Evidence and Its Types: Study Guide (English Language 1.5)

Evidence is what stands behind a claim

A claim that nobody supports is just an assertion. Evidence is the material a writer offers to show that a claim is reasonable: the facts, examples, stories and expert statements that give readers a reason to say “yes, that is probably right”. The course framework states that writers defend their claims with evidence and/or reasoning. Evidence supplies the raw material; reasoning (which you will study in Topics 3.1 and 3.3) explains why the material supports the claim.

Think of a court. The prosecutor claims the defendant took the money. The evidence is the CCTV footage, the bank record and the witness. The reasoning is the lawyer’s explanation of why that footage and that record, together, make the claim true. A writer needs both.

The types of evidence

The CED lists many kinds. Here they are in groups, with what each does well and where it is weak. The invented examples below were written by Marlbridge for practice.

Type	What it is	Strength	Weakness	Example
Fact	A verifiable piece of information.	Hard to dispute.	May be too general to settle the question.	“The ferry has run late on 41 of the last 60 days.”
Statistic	A number summarising many cases.	Shows scale and pattern.	Can mislead if the source, sample or comparison is unclear.	“Late sailings rose from 12% to 68% in one year.”
Example / detail	A specific case or particular that illustrates a point.	Concrete and memorable.	One case may not be typical.	“On 3 March a nurse missed her shift because the 7.10 sailing left at 7.45.”
Anecdote	A short story about a particular event.	Human and engaging.	Personal; may seem unrepresentative.	“My neighbour waited an hour in the rain with her baby.”
Personal observation / experience	What the writer saw or lived.	Credibility from first-hand knowledge.	Limited to one person’s view.	“I have commuted on that ferry for nine years.”
Testimony	A statement by a witness or participant.	First-hand account from someone affected.	May reflect bias or memory.	“A crew member told the inquiry the engine had faulted for weeks.”
Expert opinion	A judgement by a qualified authority.	Lends authority to a technical point.	Only as strong as the expert’s credentials and relevance.	“The port’s chief engineer calls the engine ‘beyond economic repair’.”
Experiment / study	A test or research design.	Controlled and systematic.	Results depend on method and may not transfer.	“A trial using a faster ferry cut delays to 9%.”
Analogy	A comparison with something familiar.	Makes an unfamiliar idea clear.	A comparison is never exact.	“Running the island on this ferry is like commuting on a bicycle with a flat tyre.”
Illustration	A vivid picture, image or scene.	Helps readers see the point.	Appeals to feeling more than proof.	A photograph of the queue at dawn.

You do not have to memorise labels, but you must be able to recognise the kind of evidence in a passage and explain what it does for the claim. Two quick signals: a number summarising many cases is a statistic; a short story about one event is an anecdote or example.

Evidence is not the same as the claim

A common mix-up is to treat a statement of position as evidence. Compare:

• “The ferry service is failing the island.” (claim)
• “The ferry ran late on 41 of the last 60 days.” (evidence)

The second can be verified; the first needs a defence. To test, ask whether a reader could check the sentence or whether the sentence argues a position. Checkable material is evidence; an argued position is a claim.

What makes evidence useful

Evidence is not all equal. Ask four questions.

1. Relevant? Does it bear on the claim? A statistic about ferry prices does not support a claim about reliability.
2. Accurate and credible? Where does it come from, and is the source competent and unbiased?
3. Representative? Is it typical, or a rare case chosen for effect?
4. Appropriate for the audience? Statistics may suit sceptical officials; an anecdote may suit a general readership. Topic 2.4 builds on this.

A public-domain example of evidence: Stanton’s Declaration (1848)

At Seneca Falls, New York, in 1848, the Declaration of Sentiments, drafted by Elizabeth Cady Stanton, modelled itself on the Declaration of Independence. Its claim is that women have been denied rights. Its method of defence is a long list of specific complaints. Two of them read: “He has never permitted her to exercise her inalienable right to the elective franchise” and “He has compelled her to submit to laws, in the formation of which she had no voice.”

