Module 3 How to Support a Claim with Evidence

An evidence/quote burger forms the part of a body paragraph that comes AFTER the claim.

An evidence/quote burger has three parts.

The TOP 1-2 sentences provide the context/introduction. Contextual knowledge is used to situate the evidence in time and place and to establish the historical context. For example, who, where, when and what does the reader need to know in order to understand how your evidence relates to you topic sentence?
The MIDDLE 1-2 sentences are the evidence used to support your topic sentence/claim. You may quote the document directly or paraphrase. If you quote directly, please be concise: reduce the quotation to just those bits you need to prove your point. Rule of thumb: quote when your interpretation depends on the actual words or phrasing. Otherwise, paraphrase or summarize. Whether you quote directly or paraphrase, please cite the source of the evidence in parenthesis; for example: (Doc A).

The BOTTOM 3-4 sentences provide your commentary/analysis. The commentary/analysis is an explanation as to why or how the evidence supports your topic sentence/claim. In other words, the reasoning as to why you feel the evidence you chose is the best or strongest evidence to support your thesis/topic sentence. Your commentary/analysis should demonstrate what the evidence means, and/or why it matters to the the claim.

Evidence Burger.png

Below is a context sentence stem (the TOP part of the evidence burger).

This document was written during _______________________ (time period/event/movement), which would have impacted (the writing of this document, the way the author viewed this event, the ideas in the document) in the following way….

Below are examples of how to introduce the quote (the MIDDLE part of the evidence burger).

______________ states , “__________________________________________” (evidence/quote)

According to ____________________, “_______________________________” (evidence/quote)

In ________________’s view, “____________________________” (evidence/quote)
___________ agrees when he/she writes, “___________________________” (evidence/quote)

Paraphrasing can use the same structure as the above examples, but will state the information from the evidence in your own words.

Below are some commentary/analysis sentence starters (the BOTTOM part of the evidence burger).

Based on this evidence, it appears that______________________________________.
This source provides some insight into the nature of __________________________.
The evidence points to ____________________________________________________.
It’s important to note _________________ since _______________________________.