conclude
the section on counterarguments with assertions, reasoning, proof, or other support for your argument's
validity, even though those who agree with the counterarguments likely disagree with you.

Innovation: Skill Tip

Generally, when writing or speaking persuasively, we tend to focus completely on supporting our
argument. While this is effective, we need to be prepared for counterarguments in order to effectively
persuade someone. Otherwise, we’ll be caught off guard and less likely to persuade others. Thinking
through counterarguments requires one to think outside the box, strengthening the innovation skill.

3. Examples of Counterarguments
Following are some examples of how counterarguments can be used, for better or worse. Suppose you are
writing an essay that argues the following thesis:

Requiring labeling of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) in food will unfairly impact businesses

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and spread misinformation.

There are certainly those who will disagree with this position, so if you want to construct an effective
argument, you must introduce and refute some of the counterarguments. You should not, however, do it like
this:

Some people hate GMOs because they don't understand science. Rather, they're just happy to jump
on any bandwagon that labels things “unnatural.” The “unnatural” part makes the least sense
because lots of natural things will kill you, like diseases and poisonous plants. Clearly, these people
are just idiots who are happy to be uninformed.

This example illustrates why the ad hominem fallacy must be avoided in writing. If you want to convince
people who don't agree with your position, insulting them is the best way to ensure that you will fail to do so.
The following paragraph also deals with a possible counterargument. It has problems as well, though they are
less obvious than in the previous example.

Those in favor of labeling refer to GMOs as “Frankenfoods,” an evocative name that calls up Victor
Frankenstein's famous monster and his use of science to meddle with the laws of nature. They argue
that we have been given a planet capable of producing ample, healthy food and that the only reason
to monkey with nature is corporate greed. I disagree, because GMOs feed the world.

This paragraph makes better use of a counterargument than the first example, though it is vague. The biggest
problem in this example is that the paragraph hasn't done anything to refute the counterargument. Simply
stating that GMOs feed the world does not counter the use of the term “Frankenfoods.” Without support of
some kind (e.g., evidence), it doesn't effectively refute the argument that the planet is capable of feeding the
human population without GMOs.

Next, consider the following paragraph and its use of a counterargument.

Many disagree with my position. The most common refrain from the opposing side is that consumers
have a right to know what is in their food. Indeed, some even admit that, nutritionally, there seem to
be few negatives and potentially some positives to GMOs. Yet they also express concerns about the
environmental impact and lack of corporate oversight. I concede that we should consider the
environmental impact, but I also feel that fears about evil corporations are overblown. Corporations
are the backbone of the American economy, and they are strongly regulated by the U.S.
government. Furthermore, the American public remains uninformed on this subject. Slapping GMO
labels on food products will not improve their understanding but, paradoxically, may cause
consumers to panic before they inform themselves on the facts behind GMOs.

This paragraph represents the opposing viewpoint with respect, and effectively explains why—even in light of
the counterargument—the argument's thesis (that GMO food products should not be labeled) is valid.

 SUMMARY

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In this lesson, you learned about the use of counterarguments in writing, which are representations
of an opposing viewpoint or argument. There are good and bad ways to introduce and refute
counterarguments, as you saw demonstrated through several examples of counterarguments in
action. When responding to counterarguments, it's important to avoid logical fallacies in which you
either insult your opposition or fail to address the actual counterargument. Instead, successful
refutations will involve respectfully demonstrating how your position remains valid despite the points
raised by the counterargument. Finally, you explored the connection between innovation and writing
counterarguments.

Best of luck in your learning!

 TERMS TO KNOW

Counterargument
In persuasive and argumentative composition, a representation of an opposing viewpoint or argument.

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Persuasive Topics and Thesis Statements
by Sophia Tutorial

 WHAT'S COVERED

In this lesson, you will learn about appropriate topics and thesis statements for persuasive writing,
and what differentiates them from these components in other types of writing. Specifically, this lesson
will cover:
1. Persuasive Topics
2. Introduction to Persuasive Thesis Statements
3. Sample Persuasive Thesis Statements

1. Persuasive Topics
When beginning an argument or research paper, writers should choose a topic that interests them and that
has an appropriate scope for the time and space allowed for the essay or report. Writers should also choose
topics that are debatable. A debatable topic involves an issue about which people can argue, differ in
opinion, or disagree.

Topics must be debatable because the priority of academic writing is to participate in a broad, scholarly
conversation and contribute to a body of knowledge, neither of which is possible when the question being
answered isn't debatable. An easy way to ensure that your question is debatable is to choose a topic on
which at least two positions can be taken. Many topics encompass even more than two perspectives.

IN CONTEXT
Animal abuse would be a difficult topic to write an effective research paper about because it is very
broad. Unless the topic is focused to a more specific area, it won't be possible to identify two clear
positions.

Compare this broad topic to one that is more specific: animal cruelty in the food industry. With this
tighter focus, it's easier to identify positions on the topic. These range from those who believe that
eating meat is fine but funding factory farms is wrong, to those who eat meat and don't care about
how it is produced, to vegetarians and many other positions.

The topics you choose make a big difference, not only in terms of the arguments that can be made and
positions that can be taken, but in the types of argumentative research essays that result from them.

 EXAMPLE A debatable topic would be whether or not the U.S. government should tax soft drinks
containing sugar. Many people disagree on this topic, and it has a number of possible sides, both pro and
con.

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Non-debatable topics can only lead to arguments that aren't worth having.

 EXAMPLE A non-debatable topic would be whether or not soda is a liquid. There’s only one position
to take on this topic: Yes, soda is a liquid. This isn’t a topic about which reasonable people can disagree.

 THINK ABOUT IT

What is the difference between the following two topics:

Are romance novels books?
Do romance novels create unrealistic expectations about romantic relationships?

The first topic isn’t debatable; a rational person can only answer “yes” to this question. However, the second
topic might elicit disagreement among people: Some people would probably respond by indicating that they
don't believe that romance novels cause harm; readers of romance novels might argue that they don't create
any unrealistic expectations; people who worry about the impact of these novels on impressionable readers
might argue that they do create false expectations about relationships.

Your thesis statement should take a side on a debatable topic; it should not just state a fact.

2. Introduction to Persuasive Thesis Statements

Like other forms of academic writing, persuasive essays or reports must include a clear, focused thesis. A
persuasive thesis statement must make a strong claim about a worthwhile debate in order to convince the
reader to take a specific action. The thesis statement is different from the topic, which is broader. The thesis
statement requires you to choose a side in the debate initiated by the topic.

To move from the broad topic of an essay or report to a clear, focused thesis statement, ask questions at the
beginning of the writing process when you begin to define your thesis. You can come up with some potential
research questions based on your topic.

Consider the following example, in which a topic of “global warming” has been selected.

Topic: Global warming

This is a good start, but because it is a broad topic, it needs to be focused. Which aspect of global
warming do you want to write about? You might focus on strategies to combat global warming.
Doing so might lead you to a research question like the following:

Research question: What are some of the ways to combat global warming?

Based on that research question, you might develop a working thesis statement like this:

Working thesis: Humans can reduce global warming by making choices that benefit the
environment.