Each item is a particular fact or example about the law and custom of the time, set out in a pattern (“He has…”) that accumulates. The evidence is not statistics or testimony but a catalogue of concrete restrictions, and its power comes from the sheer number of them. That pattern is a choice shaped by the document’s audience and purpose: it imitates a famous precedent so that readers recognise the form of the charge.

Worked example 1: naming the evidence in an invented paragraph

Read this short paragraph, written by Marlbridge with invented data.

The island’s ferry is failing the people who depend on it. Late sailings rose from 12 percent to 68 percent in a single year. On 3 March a hospital nurse missed her shift because the 7.10 sailing left at 7.45, and the ward was left a nurse short for the morning. The port’s chief engineer has called the main engine “beyond economic repair.” Running the island on this ferry is like commuting on a bicycle with a flat tyre.

Task. Identify the claim and four different types of evidence.

Solution.

1. Claim: “The island’s ferry is failing the people who depend on it.”
2. Statistic: “Late sailings rose from 12 percent to 68 percent in a single year.” This is a number summarising many sailings.
3. Example (or anecdote): the nurse who missed her shift on 3 March. It is one specific case that makes the effect concrete.
4. Expert opinion: the chief engineer’s statement about the engine. His position gives him authority on this technical point.
5. Analogy: “like commuting on a bicycle with a flat tyre.” It compares the unfamiliar situation to a familiar one.

Check. Each item is checkable or illustrative, and none is a statement of position. The first sentence is the only one that takes a stance. If you list “the ferry is failing” as evidence, you have confused claim and evidence.

Worked example 2: matching evidence to a claim

Task. A student argues: “A four-day school week would not reduce learning.” Which one of the following pieces of evidence best supports the claim, and why are the others weaker?

• (i) “Many people like long weekends.”
• (ii) “In a trial of eight schools that moved to four days and lengthened each day by 50 minutes, average test scores were unchanged after two years.” (invented)
• (iii) “My cousin attends a four-day school and says it is good.”
• (iv) “Four-day weeks are used in some rural areas.”

Solution. (ii) is best.

• (ii) is a study that measures the outcome named in the claim (learning, shown through test scores) over a reasonable time, in several schools, so it is relevant and more representative than one case.
• (i) is a popularity statement and says nothing about learning.
• (iii) is a testimony from a single person, which is personal and not representative; it also reports a feeling rather than a result.
• (iv) is a fact about practice that does not show the outcome. Being common is not the same as working.

Check. The best evidence matches the exact thing the claim says. The claim is about learning; only (ii) measures learning.

How the exam asks about evidence

• Reading questions ask you to identify the claim a piece of evidence supports, or what type of evidence a sentence is, or what a piece of evidence adds to the argument.
• Writing questions ask which added sentence best supports the claim in a draft, or which source detail would suit the writer’s purpose.
• The essays reward evidence that is specific and linked to the claim. In the synthesis essay you must use sources as evidence; in the argument essay you may use reading, history, experience and observation.

Common misconceptions

• “A quotation is automatically evidence.” A quotation is evidence only when it bears on the claim. A quotation from an authority on a different topic is not support.
• “Statistics always beat stories.” Each has strengths. A statistic shows scale; a story makes it human. A strong argument often uses both.
• “More evidence is always better.” Relevant, credible evidence beats a pile of weak items. Topic 2.5 deals with sufficiency.
• “An anecdote is no evidence.” It can serve as an illustration or hook, though it rarely proves a general claim on its own.
• “An expert’s opinion cannot be wrong.” Experts are credible only in their field and may be biased or out of date.
• “Evidence speaks for itself.” It does not. Without commentary, readers may not see why it matters.

Where this leads

Topic 1.6, Writing a paragraph with a claim and evidence, puts claims and evidence together in a single paragraph. Practise recognising types with the practice questions, and use the checklist to find gaps.