Putting it All Together: Supporting your Argument

How do I make my argument more convincing?

Since my thesis is the answer to my essential question, I want to make it convincing by supporting it with evidence from my sources.  Evidence doesn't always speak for itself, though.  I need to explain how each piece of evidence supports my thesis.   

Below is an example of what I do to strenghten my argument to make it more convincing.  I wrote the topic sentence of my first paragraph and notes to myself to remind me of information I need to fill in to support my argument.

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First paragraph topic sentence:
The local colonists depicted themselves as the innocent victims of British tyranny

  • Find evidence - like facts, examples, quotations, or statistics that back it up or support the topic sentence of this paragraph.
  • Explain how the evidence supports the topic sentence

Another example that shows that the local colonists depicted themselves as the innocent victims of British tyranny is...

  • Find more evidence - facts, examples, quotations, or statistics that back it up or support the topic sentence of this paragraph.
  • Explain how this second piece of evidence supports the topic sentence.

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Take Action:
Support your argument


Support each part of your argument with evidence and explanation.   If you need some help, use the Persuasive Essay Thesis Builder to generate your project outline.  It includes prompts to remind you to support your argument with evidence and evaluation.

Terry's Tips

Support students with rubrics

Rubrics are like 'road maps' that make the goals, and the means for achieving them, clear. You can use rubrics to help students in how to support their arguments with evidence and evaluation. 

There are many rubric resources available online. For information on how and why to use rubrics with students, see Creating Rubrics at TeacherVision.com.  For links to additional resources for rubrics and self-assessment, see Assessment and Rubric Information at Kathy Schrock's Guide for Educators.