Once you've drafted a working thesis statement, ask yourself questions about it to make sure that it works for

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a persuasive writing project and fulfills your intended purpose:

What is the intended effect of this thesis? Do you want readers to take action? Do you want them to
understand something? Are you trying to convince them of something? Does your thesis reflect your
intent?
What is the scope of this thesis? Make sure that the topic and thesis you've chosen are broad enough to
write an essay or report about, but not too big for your assignment (e.g., a topic that might require book-
length consideration). Also be sure that the topic is not too small for your writing project. A topic that is
too focused can limit the amount of available research that supports your argument.
Have I taken a clear position on one side of a debatable topic? Once you've brainstormed and drafted a
working thesis, use it to guide your research, outlining, and drafting processes. Feel free to adjust your
thesis as needed. Doing so is not a sign of a faulty thesis, but of your evolving ideas and opinions about
the subject. It's a sign that you're learning as you work—that's a good thing.

3. Sample Persuasive Thesis Statements

In a persuasive essay or report, the thesis statement makes the central argument that is supported by the rest
of the composition.

 TRY IT

Here are three thesis statements. Which are persuasive and which aren’t? Read them and decide.

Thesis #1: Mangoes are a fruit common to the South Asian subcontinent but beloved worldwide.

Thesis #2: The international treaties governing mango imports and exports have wide-ranging effects on the
mango industry.

Thesis #3: International treaties governing mango imports and exports should be improved to allow for
greater access to mangoes in the United States.

The first thesis statement is not persuasive. Notice that it makes a statement of fact; the claim is not debatable.
This thesis would be better for an informative essay.

The second thesis statement, though it involves a topic that appears more controversial, is also not
persuasive. It’s hard to imagine that anyone would disagree with this statement, as international treaties
certainly affect the industries they govern. That’s what they’re designed to do. This thesis is better suited for
an informative essay that would explain what these treaties are and how they function.

The third thesis statement is, in fact, persuasive. Notice the use of the word “should” in this thesis. That’s a
clue that tells you this thesis is advocating for action to be taken—someone should do something. You
immediately know that this is a persuasive claim because you might argue that readers should do what it says,
while someone else might disagree.

Now, consider the following short essay that is missing a thesis statement:

Mass campaigns against smoking have reduced the numbers of smokers in the United States

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drastically. Yet some still smoke, leading many to wonder how to further reduce these numbers.

Smoking harms our health and well-being. Smoking directly damages lungs and tissues, and
negatively affects the psyche through powerful addiction. And secondhand smoke can be just as
dangerous. Smoking is thus dangerous for all.

Strict regulations have reduced the amount of smokers in this country. Cigarette taxes can make the
cost of cigarettes prohibitively high. Though the efficacy of such policies is debatable, to further
incentivize quitting, cigarette taxes should be increased.

Beyond simply reducing smokers, increased taxes can be used on research, education, and
outreach. This can fund programs focused on curing cancer and campaigns teaching youth about
the dangers of tobacco. These programs can be very beneficial.

 TRY IT

Here are two potential thesis statements that you can use to fill in the blank space after the first paragraph.
Read them and decide which one is more effective for a persuasive essay:

Thesis #1: Many people debate the merits of increasing the cigarette tax.

Thesis #2: Voting to increase cigarette taxes will benefit smokers and non-smokers alike.

The first thesis statement introduces the topic that is discussed in the essay. It indicates that there is a debate,
but does it make an argument about that debate or take a side? No, it does not. Thus, it’s not persuasive.

The second thesis statement, however, takes a side and provides a call to action. This statement stays on
topic, presents the debate, and then makes an argumentative claim that it wants readers to accept.

 SUMMARY

In this lesson, you learned what makes a good persuasive topic, and how to start with a topic to
develop a working thesis statement. You also received an introduction to persuasive thesis
statements, which are one of the most important components of persuasive writing. These types of
thesis statements must make a strong claim about a worthwhile debate in order to convince the
reader to take a particular action. Finally, you explored some sample persuasive thesis statements to
see how, when successful, they present the argument to readers in a clear and compelling way.

Best of luck in your learning!

© 2021 SOPHIA Learning, LLC. SOPHIA is a registered trademark of SOPHIA Learning, LLC. Page 21
Supporting a Persuasive Thesis
by Sophia Tutorial

 WHAT'S COVERED

In this lesson, you will learn about how a persuasive thesis statement is developed, as well as how
evidence can be used to support it. Specifically, this lesson will cover:
1. Thesis Development
2. Main Ideas and Claims
3. Evidence and Support
4. Thesis Support in Action

1. Thesis Development
Remember that a thesis is a single sentence that expresses the controlling idea of a written work. In other
words, the thesis is the core of the essay or report. It guides the goals and structure of the work by letting the
reader know what the writer will be discussing in the body paragraphs, and in what order.

Also remember that there is a significant difference between a thesis and a topic. A topic is the broad subject
of a written work, and can include multiple thesis statements. The thesis is a focused point or argument about
something within the topic.

IN CONTEXT
Suppose you were assigned the topic of parental leave policies. You wouldn't be able to write an
essay based on that topic—it's too broad. First, you must decide which aspect of parental leave
policies you want to write about or communicate to readers. You might, for example, make the
following statement:

Although many people assume that paid parental leave is a basic right in the United States, it is
actually not offered as universally as people think.

Here's another option:

In order to create and sustain a more equitable, diverse, and productive workplace, companies
should offer at least four months of paid parental leave to all employees who need it.

As you can see, these two thesis statements are very different, and are only related through their
very broad shared topic of parental leave.

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Once you've selected a topic and a thesis, you must support the thesis by developing your ideas effectively.
This is accomplished through a process of clearly articulating your ideas and supporting them with evidence
and reasoning throughout the essay.

So, when writers refer to development, they're not only referring to development of the essay or report as a
whole, but also to the process that takes place at the paragraph level. Paragraphs function like mini-essays:
Each of them contains their own main ideas, topic sentences, and support.

2. Main Ideas and Claims

To effectively state and support a thesis, most writing projects must also promote related points—points that,
together, prove or support the thesis. Recall that, in writing, these are called main ideas. A main idea is a point
or concept that drives one or more body paragraphs of an essay or report. Each main idea in an essay should
contribute to, or support, the thesis statement in some way.

A claim is a type of main idea in which the writer makes a statement that must be defended. A claim is an
assertion made by the writer. The thesis statement is thus the primary claim of the essay—the object of all of
the essay's support, ideas, and evidence.

A main idea, when coupled with a claim, is usually the controlling idea of the paragraph. When working on the
level of the paragraph, the main idea and the controlling idea are synonymous.

 HINT

A controlling idea is the core idea that drives the writing's goals and structure. Note that consecutive
paragraphs will sometimes focus on one controlling idea. This can be a sign of a complex and fully-realized
main idea. Don't worry if you find this happening in your writing.

 TERMS TO KNOW

Main Idea
In writing, a point or concept that drives one or more body paragraphs of an essay or other composition.

Claim
A type of main idea in which the writer makes a statement that must be defended.

3. Evidence and Support

The thesis statement is the main point of the essay or report, so it needs support in order to hold up. Support
refers to any evidence, logic, or other technique (e.g., clarification, expansion of ideas) that bolsters a
composition’s claims. The purpose of support isn't only to prove that a thesis is true, but also to explain or
strengthen the writing project’s main ideas.

Evidence is one of the most common forms of support. It is proof of the validity of a claim or claims, and can
include the following:

Facts and data

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Personal research
Citation of the research of others
Personal experience

 HINT

Even though some writers use the words “evidence” and “support” interchangeably, support is a broader term
that refers to any content used to directly strengthen the claim in the thesis.

Because essays and reports consist of paragraphs that use forms of support to back up the thesis, it's
important to consider paragraphs in order to understand the writing project as a whole. As mentioned above,
paragraphs are like miniature essays that include a topic sentence (i.e., the sentence that states the
paragraph's thesis) and support—usually evidence for the topic sentence.

