Writing a Paragraph with a Claim and Evidence: Study Guide (English Language 1.6)

The paragraph as the unit of argument

In Topics 1.4 and 1.5 you met claims and evidence separately. A writer rarely uses either alone. The place where they meet is the paragraph. A well-built body paragraph does one job: it develops a single claim by supporting it with evidence and showing how the evidence supports it. The framework skill for this topic is to develop a paragraph that includes a claim and evidence supporting the claim, and one detail it adds is that writers relate source material to their own argument by syntactically embedding quoted, paraphrased or summarised information into their own ideas.

That second idea is the heart of this topic. The sentence in your paragraph should not look like a quotation pasted in from somewhere else. It should look like part of your argument, grammatically and logically.

A reliable paragraph pattern

Many strong paragraphs follow this sequence. It is not a formula to apply blindly, but it is a dependable starting point.

1. Claim (topic sentence). States the point of the paragraph in your own words.
2. Lead-in. Introduces the source or context so the reader knows where the evidence comes from.
3. Evidence. Quoted, paraphrased or summarised, and embedded in a sentence of your own.
4. Commentary. Explains how the evidence supports the claim. (Topic 3.1 develops this.)
5. Link. Ties the point to the larger argument or to the next paragraph.

In a short timed essay you may compress steps 2 and 3 into one sentence and give most of your space to step 4.

Three ways to use a source

Method	What you do	When to use it	Danger
Quotation	Copy the exact words, in quotation marks.	When the wording itself matters: a striking phrase, a precise term, a memorable image.	Overquoting; leaving the quotation unexplained.
Paraphrase	Restate a passage in your own words and sentence structure, at about the same length.	When the idea matters more than the wording.	Staying too close to the original wording, which can be plagiarism.
Summary	Condense a longer passage into a shorter statement of the main point.	When you need the gist of a long section.	Distorting the author’s meaning or adding your opinion.

Whichever you use, you must give the source credit (Topic 3.2 treats attribution), and you must connect it to your claim.

Embedding: weaving a quotation into your own sentence

A dropped quotation sits alone as its own sentence, with nothing joining it to the writer’s argument:

Lincoln wants to heal the nation. “With malice toward none, with charity for all.” This shows his tone.

An embedded quotation becomes part of your sentence:

Lincoln’s call for “malice toward none” and “charity for all” shifts the aim of the war’s final months from vengeance to reconciliation.

Techniques for embedding:

• Use a short phrase as part of your own grammar. “…his call for ‘malice toward none’…”
• Use a signal phrase and a comma or colon. “As Lincoln urges, ‘let us strive on to finish the work we are in.’”
• Integrate the quotation as the object of a verb. “Lincoln asks the country to act ‘with firmness in the right’.”
• Change nothing inside the quotation marks except with brackets or ellipses to adapt grammar or omit words, and never in a way that alters the meaning.

Punctuation notes: a full-sentence quotation after a signal phrase takes a comma or colon; a phrase worked into your own sentence needs no extra punctuation; a short quotation ends with your sentence’s end punctuation unless the original’s own mark (a question mark, for example) must remain.

Signal verbs and what they tell the reader

The verb you choose to introduce evidence carries meaning. “Says” is neutral; “urges”, “warns”, “concedes” and “insists” show the writer’s stance and purpose. Choose a verb that is accurate. Do not use “proves” for a statement that only suggests, or “shows” for an opinion.

Verb	Suggests
states, notes, observes	A neutral report
urges, calls on, appeals to	The writer wants action
warns, cautions	A threat or risk
concedes, admits	The writer grants a point to an opponent
insists, asserts, maintains	A strongly held claim

Worked example 1: from dropped quotation to embedded evidence

Task. The claim is “Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address uses its closing paragraph to move the audience from the bitterness of war to the work of rebuilding.” The evidence is Lincoln’s line, delivered on 4 March 1865: “With malice toward none, with charity for all; with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in.” Write a paragraph and explain your choices.

Weak version.

Lincoln wants to move the audience from war to rebuilding. “With malice toward none, with charity for all.” This is a good example because it is a famous line.

Diagnosis. The quotation is dropped in as its own sentence. The commentary (“a famous line”) does not explain how the words support the claim.

Strong version.

Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address uses its closing paragraph to turn the audience from the bitterness of war toward the work of rebuilding. By asking the nation to proceed “with malice toward none, with charity for all,” he removes revenge from the agenda before the war has even ended. The sentence continues with a demand that is practical rather than sentimental: “let us strive on to finish the work we are in.” The word “work” casts peace as a task, and “strive” makes it demanding, so the audience is asked to labour for reconciliation, not merely to wish for it.

Why it works.

1. The first sentence is a claim, stated in the writer’s own words.
2. The first quotation is embedded as the object of “proceed”, so the grammar is smooth.
3. The second quotation is introduced after a colon and extends the point.
4. The commentary zooms in on single words (“work”, “strive”) and explains what they do for the claim.
5. No evidence is left unexplained.

Check. Cover the quotations. Do you still have a readable paragraph? Yes. That tells you the quotations are serving the argument, not replacing it.

Worked example 2: quotation, paraphrase and summary

Here is an original Marlbridge source passage:

“The town’s two public libraries lost nearly a third of their opening hours last year, and the people most affected were not the casual browsers. Job-seekers, who rely on the free computers, and pensioners, who use the reading rooms to escape the cost of heating a home, were turned away at the door. A library is, for many, the last public place that asks nothing of them.”

Task. Use the passage three ways in support of the claim “Cuts to library hours harm the town’s most vulnerable people.”

Quotation: The report observes that “a library is, for many, the last public place that asks nothing of them,” which shows the loss is not about books but about belonging.

Paraphrase: According to the report, those who lost most when the libraries shortened their hours were people without other options: job-seekers using free computers and older people who spend time in the reading rooms instead of heating their homes.

Summary: The report argues that reduced library hours fell hardest on job-seekers and pensioners who depend on libraries for computers and warm space.

Checks.

• The quotation is exact, in quotation marks and part of a sentence of the writer’s own.
• The paraphrase changes the words and the structure, not just a few words, and keeps the meaning. It credits the report.
• The summary is shorter and states only the main point, with no new opinion added.
• All three are tied to the same claim and credit the same source.

How the exam tests this

• Writing questions (multiple choice) present a draft paragraph and ask which revision best integrates a quoted source, adds a sentence that supports the claim, or fixes a dropped quotation.
• The synthesis essay requires you to embed at least three sources into your own argument.
• The argument and rhetorical analysis essays reward evidence that is introduced, embedded and explained. In the rhetorical analysis essay, embedded short quotations from the passage show close reading.

Common misconceptions

• “A paragraph is good if it contains a quotation.” It is good if the quotation supports a clear claim and is explained.
• “Longer quotations are more impressive.” Short, precise quotations that you analyse are better than block quotations you merely drop in.
• “Paraphrasing means changing a few words.” A true paraphrase restates the idea in new words and new sentence structure; swapping synonyms into the original’s structure is too close.
• “I do not need to credit a paraphrase.” You do, because the idea is not yours.
• “The commentary can repeat the evidence.” Repeating is not explaining. Commentary says what the evidence shows about the claim.
• “Every paragraph must have exactly this order.” The pattern is a guide. Some paragraphs begin with evidence or end with the claim, as long as the relationship is clear.

Where this leads

Unit 2 widens from the single paragraph to the whole audience: Writing for an audience’s beliefs, values and needs. Before moving on, take the unit 1 diagnostic, try the practice questions and use the checklist.