CRR Week 5: Evaluating Source Materials Now that youve selected your final research topics that you will build upon for the l

52

Chapter 4 •

Learning Objectives

In this chapter you will learn to:

4.1 Explain the different kinds of evidence

4.2 Make your evidence persuasive by using the STAR criteria and other strategies

4.3 Understand evidence rhetorically by explaining how the selection and framing of evidence reveal an angle of vision

In Chapters 2 and 3 we introduced the concept of logos the logical structure of reasons and evidence in an argument and showed how an effective argument advances the writer's claim by linking its supporting reasons to one or more assumptions, beliefs, or values held by the intended audience. In this chapter, we turn to the uses of evidence in argument. By evidence, we mean all the verifi- able data and information a writer might use as support for an argument. In Toulmin's terms, evidence is part of the grounds or backing of an argument in support of reasons or warrants. By understanding evidence rhetorically, you will better understand how to use evidence ethically, responsibly, and persuasively in your own arguments.

Kinds of Evidence 4.1 Explain the different kinds of evidence.

You have numerous options for the kinds of evidence you can use in an argument, including personal experience, observations, interviews, questionnaires, field or laboratory research, or findings derived from researching primary or secondary sources found in libraries, databases, or the web. Carmen Tieu' s argument in Chapter 3 is based on personal experience. More commonly, college arguments require library and Internet research skills we teach in Part Two (Entering an

Using Evidence Effectively 53

Argumentative Conversation" ) and Part Five (" The Research ed Argument" ). This chapter focuses more basically on how evidence functions rhetorically in an argu- m ent and how it is selected and framed.

We be gin by cate gorizing and ev aluating different kinds of evidence, illustrating how each might be incorporated into an argument.

DATA FROM PERSONAL EXPERIENCE One powerful kind of evidence comes from p ersonal experience.

Example Strengths and Limitations

Despite recent criticism that Ritali n is overprescribed for hyperactivity and attention deficit d isorder, it can often seem li ke a miracle d rug . My little brother is a perfect example. Before he was given Ritalin, he was a terror in school . . .. [Tel l the "before" and "after" story of your litt le brother.]

• Personal-experience examples help readers identify w ith the writer; t hey show the writer's personal connection to the issue.

• Vivid stories capture the imagination and appeal to pathos . • Skeptics may sometimes argue that personal-experience

examples are insufficient (the writer is guilty of hasty generalization), not typical, or not adequately scientific or verifiable .

DATA FROM OBSERVATION OR FIELD RESEARCH You can also d evelop evi- d ence by p ersonally observing a phenomenon or by doing your own field research.

Example

The intersection at Fifth and Montgomery is particularly dangerous because pedestri- ans almost never find a comfortable break in the heavy flow of cars . On April 29, I watched fifty-seven pedestrians cross t he street. Not once d id cars driving in either direction on Fifth Avenue stop before the pedestrian stepped off the sidewalk to cross Montgomery Street. [Contin ue with observed data about danger.]

Strengths and Limitations

• Field research imparts a sense of scientific credibility. • Observations and field research increase typicality by

expanding the database beyond a si ngle example. • Observation and field research en hance the ethos of

the writer as personally invested and reasonable. • Skeptics may point to flaws in how observations

were cond ucted, showing how data are insufficient, inaccurate, or nontypical.

DATA FROM INTERVIEWS, QUESTIONNAIRES, AND SURVEYS You can also gather data by interviewing stakeholders in a controversy, creating ques- tionnaires, or conducting surveys. (See Chapter 16 for advice on how to conduct this kind of field research.)

Example

Another reason to ban laptops from class- rooms is the extent to which laptop users disturb other students. In a questionnaire that I d istributed to fifty students in my resi- dence hall, a surprising 60 percent said that they are an noyed by fellow students check- ing lnstagram, sendi ng e-mail, paying their bil ls , or surfing the Web while pretending to take notes in class. Add itionally, I inter- viewed five students w ho gave me specific examples of how these d istractions interfere w ith learning. [Report the examples.]

Strengths and Limitations

• Interviews, questionnaires, and surveys enhance the sufficiency and typicality of evidence by expanding the database beyond the experiences of one person.

