Claims and Evidence

Difference Between Claims and Evidence

Claims and evidence are different because claims are the writer's own ideas, and evidence is information from other sources that supports the writer's ideas.

Claims

In writing, claims are the author's arguments on a topic. The main claim in an essay—what the writer wants the reader to take away—is usually the thesis. In a thesis statement, a writer makes a defensible point about a topic. Often the writer also includes smaller claims that they will support with evidence to support the main claim.

For example, imagine a writer crafting a persuasive essay about raising the legal driving age to eighteen. That writer's thesis might look like this:

In this paper, the author's main claim will be that the United States should raise the legal driving age. To make this claim, the author will use the three smaller supporting claims about accidents, DUIs, and crimes. Typically, authors will devote at least one paragraph to each supporting claim and use evidence to explain each one.

Reasons

When a writer makes a claim about a topic, there is always a reason why they are making that claim. Reasons are the justifications for a point of view. For instance, if a writer claims that guns should be banned, their reasons might involve concerns about safety or personal experiences with gun violence. These reasons help writers formulate an argument and collect evidence.

Fig. 1 - When writers make a claim, they make a defensible assertion about a topic.

Evidence

The term evidence refers to material from outside sources that a writer uses to support their claims. To identify evidence for a claim, writers should reflect on their reasons for making a claim and identify sources that demonstrate those reasons. There are many types of evidence, but writers often use the following types:

• Scholarly journal articles

• Literary texts

• Archival documents

• Statistics

• Official reports

• Artwork

Evidence is important because it helps writers build credibility, which means gaining the reader's trust. If writers cannot support their claims with any evidence, their claims could appear to be just their opinion.

Fig. 2 - Writers use evidence as proof for their claims.

The amount of evidence a claim needs depends on how narrow the claim is. For example, say a writer claims that "Farmers should herd fewer cows because cows increase the levels of methane in the atmosphere:" This claim can be proved relatively easily using statistics as evidence. However, say a writer claims that "Only people over the age of eighteen should be allowed to use social media." This is a broader claim that would require a great deal of evidence, not just concrete statistics, to prove.

Claim and Evidence Examples

Claims and evidence look different depending on the topic and the field. However, claims are always statements that the author makes and evidence is always supported by credible sources. For instance, writers of literary analysis essays make claims about a literary text, and then they use evidence from that same text to support it. Here's an example: a writer might make the following claim about F. Scott Fitzgerald's text The Great Gatsby (1925).

To support such an analytical claim, the author would have to use evidence from the text. To do this, the author should reflect on what aspects of the text made them come to this understanding. For instance, they might use a quote from chapter nine to write the following:

Fig. 3 - Gatsby's fixation on the light at the end of the dock represents the American dream.

Writers of literary analysis essays also sometimes use scholarly sources to support their arguments. For instance, the author of the essay on Gatsby might consult a scholarly journal for articles in which authors support the topic. For instance, such evidence might look like this:

Importance of Claims and Evidence in an Essay

Claims are important in an essay because they define the essay's main idea(s). They also help writers express their understanding of texts or research. For instance, if a writer reads several scholarly articles about the benefits of studying on a tablet, the writer might have something new to say on the subject. They could then write an essay in which they make a claim about the value of using a tablet to study and cite information from the studies they read as evidence.

Evidence is also a necessary part of an essay because, without evidence, the reader cannot be sure that what the writer is claiming is true. Making honest, fact-based claims is a critical part of establishing academic credibility. For instance, imagine a writer claims that William Shakespeare uses imagery to develop his theme of ambition in Macbeth (1623). If the writer does not discuss any examples of imagery in Macbeth, there is no way for the reader to know whether this claim is true or if the writer is making it up.