Concrete Details and Textual Evidence

How to support claims in your writing

Claims, Evidence, and Reasoning In The Body Paragraph

The CER (claim, evidence, reasoning) writing strategy consists of making a claim statement and providing evidence and reasoning to support that claim. In writing terms, this is your Topic Sentence (TS), Concrete Details (CD) and Commentary (CM).

The Body Paragraph | CER

Multiple Select

What does CER mean?

• Claim. Evidence. Reasoning.

• Topic Sentence. Concrete Detail. Commentary

• Character Trait. Empathy. Rationale

• Cursive Writing. Elaboration. Results

Claims, Evidence, and Reasoning In The Body Paragraph

A body paragraph starts with a claim (Topic Sentence).  The writer must then back up their claim with evidence (Concrete Detai). This evidence or information may require research by the writer. Direct quotes or paraphrases can be used to support the evidence. Finally, the writer must explain why the evidence supports a claim.

The Body Paragraph | CER

How to Write a Topic Sentence

A writer should draft a topic sentence. This is the claim statement for the paragraph. How does one write a claim statement? The claim statement does more that state the topic of the paragraph; it makes an assertion about the topic. In other words, "cats" may be the topic of an essay, but the writer must make a claim about cats. The claim could be "cats make the best pets," "cats make the worst pets," or even "cats are easy to train."

The Body Paragraph | CER

Fill in the Blank

Supply the missing word:

The claim statement does more that state the topic of the paragraph; it makes an ______ about the topic.

How to Write a Topic Sentence (TS)

The topic sentence, also known as a claim statement, guides the content and structure of the essay or paragraph. Evidence (CD) and reasoning (CM) do not belong in the essay or paragraph unless they directly support the topic sentence. Claim statements identify the essay's argument or proof. A claim paragraph's topic sentence or first sentence is the claim statement.​

The Body Paragraph | CER

Multiple Choice

Evidence (CD) and reasoning (CM) do not belong in the essay or paragraph unless they directly support the topic sentence.

• This statement is true.

• This statement is false.

• This statement needs to say CD and CM’s belong in an essay even if they don’t support the topic sentence.

• This statement needs to say that the topic sentence does not belong in the essay or paragraph unless it supports the CD and

  CMs

Evidence for Supporting Claim (CD)

​The evidence (CD) is the second part of the body paragraph. The evidence backs up or proves the claim (TS) that is being made. It can be in the form of research, data, quotes, or text from a book. It can also be paraphrased. It should not be a guess, an assumption, or based on the writer's own feelings or ideas. It must say where the evidence came from by giving a citation to the source—even if paraphrased. When you write a body paragraph, the evidence comes after you make your claim. Each body paragraph in an essay should have at least one piece of proof.

The Body Paragraph | CER

Multiple Choice

If a piece of evidence is paraphrased, it needs a citation?

• True

• False

How to Write Reasoning (CM)

The third component of the body paragraph is reasoning. What is reasoning in writing? Reasoning is when the writer explains how and why the evidence supports the claim. How does one write reasoning? The reasoning should immediately follow the evidence in the paragraph. To incorporate reasoning, begin by explaining or summarizing what the evidence says. Then, explain how or why the evidence supports the claim. It may be helpful to think in phrases like "this shows that" or "this proves that” but leave those phrases out of the writing.

The Body Paragraph | CER

Fill in the Blank

There are two words that help you understand what reasoning is all about when it comes to evidence (CD). What are they?

Multiple Choice

What does "this shows that" or "this proves that" mean? When writing the reasoning, the writer should think about these words but not use them in the writing itself.

• True

• False

Evidence (CD) vs Reasoning (CM)

What is the difference between evidence and reasoning? Evidence is literal proof (from a text, research, lab results, and so forth) that supports the claim statement—topic sentence. It is factual. Reasoning, however, is the writer's own explanation of how the evidence provided supports that claim statement. Reasoning is the part where the writer puts two and two together, so to speak.​

The Body Paragraph | CER

Open Ended

Explain the difference between evidence and reasoning.