[Essay Tips] Incorporating Evidence

Don’t wait too long into a body paragraph to add the quote. State your point in the first sentence or two, but immediately support it with evidence. The professor wants validity established for your point before the consequences, ethics, pathos, etc. are even mentioned.

If the source is reputable, directly mention the institution or their qualifications otherwise. Nobody knows who “Dr. Bob Smith” but Dr. Bob Smith, Head of ___ University’s Biology Program does add legitimacy.

If the source is acceptable and factually accurate, use a parenthetical but do not directly mention it.

Spend at least several quality sentences analyzing evidence in most cases. Typically, only one sentence for a major piece of evidence will be viewed as lazy.

Analyze a specific part of the text you quoted. If the quote has numbers, explain the significance and real-world impact of those numbers. If the quote has literary/rhetorical devices explain which it has and what instances they are displayed.

Only quote what you’re going to analyze and don’t be afraid to use ellipsis or paraphrase if block-quoting consumes too much space.

If feasible, find a second piece of evidence from a wholly different but still qualified source to establish weight to your topic.