- Author of Asking the Right Questions Neil Brown states that evidence is information given by the communicator in which helps to back up and justify a claim. It helps to prove how dependable the claim is to the reader. It helps to prove something is real or help drive an argument toward one side (Brown, p. 91).
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- Personal Experience: Evidence that comes from our own experiences and uses the phrases, I’ve found, I know someone who, etc. The strength of this evidence is that they are vivid in our memories meaning they are easy to understand. One problem with this evidence is that it may provide multiple possibilities to occur.
- Case Examples: Uses a story or catchy descriptions to support a conclusion. The strength of this evidence is that they capture the audience’s attention. One problem with this evidence is that they are not the best examples of good evidence because they do not do the best job of concluding anything.
- Testimonials: Proof of something by persuading someone to take a certain action about what occurred. The strength of this evidence is that it can influence the reader to do a certain action because it seems real and it’s from someone’s personal experience. One problem with this evidence is that it is not very helpful. We should find out more about it ourselves before we listen to others’ beliefs.
- Appeals to Authority: Uses authority figures to provide evidence to reader to persuade them to do certain things. The strength of this evidence is that it provides more impact to the argument. One problem with this evidence is that most often times authority figures are wrong and they disagree many times.
- The article stated that there is a huge supply of toilet paper in the world but due to the coronavirus, people are hoarding much of that supply from other people. The evidence the author provides is personal experience. The author describes his time in Costco and shows that he didn’t find any. This evidence is relatable as it is happening now in today’s society. Most stores will have something that is run out other than toilet paper.
Jay L. Zagorsky. (2020, March 11). There’s plenty of toilet paper in the US – so why are people hoarding it? The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/theres-plenty-of-toilet-paper-in-the-us-so-why-are-people-hoarding-it-133300