1answer.
Ask question
Login Signup
Ask question
All categories
  • English
  • Mathematics
  • Social Studies
  • Business
  • History
  • Health
  • Geography
  • Biology
  • Physics
  • Chemistry
  • Computers and Technology
  • Arts
  • World Languages
  • Spanish
  • French
  • German
  • Advanced Placement (AP)
  • SAT
  • Medicine
  • Law
  • Engineering
SVEN [57.7K]
3 years ago
5

what is a topic sentence and how do you use evidence to support ideas and use different sentence types

English
1 answer:
liraira [26]3 years ago
5 0

Answer:

1. What is a topic sentence?

In expository writing, a topic sentence is<u> a sentence that summarizes the main idea of a paragraph</u>.

2. How do you use evidence to support ideas and use different sentence types?

<u>Using Evidence</u>  

The types of evidence you use change from discipline to discipline--you might use quotations from a poem or a literary critic, for example, in a literature paper; you might use data from an experiment in a lab report.

<u>When Should You Incorporate Evidence?</u>

Once you have formulated your claim, your thesis, you should use evidence to help strengthen your thesis and any assertion you make that relates to your thesis. Here are some ways to work evidence into your writing:

- Offer evidence that agrees with your stance up to a point, then add to it with ideas of your own.

- Present evidence that contradicts your stance, and then argue against (refute) that evidence and therefore strengthen your position.

- Use sources against each other, as if they were experts on a panel discussing your proposition.

- Use quotations to support your assertion, not merely to state or restate your claim.

<u>Weak and Strong Uses of Evidence</u>

In order to use evidence effectively, you need to integrate it smoothly into your essay by following this pattern:

~ State your claim.

~ Give your evidence, remembering to relate it to the claim.

~ Comment on the evidence to show how it supports the claim.

<u><em>Weak use of evidence</em></u>

Today, we are too self-centered. Most families no longer sit down to eat together, preferring instead to eat on the go while rushing to the next appointment (Gleick 148). Everything is about what we want.

This is a weak example of evidence because the evidence is not related to the claim. What does the claim about self-centeredness have to do with families eating together? The writer doesn't explain the connection.

<u><em>Stronger use of evidence</em></u>

Today, Americans are too self-centered. Even our families don't matter as much anymore as they once did. Other people and activities take precedence. In fact, the evidence shows that most American families no longer eat together, preferring instead to eat on the go while rushing to the next appointment (Gleick 148). Sit-down meals are a time to share and connect with others; however, that connection has become less valued, as families begin to prize individual activities over shared time, promoting self-centeredness over group identity.

This is a far better example, as the evidence is more smoothly integrated into the text, the link between the claim and the evidence is strengthened, and the evidence itself is analyzed to provide support for the claim.

<u>Using Quotations: A Special Type of Evidence</u>

One effective way to support your claim is to use quotations. However, because quotations involve someone else's words, you need to take special care to integrate this kind of evidence into your essay. Here are two examples using quotations, one less effective and one more so.

<u><em>Ineffective Use of Quotation</em></u>

Today, we are too self-centered. "We are consumers-on-the-run . . . the very notion of the family meal as a sit-down occasion is vanishing. Adults and children alike eat . . . on the way to their next activity" (Gleick 148). Everything is about what we want.

This example is ineffective because the quotation is not integrated with the writer's ideas. Notice how the writer has dropped the quotation into the paragraph without making any connection between it and the claim. Furthermore, she has not discussed the quotation's significance, which makes it difficult for the reader to see the relationship between the evidence and the writer's point.

<u><em>A More Effective Use of Quotation</em></u>

Today, Americans are too self-centered. Even our families don't matter as much any more as they once did. Other people and activities take precedence, as James Gleick says in his book, Faster. "We are consumers-on-the-run . . . the very notion of the family meal as a sit-down occasion is vanishing. Adults and children alike eat . . . on the way to their next activity" (148). Sit-down meals are a time to share and connect with others; however, that connection has become less valued, as families begin to prize individual activities over shared time, promoting self-centeredness over group identity.

The second example is more effective because it follows the guidelines for incorporating evidence into an essay. Notice, too, that it uses a lead-in phrase (". . . as James Gleick says in his book, Faster") to introduce the direct quotation. This lead-in phrase helps to integrate the quotation with the writer's ideas. Also notice that the writer discusses and comments upon the quotation immediately afterwards, which allows the reader to see the quotation's connection to the writer's point.

<em><u>REMEMBER: Discussing the significance of your evidence develops and expands your paper!</u></em>

Explanation:

I know this is a lot to read, but it is useful, but I do hope this helps you in any way.

You might be interested in
Read the excerpt from Gary Soto’s short story "Like Mexicans.” My grandmother gave me bad advice and good advice when I was in m
bagirrra123 [75]
In the excerpt from Gary Soto’s short story "Like Mexicans.” The complex narrative structure used in the excerpt is an example of establishing a work of fiction that is based on nonfiction. For the reason that the author assumes responsibility for the truth or accuracy of the events, people, or information presented thus being noted as Nonfiction.

4 0
3 years ago
Drag each incentive to the correct location on the chart. Classify the incentives as monetary or nonmonetary.​
Cerrena [4.2K]
Monetary means relating to money so sales commissions, wealth, high income, and future earning potential.

Non-monetary would be everything else
4 0
2 years ago
Read 2 more answers
What visible light color did humans use to color jeans with?
elixir [45]

Answer:

pigments for blue

Explanation:

4 0
2 years ago
Read 2 more answers
Which of the following is a tip in determining analogies?
Anna [14]
Decide if pairs of words have parellel structure.
7 0
3 years ago
Read 2 more answers
What is one difference between Chinese schools and American schools, according to Maxine Hong Kingston?
ElenaW [278]
The dicipline between the 2 schools
7 0
3 years ago
Other questions:
  • Read the following passage from The Way to Rainy Mountain:
    8·2 answers
  • Aboriginal in a sentence?
    15·1 answer
  • This passage can BEST be described as expository because
    7·2 answers
  • How are loaded language and images used to persuade you to think and act in certain ways?
    8·2 answers
  • Please help me <br> I will give whenever u wanna pleaseeee
    8·1 answer
  • Alfonso walked over to his brother. He compared their two bikes: His gleamed like a handful of dimes, while Ernie's looked dirty
    9·2 answers
  • Read the excerpt below from Chris Jacobs' narrative called Everlasting. As you read, think about how Jacobs creates an effective
    8·2 answers
  • To exhibit one’s work at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., would be a high point in any artist’s career; to recei
    10·1 answer
  • 2. What are your self-realizations?​
    13·2 answers
  • Read this excerpt from Herman Melville's "The Lightning-Rod Man," which contains a mythological allusion.
    7·1 answer
Add answer
Login
Not registered? Fast signup
Signup
Login Signup
Ask question!