 TERMS TO KNOW

Support
Any evidence, logic, or other technique that bolsters the claims in an essay or other piece of writing.

Evidence
Proof of the validity of a claim or claims.

4. Thesis Support in Action

Following are paragraphs from the same essay which demonstrate how an overall thesis might be introduced,
developed, and supported. This first paragraph serves as the essay's introduction:

If you have never had to navigate parental leave in the United States, you may not realize how
restrictive many current policies are. Mounting evidence suggests that parental leave is more than
just a “nice to have” benefit; it is essential to ensure that new parents have the same opportunities
and mobility in the workforce as other employees. In order to create and sustain a more equitable,
diverse, and productive workplace, companies should offer at least four months of paid parental
leave to all employees who need it.

The thesis appears as the last sentence of the paragraph: “In order to create and sustain a more equitable,
diverse, and productive workplace, companies should offer at least four months of paid parental leave to all
employees.”

Because of this thesis, we know that the main point and narrowed-down topic of the essay is that paid
parental leave is essential for workers, and we know that the main ideas related to that point are equity,
diversity, and productivity. That helps us to figure out what kind of evidence and support may be included in
this essay: Perhaps the essay will use data about the impacts of various leave policies, perhaps it will discuss
research from others who have investigated this topic, or perhaps it will include descriptions of personal
experience.

Now consider this next paragraph, keeping the essay's thesis in mind as you do:

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As the lack of paid parental leave disproportionately impacts women, paid leave policies will help
establish more equity in the workplace. Currently, there are several types of leave commonly
available for new parents. One of these is called short-term disability leave. While it can differ from
company to company depending on the type of insurance offered to employees, this type of leave
generally allows employees to take a few months of leave while still earning a portion of their salary.
Another common type of leave is called FMLA leave. Employees must have been at their workplace
for at least a year in order to be eligible for this type of leave. While the policy allows for up to 12
weeks of leave, the time is unpaid. The type of leave employees choose will depend on their
personal and family needs.

The topic sentence of this paragraph is “As the lack of paid parental leave disproportionately impacts women,
paid leave policies will help establish more equity in the workplace,” which means that the support in this
paragraph should focus on the main idea of equity mentioned in the thesis. So is the support here effective for
the main idea of the paragraph and the essay's thesis?

No, it is not. All of the sentences that come after the topic sentence are discussing common types of leave
offered to parents in the workplace. Even though this information is related to the broader topic of parental
leave, it does not belong in this essay. It does not support the idea that paid parental leave helps establish
equity (the main idea of this paragraph) and it does not support the overall claim of the thesis (that companies
should offer paid parental leave to all employees) because it does not address the relationship between
parental leave and equity, diversity, or productivity.

In order to better support the topic sentence, “As the lack of paid parental leave disproportionately impacts
women, paid leave policies will help establish more equity in the workplace," and to therefore better support
the thesis, here is a revised version of this paragraph:

As the lack of paid parental leave disproportionately impacts women, paid leave policies will help
establish more equity in the workplace. Too often, the restrictive leave policies that many companies
have in place force women to choose between caring for their children and furthering their careers.
Fully-paid leave that extends for several months, rather than weeks, creates a more sustainable path
forward for new parents, particularly women, who may end up not returning from leave due to the
rising costs of childcare. While it may not seem like an extra four months of pay would make a
difference when compared to long-term childcare costs, the research suggests otherwise. In a
benefits survey of employees who identify as female in a 500-person company located in the
southeastern United States, 85% of respondents stated that paid leave would guarantee they could
return to their jobs without incurring financial hardship (Arnold, 2020). By improving access to paid
parental leave, companies can take an important step in combating institutional gender
discrimination.

In this version of the paragraph, the support provided directly relates to both the topic sentence and thesis.
There are facts, such as how the lack of fully-paid leave results in many women not having an opportunity to
advance their careers, and that paid leave would help more employees feel they could afford to return to
work while managing the costs of childcare. These facts help to support the idea that one of the results of paid
parental leave is increased equity in the workplace.

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Additionally, the support in this paragraph supports the thesis, which lists equity as one of its main ideas.

 BIG IDEA

Need to feel persuaded that persuasive writing can make a difference? In this Sophia Story, fellow college
student Shelby Warlick delivers hard-earned proof. Shelby saw her persuasive writing assignment in class as
an opportunity to change an unfair employee evaluation policy at her job. Not only did Shelby use the same
writing process you’re learning to set things right, but she also discovered firsthand why solid sources help
you stand taller when you’re taking a stance.

 SUMMARY

In this lesson, you learned that thesis development is the process in which thesis statements are
represented throughout an essay or report by main ideas and claims, which are in turn backed up by
different kinds of support, such as evidence. You then looked at examples of thesis support in action
by reading an introductory and body paragraph from a sample essay.

Best of luck in your learning!

 TERMS TO KNOW

Claim
A type of main idea in which the writer makes a statement that must be defended.

Evidence
Proof of the validity of a claim or claims.

Main Idea
In writing, a point or concept that drives one or more body paragraphs of an essay or other composition.

Support
Any evidence, logic, or other technique that bolsters the claims in an essay or other piece of writing.

© 2021 SOPHIA Learning, LLC. SOPHIA is a registered trademark of SOPHIA Learning, LLC. Page 26
Writing to Persuade Effectively
by Sophia Tutorial

 WHAT'S COVERED

In this lesson, you will learn about the steps that writers must take to compose strong persuasive
writing. You’ll also consider how effective persuasive writing strengthens your communication skill.
Specifically, this lesson will cover:
1. Brainstorming and Prewriting
2. Conducting Research
3. Using Opinions
4. Drafting and Incorporating Research
5. Avoiding Plagiarism
6. Revising, Editing, and Proofreading

1. Brainstorming and Prewriting

Writing is a recursive process. Writers must often refer to the steps of the writing process throughout a writing
project:

Brainstorming and prewriting

Research and drafting
Revising
Editing
Proofreading

Brainstorming and prewriting, the first step in the process, is the time when writers think about their topics and
the purpose of their essays or reports, identify a working thesis, and determine the research they must do.
Topics are often assigned to student writers. When working with an assigned topic, students should
remember that a topic or focus is not the same as a thesis. Writers should choose topics and theses that are
debatable, and that include at least two perspectives.

Once you have determined your topic and thesis, you can start to determine the structure of your writing
project by creating an outline. Your detailed outline should include notes on what support you plan to use for
each component of the essay or report, so that you can use the outline as a reminder and guide during the
drafting process.

2. Conducting Research

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Writers of persuasive compositions must allow extra time to research their primary subjects before beginning
the process. They must take good research notes on source content and bibliographic data.

As you learned previously, all of this information can be organized in an annotated bibliography, which is a
document that includes bibliographic data on each source the writer plans to use, and brief notes on sources
and their possible use in the essay.

When researching, you also need to evaluate the credibility of each source while looking for quotations and
other information (i.e., points of agreement and disagreement, and nuanced differences between the
arguments).

The detailed outline should incorporate some of this information so that, during the drafting process, the writer
can refer to it and the annotated bibliography to determine which source she originally planned to use where,
and for what purpose.

3. Using Opinions
Opinions can help a writer demonstrate her engagement with and passion for a subject. Most thesis
statements begin with an opinion about a subject that has been developed and supported by research. It's
also common for writers of persuasive compositions to cite and use the opinions of other writers—as support
(through agreement) or to distinguish others' ideas from their own.

