Debating, Spring 2020 /2021 Dr.

Najib Ismail Jarad

Evaluating Supporting Evidence

The examples, quotations, and opinions of trustworthy of scholars that you use to support
your statements constitute evidence. The more reliable your supporting evidence is, the
more willing your listeners will be to accept a statement. Remember, though, that to
be reliable, the evidence you use must be
accurate, sufficient, representative, and relevant.
For your evidence to be accurate, it must come from a trustworthy source. Such a
source quotes exactly and does not present information out of context. It also presents
examples, quotations, and expert opinion fairly, drawing them from other reliable sources.
Finally, a trustworthy source includes full documentation for information it takes from other
sources.
For your evidence to be sufficient, it must contain enough information to support
your conclusions. Moreover, the opinions of a single author, no matter how reputable, are
not enough to support your position.
For your evidence to be representative, it must reflect a range of sources and
viewpoints. You should not choose evidence that supports your thesis and ignore evidence
that does not. For example, if you are making the point that the structure of Emily Dickinson's
poems changed over the course of her career, you cannot disregard compelling evidence
that, in fact, her poetic structure remained consistent over the years.
Finally, for your evidence to be relevant, it must apply to the work being discussed.

Researching your speech

Objectives
 Conduct a search of the library and Internet to find support for a speech.
 Record information in a usable form for your speech.
 Cite sources orally for your audience.

For most students beginning their public speaking task, it is important to use credible
evidence from reliable sources to support what is said in their speeches. To do so requires
research: the process of finding and evaluating supporting materials. Researching your
topic and providing strong evidence for your claims can make your speech more interesting,
increase your credibility as a speaker, and help you achieve your goals.

Why research?

Research offers many benefits:

 –Learn about topic before you select and develop main points

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Debating, Spring 2020 /2021 Dr. Najib Ismail Jarad

 –Gather evidence from credible sources that will support claims

 –Gain credibility with target audience who will perceive you as qualified

Creating a research plan:

 First decide on your research objectives.

 Make a list of the areas you need to research

 If you have: –limited knowledge on the topic do some general background research

 –some knowledge, focus on specific aspects Look for information on all sides of your
topic.

Find the sources you need

 Mix Internet research with research from other sources such as books, newspapers,
journal articles, and interviews.

 Find the sources you need: books, journals, newspapers, etc.

 Keep track of your sources: Record full citation information or research details.

–Name of author or authors, or organization

–Title of the work –Title of the publication (for newspapers, magazines, or

anthologies)

–Date and volume number of the publication –Publisher, and the city and year of
publication (books) –Page number of the reference

–URL, date accessed, and author of the Web page or the organization that the page
represents (Internet sources)

Using the internet:

Benefits of internet research

 Access is convenient and searching is quick.

 You can find an immense volume of information, including access to many quality
sources at linked libraries.

 Be sure to use reliable sources that are credible to your audience. Be careful not to
plagiarize. It can be easy to cut and paste from a Web page.

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Debating, Spring 2020 /2021 Dr. Najib Ismail Jarad

Disadvantages of Internet Research

 Experts in their field publish mostly in print not on the Internet.

 Information may not be credible; any individual or group can post anything.

 Self-published Web sites have no external checks on accuracy or reliability.

 Information from advocacy or commercial groups may contain incorrect or biased

information.

Finally, you can conduct f2f interviews or online surveys.

DOCUMENTING SOURCES

Documentation is the formal acknowledgment of the sources you use in your

speech/debate.

What to Document

In general, you must document the following types of information from a source (print or
electronic):

• All word‐for‐word quotations from a source. Whenever you use a writer's exact words,
you must document them. Even if you quote only a word or two within a paraphrase or
summary, you must document the quoted words separately, after the final quotation marks.

• All ideas from a source that you put into your own words. Be sure to document all
paraphrases or summaries of a source's ideas, including the author's judgments, conclusions,
and debatable assertions.

• All visuals‐tables, charts, and photographs‐from a source. Because visuals are almost
always someone's original creation, they must be documented.

Documenting Sources

MLA documentation has two main parts: parenthetical references in the body of the speech
(in-text citations) and a works-cited list.

Parenthetical References in the Text

MLA documentation style uses parenthetical references within the text to refer to an
alphabetical works-cited list at the end of the essay. A parenthetical reference should contain
just enough information to guide readers to the appropriate entry in your works-cited list. A
typical parenthetical reference consists of the author's last name and a publication date (plus
page number).