• Quantitative data from questionnaires and surveys often increase t he argument's scientific feel.

• Surveys and questionnaires often uncover local or recent data not available in published research .

• Interviews can provide engaging personal stories, thus en hancing pathos .

• Skeptics can raise doubts about research method- ology, q uestionnaire design, or typicality of interview subjects.

54 Chapter 4

DATA FROM LIBRARY OR INTERNET RESEARCH For m an y arguments, evi- d ence is d erived from reading, particularly from library or Internet research. Part Five of this text helps you conduct effective research and incorporate research sources into your arguments.

Example

The belief that a high-carbohydrate, low-fat diet is the best way to lose weight has been challenged by research conducted by Walter Willett and his colleagues in the department of nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health . Willett's research suggests that complex carbohydrates such as pasta and potatoes spike glucose levels, increasing the risk of diabetes. Add itionally, some fats- especially monounsaturated and polyun- saturated fats found in nuts, fish, and most vegetable oi Is- he I p lower "bad" cholesterol levels (45).*

Strengths and Limitations

• Researched evidence is often powerful , especially when sources speak with verifiable authority/ expertise on their subjects and are respected by your audience; writers can spotlight the source's credentials through attributive tags (see Chapter 17) .

• Researched data may take the form of facts, examples, quotations, summaries of research studies, and so forth .

• Skeptics might doubt the accuracy of facts , the cre- dentials of a source, or the research design of a study. They might also cite studies with different results.

• Skeptics might raise doubts about sufficiency, typicality, or relevance of your research data.

TESTIMONY Writers frequently u se testimony when direct data are either unavailable or highly technical or complex. Testimonial evidence can come from research or from interv iews.

Example

Althoug h the Swedish economist Bjorn Lomborg claims that acid rai n is not a sig- nificant problem , many environmentalists disagree. According to David Bellamany, president of the Conservation Founda- tion, "Acid rain does kill forests and people around the world, and it's still doing so in the most polluted places, such as Russia" (qtd . in BBC News) .

Strengths and Limitations

• By itself, testimony is generally less persuasive than direct data.

• Persuasiveness can be increased if the source has impressive credentials, which the writer can convey throug h attributive tags introducing the testi- mony (see Chapter 17).

• Skeptics might undermine testimon ial evidence by questioning the source's credentials, showing the source's bias, or quoting a countersource.

STATISTICAL DATA Many contemporary arguments rely h eavily on statistical data, often supplem ented by graphics such as tables, pie charts, and graphs. (See Chapter 9 for a discussion of the u se of graphics in argument.)

Example

After graduating from college, millennials aren't leaving their parents' homes the way college graduates used to. According to the U.S. Cen- sus Bureau's 2015 American Community Sur- vey, 34. 1 percent of people between the ages of eighteen and thirty-four lived in their par- ents' households, with the percentage even higher in states with high real-estate costs.

Strengths and Limitations

• Statistics can provide powerful snapshots of aggregate data from a wide database.

• Statistics are often used in conjunction with graphics. • Statistics can be calculated and displayed in differ-

ent ways to achieve different rhetorical effects, so the reader must be wary.

• Skeptics might question statistical methods, research design, and interpretation of data.

HYPOTHETICAL EXAMPLES, CASES, AND SCENARIOS Arguments occa- sionally use hypothetical examples, cases, or scenarios, particularly to illustrate conjectured consequences of an event or to test philosophical hypotheses.

*Parenthetical citations in this example and the next follow the MLA documentation system. See Chapter 18 for a full discussion of how to cite and document sources.

Example

Consider what might happen if we continue to use biotech soybeans that are resistant to herbicides. The resistant gene, through cross- pollination, might be transferred to an ordinary weed , creating an out-of-control superweed that herbicides couldn't kil l. Such a superweed cou ld be an ecological disaster.

Using Evidence Effectively 55

Strengths and Limitations

• Scenarios have strong imaginative appeal. • Scenarios are persuasive only if they seem plausible. • A scenario narrative often conveys a sense of

"inevitability" even if the actual scenario is unlikely; hence, the rhetorical effect may be illogical.

• Skeptics might show the implausibility of the scenario or offer an alternative scenario.