Because of the complicated nature of persuasion, it is important for writers to make it clear when they are
expressing an opinion rather than a fact.

IN CONTEXT
If, for instance, you were writing a persuasive essay about adoption, you might state the following
opinion:

It's important to protect children who are put up for adoption, but when couples, individuals, and
deserving children wait years for the bureaucratic wheels to turn and bring them together,
something must be changed.

Then, if you added a fact to support your argument, you would need to make it clear that that's what
you were doing, as shown below:

Though most adoptions in the U.S. take less than three months to finalize, exceptions abound,
including 10% that take a whopping two years, or more (Adoptive Families, 2014).

As a result of the objective tone and the parenthetical reference at the end of this last sentence, the
reader would understand that you were presenting this as a fact rather than your opinion.

4. Drafting and Incorporating Research

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Although it can be difficult to do so, it's important to incorporate research artfully during the drafting process.
When used well, research helps you to make your argument. Writers must thus avoid overusing quotations,
paraphrases, and summaries. Excessive use of the words and ideas of others can overwhelm your own words,
ideas, and points.

Here are several techniques that can enable you to use citations without losing your voice or perspective:

Select the most important parts of a source to quote, and use summaries and paraphrases to synthesize
and explain ideas, arguments, evidence, and points.
Use signal phrases and transitional phrases to situate quotes in your essay, and to surround them with
your own words and points.
Introduce and follow up quotations with your own words, making sure that you've explained how and why
the quotation relates to your argument.
Whenever possible, avoid using block quotations; use summaries or paraphrases instead.

Because of the need to effectively (and artfully) incorporate research, drafting a persuasive research essay or
report usually takes longer than drafting other types of academic writing. Writers often find that their opinions
on the subject, and even on the thesis, change during the writing of an initial draft, which sometimes prolongs
the process. However, changing opinions on a subject is an indicator of critical thinking, which is always a
good thing (even if it is sometimes inconvenient).
Outlines for persuasive research papers are useful guides that can help writers to avoid writer's block, but all
writers must remember that an outline is a guide, not a contract. It should be revised as needed to make the
best possible argument. Trust the writing process and remember that you'll have time to revise and edit more
than one draft.

5. Avoiding Plagiarism
Recall that plagiarism is the presentation of the words or ideas of another as your own. In an academic
context, this is cheating: It is unethical—and possibly illegal—in all contexts. To avoid plagiarism, writers of
persuasive research papers must carefully note and reference the sources they use.

There are two kinds of plagiarism:

Intentional plagiarism, in which a writer deliberately steals another writer's work

Unintentional plagiarism, in which a writer fails to cite a source or attribute an idea, thus unintentionally
presenting it as her own

Although people sometimes distinguish between the two kinds of plagiarism in composition, it doesn't matter
whether the act was intentional or unintentional from the plagiarized author's perspective.
In addition, there isn't much difference between the two for writers who plagiarize, as the penalties are often
the same. Each form of plagiarism is a failure to live up to the responsibility of all writers to treat their sources
ethically and accurately.

 BIG IDEA

Taking detailed research notes—and being a careful, thoughtful researcher—is key to avoiding unintentional
plagiarism.

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6. Revising, Editing, and Proofreading
When working on a persuasive writing project, writers should allow themselves extra time to revise and edit
their drafts, and to proofread the final version before submitting it (to a professor, or for publication).

Revision may require significant changes to the argument, support, or ideas in a draft. It's important to make
sure that you've used sources accurately and ethically, explained the value or relevance of their support for
the argument, and fully developed your ideas and points.

When editing, you should make necessary changes in word choice and correct redundancies and awkward or
repetitive sentences.

When proofreading, correct mechanical and grammatical errors, and anything that does not align with the
assignment's prompts, requirements, and formatting guidelines.

Communication: Skill Reflect

Consider a document that you plan to write soon, whether it’s for your career, school, or your personal
life. How can you use the information from this lesson to ensure your writing is effective? You may
notice that you have been incorporating some of these steps, such as proofreading, in your writing
naturally, while you’ll need to practice other steps, such as thorough research. Practicing all the steps
in the writing process will ensure your writing is effective, strengthening your communication skill.

 BIG IDEA

If you’ve ever had to bring proof to apply for a driver’s license or show your work in a math class, you
understand why details matter. They not only confirm the information we present, they also give others
confidence in us. The same is true when it comes to our persuasive writing. In this Sophia Talk, criminal justice
reform advocate Derrick Hamilton is back to explain why checking the details in your writing can mean the
difference between success and failure.

 SUMMARY

In this lesson, you learned how the steps in the writing process can be applied specifically to the
development of a persuasive writing project. First, you will engage in brainstorming and prewriting,
during which you will determine your topic and thesis, as well as create an outline for your essay.
Next, you will begin conducting research to back up your argument. Remember that in this type of
essay, you will be using opinions as well as facts to support those opinions.

Drafting the essay or report will involve incorporating your research, so you should be sure to cite all
of your sources appropriately in order to avoid plagiarism. Finally, you will revise, edit, and proofread
your writing to ensure that the finished product is polished and ready for your readers. You also
explored how you can use the information from this lesson to strengthen your communication skill.

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Best of luck in your learning!

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Accurate and Ethical Use of Sources to Persuade
by Sophia Tutorial

 WHAT'S COVERED

In this lesson, you will learn how to make sure that your use of sources in academic and professional
writing is accurate and ethical. You will also learn how using credible sources strengthens your
technology skill. Specifically, this lesson will cover:
1. Using Sources with Accuracy
2. Ethical vs. Unethical Source Use

1. Using Sources with Accuracy

The accurate use of sources is important. It applies to both the recording of bibliographic data from a source,
and the use of a source's ideas, assertions, and content. Most research writing must include a bibliography so
that readers can check the support for the writer's work. The option to do so is available to readers when the
writer has accurately recorded the source's author, title, and publication information, including any umbrella
source (for print articles), URL (for websites), and page or paragraph numbers (for quoted and summarized
material).

When using sources, there are several ways that writers can violate the ethical standards according to which
writers and researchers must work. It is unethical to do all of the following:

Misrepresent the source's bibliographic data. Doing so violates the reader's trust. Part of the reason that
writers include this data is to invite readers into the academic conversation about the topic of the work. To
misrepresent that information is to give readers a false invitation.
Use a quotation out of context, in a way that misconstrues the source's intention, or in a way that
mischaracterizes the source's ideas, research, or points.
Fail to use quotation marks around quoted information, or fail to properly cite the source from which a
quotation was taken. These actions constitute unintentional plagiarism. When using part of a quotation, or
removing sections from a quotation, make sure that the resulting quotation is an accurate representation
of the writer's words and work.
Present another person's ideas or words as if they are your own. This is intentional plagiarism.

Even when you observe these requirements, it can be difficult to fully and accurately explain academic
sources—the ideas, research, and points provided by those sources—while also presenting your own ideas,
research, and points.
It can be tempting to alter or oversimplify another person's ideas, research, and points to align them more
closely to your own. However, the work of others must be accurately represented in all instances. All writers
must ensure that they use sources ethically and accurately.

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2. Ethical vs. Unethical Source Use
Suppose you are assigned to write an essay or report on the effects of social media. Your thesis is that social
media sites (e.g., Facebook) are useful not only for long-distance networking, but for helping people
(especially young people) to learn how to socialize. You argue against those who say that Facebook and
other social media sites are the beginning of the end of “true” friendship.

