This document outlines different types of evidence that can be used to support arguments or theses, including facts, statistics, quotations, anecdotes, and analogies. Facts are things that are proven to be true, while statistics provide measurable data from reliable sources. Quotations are statements from experts in their fields. Anecdotes are personal stories from one's own experience that provide greater understanding. Analogies compare unknown concepts to known concepts to aid understanding. Examples illustrate general rules.

1. Types of Evidence

2. Facts
Something proven
to be true.

3. Fact
• Water boils at 100 C
• Jane Austen was born on
December 16, 1775
Not a Fact
• Being boiled alive is the worst way
to die
• Jane Austen is the best British
novelist.
* Facts are not claims or beliefs*

4. Statistics
•Measurable
data

5. E.g. As of 2010, 84% of all
adults are literate, according
to data from the United
Nations Education, Scientific
and Cultural Organization.
Make sure your data comes from reliable sources!!!

6. Quotations
• Statements from
leading experts in their
fields

7. Anecdote
Personal story
from one’s own
experience

8. Possible anecdote in a discussion of “Out of
All Them Bright Stars”
• Although I don’t know what it feels like to
be a bald, blue-skinned alien, I do know
what it feels like to find oneself a stranger
in an unfamiliar land.
Must be related to the thesis and provide greater
understanding into a more universal or general situation.

9. Analogy
Comparing the
unknown to the
known

10. Example
•A specific case of a
general rule