REASONED SEQUENCE OF IDEAS Sometimes arguments are supported with a reasoned sequence of ideas rather than with concrete facts or other forms of empirical evidence . The writer ' s goal is to support a point through a logical progression of ideas. Such arguments are conceptual, supported by linked ideas, rather than evidential. This kind of support occurs frequently in arguments and is often intermingled with evidential support.

Example

Embryonic stem cell research, despite its promise in fighting diseases, may have negative social consequences. This research encourages us to place embryos in the category of mere cellular matter that can be manipulated at will. Currently we reduce animals to th is category when we genetically alter them for human pur- poses, such as engineering pigs to grow more human-like heart valves for use in transplants. Using human embryos in the same way-as material that can be altered and destroyed at will- may benefit society materially, but this quest for greater knowledge and control involves a reclassifying of embryos that could potentially lead to a devaluing of human life.

Strengths and Limitations

• These sequences are often used in causal argu- ments to show how causes are linked to effects or in definitional or values arguments to show links among ideas.

• A sequence of ideas has great potential to clarify values and show the belief structure on wh ich a claim is founded.

• A sequence of ideas can sketch out ideas and connections that would otherwise remain latent.

• The effectiveness of this type of evidence depends on the audience's acceptance of each link in the sequence of ideas.

• Skeptics might raise objections at any link in the sequence, often by pointing to different val ues or outlining different conseq uences.

The Persuasive Use of Evidence 4.2 Make your evidence persuasive by using the STAR criteria

and other strategies.

We turn now from kinds of evidence to strategies for making evidence as convincing and p ersuasive as possible. Consider a target audience of educated, reasonable, and careful readers who approach an issue with healthy skepticism, open-minded but cautious. What d emands would such readers make on a writer's use of evidence? To answer that question, let's look at some general principles for using evidence persuasively.

Applyfhe STAR Criteria to Evidence Our open-minded but skeptical audience would expect the ev idence to meet what rhetorician Richard Fulkerson calls the STAR criteria:*

*Richard Fulkerson, Teaching the A rgumen t in W riting (Urbana, IL: National Council of Teach- ers of English , 1996), 44-53. In this section, w e are indebted to Fulkerson's discussion.

56 Chapter 4

Sufficiency: Is there enough evidence?

Typicality: Is the chosen evidence representative and typical?

Accuracy: Is the evidence accurate and up-to-date?

Relevance: Is the evidence relevant to the claim?

Let's examine each in turn.

SUFFICIENCY OF EVIDENCE How much evidence you need is a function of your rhetorical context. In a court trial, opposing attorneys often agree to waive evidence for points that aren't in doubt in order to concentrate on contested points. The more contested a claim or the more skeptical your audience, the more evidence you may need to present. On the one hand, if you provide too little evidence you may be accused of hasty generalization (see Appendix), a reason- ing fallacy in which you make a sweeping conclusion based on only one or two instances. On the other hand, if you provide too much evidence your argument may become overly long and tedious. You can guard against having too little or too much evidence by appropriately qualifying the claim your evidence supports.

Strong claim: Working full-time seriously harms a student's grade point average (much data needed probably a combination of examples and sta- tistical studies). Qualified claim: Working full-time often harms a student's grade point average (a few representative examples may be enough).

TYPICALITY OF EVIDENCE If readers are to trust your evidence, they need to be confident that you have chosen typical and representative cases rather than extreme or outlier cases. Suppose that you want to argue that students can suc- cessfully work full-time while going to college full-time. You cite the case of your friend Pam, who earned a straight-A grade point average while working forty hours per week as a night receptionist in a small hotel. Your audience might doubt the typicality of Pam's case because a night receptionist can often use work hours for studying. What about more typical jobs, they'll ask, where you can't study while you work?

ACCURACY OF EVIDENCE Evidence can't be used ethically unless it is accu- rate and up-to-date, and it can't be persuasive unless the audience believes in the credibility of the writer's sources. This criterion is particularly important in an era of "fake news" and "alternative facts." Arguers need to evaluate their sources, analyzing where each source might be placed on the continuum from "truth- seeking" to "persuasion" (see Figure 1.5). Ethical arguers must also develop an eye and ear for identifying reliable sources of data, distinguishing, for example, between widely respected news and public affairs sites and potential fake news sites. Later in this section, we illustrate our own fact-checking search to ensure the accuracy of a piece of evidence, explaining how we tracked down the original source for a piece of data cited in a The New Yorker article.