Suppose that while conducting research, you find an article written by sociologists who studied the effects of
Facebook usage on young adults. Here is the introductory description of the article:

Over 500 million people interact daily with Facebook. Yet, whether Facebook use influences
subjective well-being over time is unknown. We addressed this issue using experience-sampling, the
most reliable method for measuring in-vivo behavior and psychological experience. We text-
messaged people five times per day for two weeks to examine how Facebook use influences the
two components of subjective well-being: how people feel moment-to-moment and how satisfied
they are with their lives. Our results indicate that Facebook use predicts negative shifts on both of
these variables over time. The more people used Facebook at one time point, the worse they felt the
next time we text-messaged them; the more they used Facebook over two weeks, the more their life
satisfaction levels declined over time. Interacting with other people “directly” did not predict these
negative outcomes. They were also not moderated by the size of people's Facebook networks, their
perceived supportiveness, motivation for using Facebook, gender, loneliness, self-esteem, or
depression. On the surface, Facebook provides an invaluable resource for fulfilling the basic human
need for social connection. Rather than enhancing well-being, however, these findings suggest that
Facebook may undermine it.

Although this article is not in agreement with your thesis, it is closely related to your topic and it is also the first
peer-reviewed source you've located. Because your professor requires you to use at least four academic
sources for your writing project, you'd like to use it. Perhaps if you reconsidered (and adjusted) your
understanding of the article's purpose, you could cite the article and summarize it by writing that no
connection between Facebook use and unhappiness was found in the study. But doing so would be
inaccurate, unethical, and wrong.

What if, instead, after reading the abstract and the rest of the article, you examined the research and data
collected about how Facebook use predicts unhappiness in young adults and extracted this quotation:

Whether Facebook use influences subjective well-being over time is unknown.

Would it be wrong for you to do so? Although the article includes this sentence, it would be inaccurate and
unethical for you to quote it out of context (i.e., isolated from the conclusions of the article) and present it as
the result of the study. When using a source, ask yourself, “If the writer(s) knew what I was doing, what would
they think about my use of their work?”

Technology: Skill Reflect

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You have likely seen unethical use of sources several times. One downside of the internet is that
there is a great deal of misinformation floating around. Many times, people seek out information to
confirm their pre-existing opinions rather than look through credible sources to gain information and
then form their opinion based on the information. Consider how you can use the internet to ensure
that the sources you use are credible. This practices strengthens your technology skill.

 SUMMARY

In this lesson, you learned that when incorporating research into writing, it's important to make sure
you are using sources with accuracy. This involves representing the source material truthfully and
giving credit to the original authors. To demonstrate the difference between ethical and unethical
source use, you examined an example of how a piece of research can be unethically used to support
an argument. Finally, you discovered how using credible sources strengthens your technology skill.

Best of luck in your learning!

© 2021 SOPHIA Learning, LLC. SOPHIA is a registered trademark of SOPHIA Learning, LLC. Page 34
Evaluating Sources
by Sophia Tutorial

 WHAT'S COVERED

In this lesson, you will learn about the types of evidence that can be used in an essay or report to
support assertions and convince readers, as well as how to evaluate certain types of evidence.
Specifically, this lesson will cover:
1. Types of Evidence
a. Researched Evidence
2. Evaluating Research
3. Locating Sources and Avoiding Bias

1. Types of Evidence
Good persuasive writing requires support to convince readers that the writer's argument is valid.Evidence,
one of the most common forms of support, consists of facts and details that bolster an argument. It is proof of
the validity of the writer’s claims.

Recall that evidence can include:

Facts and data

Personal research
Citation of the research of others
Personal experiences

Although evidence can be useful in any mode of writing, it’s particularly important when making an argument.
Writers who support their claims with evidence are more likely to convince readers to agree with them. When
making an argument, writers most often use researched evidence to support it.

 TERM TO KNOW

Evidence
Proof of the validity of a claim or claims.

1a. Researched Evidence

Although there are other types of evidence, research is a common and effective way to support claims.
Research is a fact-finding process in which data, statistics, and ideas from other writers and sources are
located and identified to support your ideas. Researched evidence is thus evidence that you have found in
external sources.

© 2021 SOPHIA Learning, LLC. SOPHIA is a registered trademark of SOPHIA Learning, LLC. Page 35
During research, writers commonly investigate books, newspapers, websites, scholarly journals, and
experimental results for information that enables them to make convincing arguments.

Researched information can include the following sources:

Expert arguments, which are the theories, arguments, or ideas proposed by experts in a field of interest.
If you’re writing a paper about psychology, you might use evidence taken from publications including
the American Journal of Psychiatry.
Research findings, which are data from surveys or research experiments.
If you’re writing about school lunch programs, you might use evidence provided by the U.S.
Department of Education about how many students eat program-provided lunches nationwide.
First-person data, which are first-person accounts of an experience provided by someone other than
yourself.
If you’re writing an argument calling for increased funding for the Veterans Administration, you might
include an interview with a veteran to describe why the VA is important to many people.

All of these types of research can be useful and can lead you to the application of good researched evidence.

 TERM TO KNOW

Research
A fact-finding process in which data, statistics, and ideas from other writers and sources are located and
identified to support the ideas in an essay or other piece of writing.

2. Evaluating Research
Not all research is good or convincing. Good data should be:

Current
Relevant
Unbiased
Rational

First, data must be current. Statistics and theories that are out-of-date, or that have been disproved, are not
useful. Data must also be relevant, meaning it is directly related to your argument. Your source does not need
to make the same argument that you are making, but it must be related to your topic.

 EXAMPLE If you want to make an argument for decreasing homeowner association fees, data about
hotels is probably not useful.

Data must be unbiased. If your source is biased, the evidence it provides might not be trustworthy. Consider
the informative mode of writing, in which data are presented in an unbiased manner—without taking a side on
the issue. That’s the kind of data you need in order to take a position of your own, and to support that position
believably and ethically.

Finally, data must be rational. Some of the sources you encounter may not be rational, informed, or expert.

© 2021 SOPHIA Learning, LLC. SOPHIA is a registered trademark of SOPHIA Learning, LLC. Page 36
 EXAMPLE You may hold strong opinions about ginkgo trees, but you should not be cited as a rational
source if you don’t have any expertise on the subject. Your evidence would be biased by your opinions,
which may be incorrect.

Some sources, such as those that seek to advance “conspiracy theories,” are based on irrational beliefs that
are unsupported by facts. Avoid referencing such sources.

3. Locating Sources and Avoiding Bias

When looking for sources, news reports are often a good place to start. They may contain summaries of
information that you can use directly in your essay, and that may lead to other sources. However, while news
reports can seem neutral, they are sometimes tainted by political or social biases. Make sure that your source
is not partisan.

Libraries and library databases are a good source of scholarly publications. When you find a useful book or
article, the bibliography in that publication can lead to additional resources.

Some websites provide a wealth of information. Blogs and commercial websites cannot be assumed to be
unbiased, but they might provide useful first-person data. In contrast, websites that end in .gov or .edu often
provide neutral and detailed research findings.

 HINT

Wikipedia can be a good place to start research, but it is not a valid academic source because anyone can
edit any page. The information cannot be verified.

When examining a source, ask yourself the following questions:

Who wrote this and when was it written?

