Writing: Research and Evidence Use
Research and Evidence Use covers the path from question to citation: narrowing a research question, locating relevant sources, judging credibility, drawing evidence from literary and informational texts, paraphrasing and quoting accurately, and citing sources so a reader can find them. Items ask you to choose the most useful source, spot plagiarism, select the better paraphrase, or decide which evidence actually supports a stated claim.
From topic to question
A topic ("urban farming") is too broad to research. A workable question is focused and answerable: "How does rooftop farming affect building energy costs in mid-sized cities?" Good questions specify a population, place, or time frame, and more than one plausible answer exists.
Judging credibility
- Authority: Who wrote it, and what expertise do they have?
- Currency: When was it published? A 2009 statistic on solar costs is not current.
- Relevance: Does it address your question, or a neighboring one?
- Bias and sponsorship: A trade association's report on its own industry, or a site whose advertising depends on the conclusion, deserves skepticism.
- Evidence quality: Peer-reviewed studies, government data, and documented reporting outweigh anonymous claims or single anecdotes.
Using evidence honestly
Quote exactly when the wording matters; otherwise paraphrase in your own sentence structure and vocabulary, then cite. Changing two words is not paraphrasing - that is patchwriting and still plagiarism. Introduce sources ("Historian Ada Nunez argues..."), integrate them grammatically, and follow with commentary connecting the evidence to your claim. Common knowledge needs no citation; specific facts, statistics, and interpretations do.
Worked example
Question: "Which source best supports the claim that school gardens improve student nutrition?" A) A blog post by a gardening-supply company praising school gardens. B) A 2019 peer-reviewed study measuring fruit and vegetable intake before and after garden installation in 12 schools. C) A 1998 newspaper column about one school's garden. D) A novel in which students plant a garden.
Reasoning: A has a direct financial interest. C is dated and anecdotal. D is fiction. B measures the exact outcome named in the claim, across multiple sites, with a stated method - the strongest support.
Traps
- Choosing a source that is merely about the topic, not about the claim.
- Paraphrasing by swapping synonyms.
- Citing a source you never read because it appeared in someone else's bibliography.
- Letting a quotation stand without linking it to your point.