RELEVANCE OF EVIDENCE Finally, evidence will be persuasive only if the reader considers it relevant to what is at stake in the dispute. Consider the following student argument: "I deserve an A in this course because I worked exceptionally hard." The student then cites substantial evidence of how hard he worked a log of study hours, copies of multiple drafts of papers, testimony from friends, and so forth. But what is at stake here is the underlying assumption

Using Evidence Effectively 57

(warrant) that grades should be based on effort, not quality of work. The student provides ample evidence to support the reason ("I worked exceptionally hard"), but this evidence is irrelevant to the warrant ("People who work exceptionally hard deserve an A"). Although some instructors may give partial credit for effort, the criterion for grades is usually the quality of the student's performance, not the student's time spent studying.

Establish a Trustworthy Ethos Besides supplying evidence that meets the STAR criteria, you can make your evidence more persuasive by being fair, honest, and open to uncertainty (the appeal to ethos see Chapter 5). To establish your readers' confidence, you must first tell them the source of your evidence. If your evidence comes from personal experience or observation, your prose needs to make that clear. If your evidence comes from others (for example, through interviews or library /Internet research), you must indicate these sources through attributive tags (phrases like "according toT. Alvarez" or "as stated by a recent EPA report"). For academic papers, you must also cite and document your sources using an appropriate style for in-text citations and concluding bibliography. (Part Five of this text explains how to find, use, and cite research sources.) Finally, you need to be fair in the way you select evidence from your research sources. For example, it is unethical to take quota- tions out of context or to write an unfair summary that oversimplifies or distorts a source author's intended meaning.

Be Mindful of a Source's Distance froin Original Data When you support an argument through library /Internet research, you often encounter sources that report evidence from a second- or third-hand perspective. You need to imagine where your source author found the information that you now want to use in your own argument. How might you trace the process that led from the original data to your source author's use of it? Let's take as an example a passage from an article on the minimum wage by James Surowiecki writing for The New Yorker. (You can read the full article in Chapter 8.) Because the source is a magazine article rather than an academic paper, it contains no footnotes or bibliography, but the author nevertheless uses attributive tags to identify his main sources. Here is a passage from the article:

Passage from "The Pay Is Too Damn Low" by James Surowiecki

[O]ver the past three decades, the U.S. economy has done a poor job of cre- ating good middle-class jobs; five of the six fastest-growing job categories today; pay less than the median wage. That's why, as a recent study by the economists John Schmitt and Janelle Jones has shown,low-~ge workers are older and better educated than ever. More important, more of them are relying on their paychecks not for pin money or to pay for Friday-night dates but, rather, to support families.

Much of Surowiecki 's argument for increasing the minimum wage depends on evidence that low-wage workers are "older and better educated than ever." But we

Attributive tag (cites this study as his source)

Purported factual statement that we are

• • examining

58 Chapter 4

might ask: How does Surowiecki know about the age and education of low-wage workers? Why should we trust him? Using an attributive tag, he identifies his source as a recent study by economists John Schmitt and Janelle Jones. We conducted a Google search and quickly located the source: a working paper titled "Low-Wage Workers Are Older and Better Educated than Ever," dated April 2012. The paper was published by the Center for Economic and Policy Research, which, according to its Web site, is a nonprofit, nonpartisan research center aimed at providing factual economic data for public policy makers. So where did Schmitt and Jones get their data? They cite statistical tables compiled by the Current Population Survey, which is a joint effort of the Census Bureau and the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Based on these original data, Schmitt and Jones constructed two graphs showing shifts in the distribution of low-wage workers by age and then by education from 1971 to 2011. One of these graphs shows that in 1979, 26 percent of low-wage jobs were held by teenagers, but by 2011 only 12 percent of low-wage jobs were held by teenagers. (You can see this graph in Figure 8.3). In contrast, Schmitt and Jones's second graph shows that in 1979 only 25 percent of low-wage job holders had completed at least some college, but by 2011, 43 percent had completed some college.

