Giving Support for Your Reasons
Support consists of evidence. The four kinds of evidence, adapted from LeBeau, Harrington, Lubetsky (2000), are:
- Example: from your own experience or from what you heard or read.
For example
For instance
Let me give an example
As I can see it
As far as I am concerned
From my point of view
My point is
From my perspective
From my standpoint
From where I stand
- Common Sense: things that you believe everybody knows.
Everybody knows
if…then
it’s common knowledge that
People say
My mother /father always says/said
- Expert Opinion: the opinions of experts — this comes from research.
According to…
As far as _____ is concerned
To quote…
“Quote…unquote”
The book _____ says…
- Statistics: numbers — this also comes from research.
X out of Y
X in Y
Most people
The majority of people
Most folk
The young
The old
The married
The single