Getting a sense of who the author is and the context of their work will indicate whether or not it is
current, unbiased, and rational.
Who published this?
If you’re investigating a website or a news article, check the “masthead” of that publication. A
masthead is a list of the people involved in the publication, and may include contact information.
Regarding websites, look for a link to an “About Us” page (or something similar).
Use a search engine to find information on a news source, and also look at its Wikipedia page. This is a
good way to make sure that a source is unbiased, and that you’re not accidentally citing humor or
satire.
What are the methods?
To identify the methods used to achieve the results or findings provided by a source, look for a section
called “Methodology.” This is particularly important for research experiments, polls, and similar data. If
the methods indicate that the research has a narrow scope but is being applied broadly, that’s a
warning sign that it isn’t reliable information.
What kind of information does this source cite?
If you review its bibliography, do you find good, trustworthy sources, or do the sources listed there
appear biased?

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Although there’s no sure-fire way to determine whether or not a source is valid, the more you research, the
better you’ll become at distinguishing the good from the bad.

 SUMMARY

In this lesson, you learned that the primary type of evidence used to support a written argument is
researched evidence. Researched evidence encompasses the facts and details that writers locate in
other sources. Before using researched evidence in written work, it’s important to evaluate your
research to ensure that it is correct, relevant, unbiased, and rational.

You also learned about ways to locate sources and avoid bias. News reports and websites can be
great sources of information, but it’s important to make sure that they present information in a neutral,
factual way.

Best of luck in your learning!

 TERMS TO KNOW

Evidence
Proof of the validity of a claim or claims.

Research
A fact-finding process in which data, statistics, and ideas from other writers and sources are located and
identified to support the ideas in an essay or other piece of writing.

© 2021 SOPHIA Learning, LLC. SOPHIA is a registered trademark of SOPHIA Learning, LLC. Page 38
Applying Evidence
by Sophia Tutorial

 WHAT'S COVERED

In this lesson, you will learn how to determine what kind of evidence to use in an essay or report and
when to use it, how to integrate quotations and evidence into sentences, and how and why to cite
your sources. You will also discover how applying evidence strengthens your communication skill.
Specifically, this lesson will cover:
1. Evidence in Writing
2. Ways of Incorporating Evidence
a. Summarizing
b. Paraphrasing
c. Quoting
3. Rules for Integrating Evidence
4. Citing Your Sources
a. Where to Cite
b. Citations in Practice

1. Evidence in Writing
Recall that evidence is comprised of the facts and details that support an argument. When you’re writing an
essay or report, particularly one that is persuasive or argumentative, each paragraph should make one main
point. As you’re working to prove that point, you want to ask yourself what your readers need to know in
order to believe that point.

 EXAMPLE Maybe they’ll need hard statistics from an expert, findings from an experiment, or some
historical context.

The kind of evidence you use will depend on:

What your main point is

What your authorial tone is
What rhetorical appeals you’re making

Depending on what each paragraph needs, you can direct your research and choose your type of evidence
accordingly.

Communication: Why Employers Care

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Once you have gathered the evidence you want to use to strengthen your argument, as well as how
to refute counterarguments, you are in a good place to write persuasively. Let’s say that you are
writing to the leadership of your organization to show that your department’s current initiative has
been successful. If you simply state that it’s been successful, they will be unlikely to be persuaded.
However, by incorporating facts and evidence, you are much more likely to persuade them. Using
credible evidence appropriately makes you a more persuasive writer and an asset to employers.

2. Ways of Incorporating Evidence

Once you’ve found your evidence, you need to decide how to use it. There are three ways that you can
present evidence:

Summarizing
Paraphrasing
Quoting

2a. Summarizing
Summarizing means giving a brief overview of the main points or ideas of a piece of writing without relying on
specific details or language. This would mean writing something very general about a whole piece of text.

You could summarize the entire book Lord of the Flies by saying something like the following:

Lord of the Flies is a book depicting how innate human behavior changes when one is thrust into a
seemingly dire situation of survival.

Notice that by summarizing, you’re giving a general overview of the whole piece without using any details or
specifics.

 TERMS TO KNOW

Summarizing
Giving a brief overview of the main points or ideas of a piece of writing without relying on specific details or
language.

2b. Paraphrasing

Paraphrasing means restating a passage in your own words, keeping the author’s original intent and meaning.

This would mean rewriting something that a piece of writing has already said using different words entirely,
usually to increase clarity. Paraphrases are therefore only of specific lines or sentences, and they must keep
the author’s original meaning intact.

A way of paraphrasing Lord of the Flies might be reading the lines in quotation marks, and then writing the
following:

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"What I mean is . . . maybe it’s only us."

The quotation describes Simon's reaction about the “beast” when he tries to get the boys to realize
that the the only true beast might be them and their behavior toward each other.

 TERM TO KNOW

Paraphrasing
Restating a passage in your own words, keeping the author’s original intent and meaning.

2c. Quoting

Quoting is repeating the exact words of a piece of writing using quotation marks surrounding the quotation.

This would mean writing the exact words from a piece of writing and enclosing those words in quotation
marks so that it’s clear which words are yours and which come from somewhere else.

Quoting might look like this:

Simon tells the boys, “What I mean is . . . maybe it’s only us,” to remind them about their own
humanity.

 TERM TO KNOW

Quoting
Repeating the exact words of a piece of writing, using quotation marks surrounding the quotation.

3. Rules for Integrating Evidence

When integrating evidence into your sentences clearly, there are some rules for using quotations in particular
that are important to know. However, these rules can apply if you’re summarizing and paraphrasing as well:

Quotation marks always go before and after a quotation.

You can never change the author’s original meaning by removing important context or mischaracterizing
the main point.
You can quote a whole sentence or part of a sentence, and you don’t need to show that with ellipses
(three little dots) on the outside.
You can use ellipses on the inside of a quotation to replace a portion of the quotation that you don’t want
to include, as long as you don’t change the meaning.
You can use brackets to enclose your own words within the quotation, either to add pertinent information
or to allow the author’s phrasing to fit into your grammatical structure better, as long as you don’t change
the meaning.
You must always cite your source by giving credit to the original author.

© 2021 SOPHIA Learning, LLC. SOPHIA is a registered trademark of SOPHIA Learning, LLC. Page 41
4. Citing Your Sources
A citation is an indication that words, ideas, or facts came from another source. This means simply giving
credit where it’s due by making sure that you include the author’s name or the title of the original text among
other details in your essay.

Specifically, citation format is the way academics, journalists, etc., choose to identify their sources. Citation
formats include Modern Language Association (MLA), American Psychological Association (APA), Chicago
Manual of Style (CMOS), and more.

Each of these citation formats is different and asks for slightly different information in a slightly different
organizational structure, so it’s more important to understand the theory behind when and where to include
citations than it is to memorize all of these formats.

For guidance on the specifics about each of these citation formats, the website Purdue OWL (Online Writing
Lab) and the book Rules for Writers are great tools. The examples in this tutorial will be given in APA format.

 TERMS TO KNOW

Citation
An indication that words, ideas, or facts came from another source.

Citation Format
The method through which academics, journalists, etc., choose to identify their sources, including the Modern
Language Association (MLA), American Psychological Association (APA), Chicago Manual of Style (CMOS), and
other formats.

4a. Where to Cite

In an essay, you need to cite in two places:

In a reference page
Inside the text

Reference pages are also called bibliographies or works cited pages. They come at the end of an essay, and
they include all of the relevant information about where you can find each book, article, movie, etc. that you’re
citing, usually in alphabetical order by the author’s last name. The goal of a reference page is to provide
enough information that readers can find that source if they want to read it in full.
In-text citations come inside your essay after each paraphrase, summary, or quotation. They contain just a
small amount of information, usually the author’s last name, and—depending on whether you’re quoting or
paraphrasing—the page number where you got that information.