Let's summarize the process we have just traced. The original data came from government statistics collected by the Census Bureau and the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Schmitt and Jones then converted these data into detailed graphs. Surowiecki then summarized the graphs' message into a single sentence. If you were to cite Surowiecki as your source of this same information ("low-wage work- ers are older and better educated than ever"), you would be depending on a chain of trust stretching from the original data through Schmitt and Jones and Surowiecki to you.

Of course, you can't be expected to trace all your research-gathered evidence back to the original data, but you need to imagine that it is possible to do so. The closer you can get to the original data, the more trustworthy your evidence. Unfor- tunately, fact-checkers employed by news sources or nonprofit organizations often discover that purportedly accurate information cannot be traced back to a credible original source. They might show that the information is not factual at all, that it is derived from flawed or discredited studies, that it has been distorted unfairly, or that it is purposely invented fake news in the service of propaganda. Politifact.com, a nationally respected fact-checker, uses a "truth-o-meter" to rank purported evidential statements along a scale from "True" to "False," with the most egre- giously false statements earning their famous "[Liar, Liar] Pants-on-Fire" award. To develop a respected ethos, you need to develop your own internal truth-o-meter by being aware of a source's distance from the original data and by occasionally tracing a piece of evidence back to its origins.

etorical Understanding of Evidence 4.3 Understand evidence rhetorically by explaining how the selection

and framing of evidence reveal an angle of vision.

In the previous section we presented some principles for persuasive use of evi- dence. We now ask you to look more closely at the rhetorical context in which evidence operates.

Angle of Vision and the Selection and Framing of Evidence

Using Evidence Effectively 59

When we enter the argumentative arena, we arrive as complex, whole persons, not as disembodied computers that reach claims through a value-free calculus. We enter with our own ideologies, beliefs, values, and guiding assumptions as formed by our particular lived lives. These differences help explain why one per- son's terrorist might be another person's freedom fighter, or why a handgun in a drawer might be one person's defense against intruders and another person's accident waiting to happen. In writing about guns, a believer in Second Amend- ment rights is apt to cite evidence that having a gun can stop a violent intruder or prevent a rape. Conversely, proponents of gun control are apt to cite evidence about accidental deaths or suicides. In an argument, evidence is always selected to further the arguer's claim and is never simply an inert, neutral"fact."

These guiding beliefs and values work together to create a writer's angle of vision: a perspective, bias, lens, filter, frame, or screen that helps determine what a writer sees or doesn't see. This angle of vision makes certain items stand out in a field of data while other items become invisible. The angle of vision both deter- mines and reveals the writer's view of which data are important and significant, and which data are trivial and can be ignored.

To help you better understand the concepts of selection and framing, we offer the following exercise based on different angles of vision regarding Uber, the ride- sharing company. Wildly popular in many cities, Uber has been accused of unfair or unsafe business practices causing dilemmas for city governments, regulatory agencies, insurance companies, and customers who want to avoid supporting socially irresponsible companies.

Suppose that your city has scheduled a public hearing on whether Uber needs stricter government regulations either for public safety or for ensuring fair busi- ness practices. The following pieces of data and evidence are available to the people who plan to attend the hearing.

• Uber has provided income opportunity for over 1 million drivers.

• Customers generally love Uber for the ease of its rider experience. The rider is automatically billed through the mobile app without the need to pull out a credit card or pay a tip.

• Some Uber drivers have complained of low pay and stressful work condi- tions. Uber data show that 11 percent of Uber drivers quit within a month, and about half quit within a year.

• Uber classifies its drivers as independent contractors rather than employees. Therefore, Uber doesn't have to provide health insurance, overtime pay, and other benefits.

• As independent contractors, Uber drivers have the freedom to work any hours they wish, and they accept only the riders and destinations they choose.

• In San Francisco, an Uber driver who was watching his Uber app for a poten- tial rider struck a six-year-old girl in a crosswalk. The parents sued Uber, but Uber lawyers claimed that the company bore no responsibility for the accident because the driver was an independent contractor and was not carrying a rider.

