Evidence is facts or information that indicate whether a claim is true. The amount and type of evidence needed depends on the target audience - a friendly audience requires little evidence while a hostile audience requires a great deal. Strong evidence must be tested for accuracy, reliability, and relevance. Multiple steps can ensure evidence is properly evaluated, including checking for issues like being too old, insufficient support for claims, logical inconsistencies, and inconsistencies with other knowledge.

1. By Harold Garcia

2. What is Evidence?
•The available body of facts or information
indicating whether a belief or proposition is true or
valid.
• Evidence is the Foundation of an argument
•Evidence establishes the amount of accuracy on
your argument

3.  This is determined based on the
demands of the target audience
 Friendly Audience: Already Supports
the advocate position on a claim, so
very little evidence is needed
 Neutral Audience: One that has
made no commitment to adhere to
the advocated point of view. The
evidence needed can go either way
 Hostile Audience: This group is
opposed to the advocate’s point of
view; in this case a great deal of
evidence is needed

7.  Establish conclusive proof in such a way that the law will not allow it to be
contradicted
 Form circumstantial proof to form a link strong enough to prove your point.
 Create an evidence chain. Put together as much evidence possible to establish the
accuracy of the claim. Use different types of evidence.

8.  To make sure strong
evidence has been
acquired, it must be
put to the test.
 Evidence must be
accurate
 Evidence must be
trusted and reliable
 There are multiple
steps that can be
used to test evidence.

9.  Regency: Evidence too old to be relevant to current
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issues
Sufficiency: Is the evidence enough? Is it sufficient
for all the claims being made?
Logical Relevance: Does the claim justifies the
conclusion offered? Can the conclusion be drawn
based on the evidence provided?
Internal Consistency: Does the source make claims
contradicted by other claims?
External Consistency: Are the claims consistent with
the general knowledge and other evidence provided?
And if discrepancies occur, can the writer account for
them?