Claim, Evidence and Reasoning

What is the difference between evidence from reasoning?

• Evidence is based on personal beliefs, while reasoning is not

• Evidence provides data and facts, while reasoning explains how or why the evidence connects to the claim

• Reasoning is the same as making a claim

• Evidence and reasoning are essentially the same in scientific writing

Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of a strong claim?

• It is specific

• It is testable

• It is based on personal opinion

• It is clear

Which of the following is an example of reasoning in argumentative writing?

• "The experiment was conducted three times."

• "The data shows a 20% increase in growth."

• " To clarify this increase in growth is likely due to the added nutrients."

• "Nutrients were added to the soil."

Which of the following best illustrates the use of evidence to support a claim?

• Stating that plants need water without conducting any experiment

• The data showed while observing the plants who had more sunlight grew better. We concluded that sunlight is beneficial for plant growth

• Believing that all plants grow at the same rate

• Describing the parts of a plant without linking it to plant growth

Is the following sentence an example of a claim or evidence?

• Claim

• Evidence

Which piece of evidence could be used to BEST support this claim: High school students should be required to wear uniforms.

• When adding everything up, a school uniform could end up costing more than $200.

• A student reported, "Allowing us to wear our own clothes gives us a chance to show our unique style and independence."

• At one school that recently required students to wear uniforms, attendence rates went up, and behavior incidents went down.

• School uniforms can be ordered online .

The following sentence is an example of...?

More school districts should wake up to the benefits of starting school later in the morning.

• Reasoning

• Evidence

• Claim

• Opinion

Is the following sentence an example of a claim or evidence?

Two out of three high school students fail to get enough sleep.

• Claim

• Evidence

What is the claim in the following argument?

• In our experiment, the blocks had different masses, 20 g., 30 g., 44 g., 123 g and 142 g but the time for all five blocks to fall was about the same. It took between 1.5 and 1.8 seconds for them to fall.

• No, mass does not affect how quickly an object falls.

• Since the blocks had different masses but took about the same time, I know that mass does not affect how quickly something falls.

Evidence is ___________________

• a statement or conclusion that answers a question

• information that tends to prove or disprove a claim

• a justification that connects the claim to the evidence

• Not vital when using an argument