• Uber stores every user's ride-history data. If your Uber app is running, Uber can also track your location even if you aren't requesting an Uber

60 Chapter 4

ride. Uber has been accused of using its tracking data to dig up dirt on jour- nalists who are critical of Uber and to spy on Uber's rivals.

• Several independent studies have shown that a rollout of Uber in new areas is frequently associated with a decrease in drunk driving incidents.

• Several American cities have reported instances of Uber drivers sexually assaulting passengers. Two lawsuits in California accuse Uber of misleading customers about the quality of their background checks for drivers. As part of the suits, district attorneys cited findings that twenty-five Uber drivers in San Francisco and Los Angeles had criminal records.

• An Australian report found that Uber is less risky than a taxi because both passengers and drivers have profiles that can be checked before pickup. Unlike taxi services, Uber provides an online record of who the driver is.

• Taxicab drivers and union leaders complain that Uber's "surge pricing" poli- cies are unfair to both regulated taxi companies and to customers. During low demand times, Uber is cheaper than taxis; during surge times, customers are often surprised by a bill that is higher than what a taxi company would charge.

• One union leader for taxi drivers said: "Either the city should deregulate us [taxis] completely, like them [Uber] … or regulate them at least closer to us, and let there be fair business competition."

For Writing and Discussion Creating Contrasting Angles of Vision

Individual task: Drawing on data that you select from the above list, compose two short speeches, one supporting the cur- rent Uber business model and one calling for more government regulat ion of Uber. Be ready to explain how you selected and framed data to create a pro-Uber angle of vision in one speech and an anti-Uber angle of vision in the other. How do data highlighted in one of your speeches become " less seen" or even "unseen" in the other?

Group task: Working in pairs or as a whole class, share your speeches with classmates. Then, after you have shared examples, explain the approaches that different classmates employed. What principle of selection was used? If arguers included evidence contrary to their positions, how did they handle it, respond to it, minimize its importance, or otherwise channel its rhetorical effect?

Examining Visual Arguments Angle of Vision Angle of vision can be conveyed visually as well as verba lly. The photos in Figures 4.1 and 4.2 display different angles of vision toward graffiti or street art, a controversial subject worldwide that affects urban dwellers' and tou rists' experience of public spaces. Suppose you are writ ing a short b lurb advertising city sights for a free t ravel magazine available at rental car agencies, hotels, and train stations. Which image

Using Evidence Effectively 61

Figure 4.1 Urban site with graffiti (Pearson Asset Library)

…

342

Chapter 16 •

Learning Objectives

In this chapter you will learn to:

16.1 Formulate a research question instead of a topic.

16.2 Think rhetorically about kinds of sources.

16.3 Find sources through field, library, or Web research.

16.4 Use rhetorical awareness to select and evaluate your sources and take purposeful notes.

Although the research paper is a common writing assignment in college, students are often baffled by their professor's expectations. The problem is that students often think of research writing as presenting information rather than creating an argument. One of our business-school colleagues calls these sorts of research papers "data dumps."

But a research paper shouldn't be a data dump. Like any other argument, it should use information to support a contestable claim. In academic settings (as opposed to arguments in many business or civic settings), a distinguishing feature of a researched argument is its formal documentation. By documentation, we mean the in-text citations and accompanying list of references that allow readers to identify and locate the researcher's sources for themselves while also establish- ing the writer's professionalism and ethos.

Fortunately, writing an argument as a formal research paper draws on the same argumentation skills you have already been using the ability to pose a question at issue within a community, to form

Collepals.com Plagiarism Free Papers

Are you looking for custom essay writing service or even dissertation writing services? Just request for our write my paper service, and we'll match you with the best essay writer in your subject! With an exceptional team of professional academic experts in a wide range of subjects, we can guarantee you an unrivaled quality of custom-written papers.

Get ZERO PLAGIARISM, HUMAN WRITTEN ESSAYS

Why Hire Collepals.com writers to do your paper?

Quality- We are experienced and have access to ample research materials.

We write plagiarism Free Content

Confidential- We never share or sell your personal information to third parties.

Support-Chat with us today! We are always waiting to answer all your questions.