The goal of an in-text citation is to provide enough information that readers can look up that text in your
reference page to find all the details they need.

4b. Citations in Practice

The most important thing to remember about citation is that it is necessary to always give credit where credit
is due. If you are using ideas, words, or images that someone else came up with, you need to cite that person.

© 2021 SOPHIA Learning, LLC. SOPHIA is a registered trademark of SOPHIA Learning, LLC. Page 42
Lack of appropriate citation is called plagiarism, and it can have real consequences, both legally and
academically.

Each citation format requires slightly different information in a slightly different organization, so it’s important
to always refer to the unique rules of each form. Remember again that Purdue OWL is a great resource for
checking out each format.

For in-text citations in APA style, you need:

The author’s last name

The year the text was published
The number of the page where the quotation can be found

With an electronic source, you’re going to need the name of the author and the year that the website was
made or last updated. Because this is an electronic source, it might not have page numbers. You can instead
count the paragraphs and include that number. You put all this information in parentheses, and separate each
piece of information with a comma:

The teachers reiterated that, “teaching online requires creativity and community-building” (Bozeman,
2021, para. 2).

For the reference page in APA style, you need:

The author’s full name

The date of the source’s publication
The title of the source
The full web address, if applicable
The publisher information, if applicable

You create a reference page that comes after your essay by putting in the author’s full last name, then a
comma, and then the initial of the author’s first name. You put a period after this information. Then in
parentheses, you put the date, again followed by another period.
Then, using italics (if the source is a book), you put in the title of the source and another period. Finally, you
write “retrieved from” and enter the full web address or the publisher information. Notice that there’s no
period at the end of the citation if a web address is provided:

References

Bozeman, P. (2021). How to teach onlilne. Retrieved from http://teaching.com

If you have any other citations, they will need to be added in alphabetical order, like this:

References

Bozeman, P. (2021). How to teach online. Retrieved from http://teaching.com

© 2021 SOPHIA Learning, LLC. SOPHIA is a registered trademark of SOPHIA Learning, LLC. Page 43
Thompson, M. (2020). A new teacher's survival guide. The International Journal of Education, 3.
Retrieved from http://education.journal.org/123/

Take a closer look at the second citation because it’s a little different from the first one. This second citation is
for an online periodical, which is a different kind of source. You can see that the title of the article isn’t in italics
because there’s another title in italics—the title of the journal that the article comes from. There’s also a
volume number for the journal.

You probably also noticed that this second citation is long enough that it takes up more than one line in this
document. In a reference page, you need to use what’s called a hanging indent, which indents any line after
the first.

Each different kind of source also needs slightly different information, so again, always refer to your style
guide for help.

 SUMMARY

In this lesson, you learned that evidence in writing is comprised of facts and details that support an
argument, and can be either personal or researched. There are three ways of incorporating evidence
in your writing: Summarizing is when you give a brief overview of the main points or ideas of a piece
of writing without relying on specific details or language; paraphrasing is when you restate a passage
in your own words, keeping the author’s original intent and meaning; quoting is when you repeat the
exact words of a piece of writing, using quotation marks surrounding the quotation.

You also learned that some important rules for integrating evidence are that quotation marks always
go before and after a quotation, you can never change the author’s original meaning by removing
important context or mischaracterizing the main point, you can quote a whole sentence or part of a
sentence, you can use ellipses and brackets if needed as long as you don’t change the meaning, and
you must always cite your source.

Finally, you learned the importance of citing your sources. When using someone else’s ideas, you
must always give credit where credit is due; plagiarism has serious legal and academic
consequences. In terms of where to cite your sources, you will need both in-text citations and a
reference page. While there are many different citation formats, this tutorial looked at APA citations in
practice. Different sources can require different information in their citations, so always consult your
style guide if you’re unsure. You also discovered how incorporating evidence in your writing
strengthens your communication skill.

Best of luck in your learning!

 TERMS TO KNOW

Citation

© 2021 SOPHIA Learning, LLC. SOPHIA is a registered trademark of SOPHIA Learning, LLC. Page 44
An indication that words, ideas, or facts came from another source.

Citation Format
The method through which academics, journalists, etc., choose to identify their sources, including the
Modern Language Association (MLA), American Psychological Association (APA), Chicago Manual of Style
(CMOS), and other formats.

Paraphrasing
Restating a passage in your own words, keeping the author’s original intent and meaning.

Quoting
Repeating the exact words of a piece of writing, using quotation marks surrounding the quotation.

Summarizing
Giving a brief overview of the main points or ideas of a piece of writing without relying on specific details or
language.

© 2021 SOPHIA Learning, LLC. SOPHIA is a registered trademark of SOPHIA Learning, LLC. Page 45
Analyzing Evidence
by Sophia Tutorial

 WHAT'S COVERED

In this lesson, you will learn about integrating evidence into essays by discussing how to introduce
evidence with context, how to translate the meaning of evidence, and how to provide analysis.
Specifically, this lesson will cover:
1. Principles of Integrating Evidence
a. Context
b. Translation
c. Analysis
2. Evidence Principles in Practice

1. Principles of Integrating Evidence

Recall that evidence is comprised of facts and details that support an argument. While you can use personal
evidence and researched evidence in an essay, this lesson will specifically focus on integrating quotations
from research sources.

Still, the principles that you practice today are just as important when you’re integrating personal narratives,
summaries of big ideas, and paraphrased concepts. You can apply these tools across the board.

To be integrated effectively, each piece of evidence must be:

Introduced with context

Translated for clarity
Analyzed directly

1a. Context
Context is an explanation of the circumstances of a piece of text. Say you’re reading an argument and you
see this quotation:

"Working from home may seem like a new concept, but several cultures around the globe have
embraced the practice successfully for decades."

What do you need to know to understand what this means and how it fits into the argument? Right away you
know that this needs a citation:

“Working from home may seem like a newer concept, but several cultures around the globe have

© 2021 SOPHIA Learning, LLC. SOPHIA is a registered trademark of SOPHIA Learning, LLC. Page 46
embraced the practice successfully for decades” (Richardson, 2009, p. 45).

Now you have an APA-style, in-text citation, which is a good start for context. But does that citation tell you
much about Richardson’s argument? You don’t know who Richardson is or why this is a worthwhile piece of
evidence. Answering those questions in brief is the main purpose of context.

According to Shanda Richardson (2009), a business insights analyst who researches the positive
effects of alternative workspaces by society, “Working from home may seem like a newer concept,
but several cultures around the globe have embraced the practice successfully for decades” (p. 45).

Notice that as a reader, you now know who Richardson is and why she is a worthy, valid source, making this a
much more convincing appeal to ethos. Using the author’s name like this is called a signal phrase, which is a
phrase preceding a quotation that identifies the author of the quoted text.

Context can also help you make sentences, including quotations, clearer. This means you could take the
following quotation:

“As early as the 1980s, the United States began toying with work-from-home structures for
employees, but the idea didn’t really take off as remote working seemed like a subpar structure for
productivity. Now, much of the world embraces remote work opportunities, leading to a more
generalized acceptance that productivity does not necessarily depend on where one’s office is
located” (Richardson, 2009, p. 70).

And then use context to create this much more specific sentence:

The social stigma of working from home has diminished as we’ve seen “a more generalized
acceptance that productivity does not necessarily depend on where one’s office is located”
(Richardson, 2009, p. 70).

Because you’re integrating with clear context, you’re able to only use the part of the quotation that’s
necessary to make your point; you’ve cut out everything else that could be distracting for your readers.

 HINT

You don’t have to quote an author’s entire sentence. You can select the portion that is most important for you,
as long as you don’t change the author’s original meaning.

 TERMS TO KNOW

Context
An explanation of the circumstances of a piece of text.

Signal Phrase
A phrase preceding a quotation that identifies the author of the quoted text.

1b. Translation

© 2021 SOPHIA Learning, LLC. SOPHIA is a registered trademark of SOPHIA Learning, LLC. Page 47
Next, you need translation. When you’re translating, you’re telling your readers what you think the quotation
means. This is important because two readers can interpret the same passage in two different ways, but you
really want each reader to interpret that passage the way you have.

Thus, after you give a quotation, you can say something such as “This means that,” followed by a restating of
the quotation in your own words.

Here you have a paragraph presenting some important data:

Although the United States began exploring the concept of working from home in the 1980s, “the
idea didn’t really take off as remote working seemed like a subpar structure for productivity.” The
social stigma of working from home has diminished as we’ve seen “a more generalized acceptance
that productivity does not necessarily depend on where one’s office is located” (Richardson, 2009,
p. 70).

You can see the context and two quotations. But what does this all mean? You need a translation sentence
here, which might look something like this:

Although the United States began exploring the concept of working from home in the 1980s, “the
idea didn’t really take off as remote working seemed like a subpar structure for productivity.” The
social stigma of working from home has diminished as we’ve seen “a more generalized acceptance
that productivity does not necessarily depend on where one’s office is located” (Richardson, 2009,
p. 70). This means that working from home, though still ostracized in certain industries, is no longer
stigmatized like it once was, and more employees and companies are embracing the option of
remote working.

That one little sentence ensures that your readers will know exactly what you think this evidence means.
Therefore, translation is especially important if you're presenting lots of technical, complex, or very detailed
evidence that you need to make sure your readers understand.

 TERM TO KNOW

Translation
An interpretation or explanation of the meaning of a piece of text.

1c. Analysis

Analysis is the most important part, as it is detailed explanations of an idea and interpretations of its intended
meaning within a piece of writing. Analysis is where you say how a piece of evidence supports your main
point.

The thesis statement of the following paragraph appears bolded at the bottom:

Although the United States began exploring the concept of working from home in the 1980s, “the
idea didn’t really take off as remote working seemed like a subpar structure for productivity.” The
social stigma of working from home has diminished as we’ve seen “a more generalized acceptance

© 2021 SOPHIA Learning, LLC. SOPHIA is a registered trademark of SOPHIA Learning, LLC. Page 48
that productivity does not necessarily depend on where one’s office is located” (Richardson, 2009,
p. 70). This means that working from home, though still ostracized in certain industries, is no longer
stigmatized like it once was, and more employees and companies are embracing the option of
remote working.

Workplaces should continue to embrace remote working as a viable day to day option for
employees.

How do the sentences in this short paragraph support that main point? Right now you could make a lot of
guesses, but as a reader, you don’t yet know exactly how this evidence proves that remote working is
beneficial for office productivity.

If you were writing this essay or report, you wouldn’t have convinced your readers to believe your side yet.
What you would need to convince them is analysis. A nice way to begin your analysis is with the word
“therefore.” That might look something like this:

Although the United States began exploring the concept of working from home in the 1980s, “the
idea didn’t really take off as remote working seemed like a subpar structure for productivity.” The
social stigma of working from home has diminished as we’ve seen “a more generalized acceptance
that productivity does not necessarily depend on where one’s office is located” (Richardson, 2009,
p. 70). This means that working from home, though still ostracized in certain industries, is no longer
stigmatized like it once was, and more employees and companies are embracing the option of
remote working. Therefore, workplaces should continue to embrace remote working as a viable and
productive day to day option for employees.

See how this piece of evidence is now directly linked to the main point? When you’re working on your
analysis, remember to ask yourself what you’re hoping this piece of evidence will prove to your reader, and
why or how this piece of evidence proves that point. You can even brainstorm your analysis by finishing the
sentence “This proves that....”

 TERM TO KNOW

Analysis
A detailed explanation of an idea and interpretation of its intended meaning within a piece of writing; a
demonstration of how a piece of evidence supports a main point.

2. Evidence Principles in Practice

To see how these three principles (context, translation, and analysis) work together, it’s helpful to know how
to locate them in a short piece of writing.

 TRY IT

Take a moment to read the following short paragraph, making note of the context, translation, and analysis
that you see. Then decide, based on this paragraph, what you think the main point of the essay is.

© 2021 SOPHIA Learning, LLC. SOPHIA is a registered trademark of SOPHIA Learning, LLC. Page 49
Although the United States began exploring the concept of working from home in the 1980s, “the
idea didn’t really take off as remote working seemed like a subpar structure for productivity.” The
resistance to working from home has been gradually decreasing, but not entirely disappearing, as
we’ve seen “a more generalized acceptance that productivity does not necessarily depend on
where one’s office is located” (Richardson, 2009, p. 70). This means, because of Richardson’s key
phrases such as “generalized” and “necessarily,” that perhaps pushback still exists for remote
working. Therefore, a hybrid work schedule rather than a completely remote schedule might be the
sweet spot to getting companies on board with the current work climate.

For the main point, you probably wrote something such as “Since some workplaces are still hesitant to adapt
to remote work structures, they should consider a hybrid rather than fully remote option for employees.” To
get to that answer, you can break down the paragraph by focusing on each principle.

In the context, notice that the evidence is introduced a little differently. The essay is making an argument
against solely working from home. Thus, the context places emphasis on a particular aspect of this quotation.
You can see, then, that the same evidence can be used to support different arguments.

Likewise, the translation points out the history of negative associations with remote working. This ensures that
readers will focus on the many years when working from home was not accepted, and not on the recent
change in how the practice is viewed.

Finally, the analysis shows how these ongoing negative associations might hurt businesses. Overall then, this
paragraph uses the same evidence as an opposing argument might, but by providing clear context,
translation, and analysis, it makes a convincing argument for its particular side.

 BIG IDEA

In this final Sophia Story, our experts share why writing is a uniquely personal and powerful part of how they
communicate with the world. It’s about practice. It’s about connection. It’s about understanding ourselves and
how we can change others through our words.

 SUMMARY

In this lesson, you learned that there are three main principles for integrating evidence successfully
into an essay or report: Context provides an explanation of the circumstances of a piece of text, and
helps make sentences and quotations clearer; translation provides an explanation of what you think
the quotation means, and ensures that your readers interpret the passage the same way you do;
analysis provides detailed explanations of an idea and interpretations of its intended meaning, and
shows how a piece of evidence supports your main point. You then learned how these evidence
principles work in practice by looking at the way they help you understand what the main point of an
essay or report is.

Best of luck in your learning!

 TERMS TO KNOW

© 2021 SOPHIA Learning, LLC. SOPHIA is a registered trademark of SOPHIA Learning, LLC. Page 50
Analysis
A detailed explanation of an idea and interpretation of its intended meaning within a piece of writing; a
demonstration of how a piece of evidence supports a main point.

Context
An explanation of the circumstances of a piece of text.

Signal Phrase
A phrase preceding a quotation that identifies the author of the quoted text.

Translation
An interpretation or explanation of the meaning of a piece of text.

© 2021 SOPHIA Learning, LLC. SOPHIA is a registered trademark of SOPHIA Learning, LLC. Page 51