If your feedback says "your work lacks evidence"

It is likely referring to you having made claims or statements in your assignment that you have not supported with evidence. University research and scholarship is evidence based and your work is no different. You can’t just make unsupported statements you need to provide evidence to show your marker how you arrived at your ideas and conclusions. You will see this reflected in your marking criteria and assignment guidelines – ‘use evidence’, ‘support your argument’, ‘back-up your point’.


Answer

What counts as evidence?

The way to support a point is to provide a reference to a source which backs it up: either someone who agrees with you, or evidence that supports you. One reference is good, but might be overly selective, ignoring contradictory or better sources. A carefully chosen reference from a highly regarded study or scholar is even better, and best of all is not one, but several sources which demonstrate a weight of evidence building up. 


Have I supported my point?

To check if you are supporting your points with evidence, ask yourself after each statement that you make, ‘how do you know that? How can you be sure of that?’ If you have included something in your writing which answers this question, then you’ve backed your point up. If not, think about what kind of evidence you could provide that would answer the question.

You may not be able to find a citation that does exactly what you need it to do, but that doesn’t mean you can’t back your point up. Think about your answer to the question, ‘How do I know that ?’: 

  • ‘I read it’. Then show the reader where you read it, with a reference
  • ‘I worked it out based on something I read’. Then reference the data you based it on and explain how you built on that evidence with your reasoning.
  • ‘I worked it out myself’. Then show your reasoning. 

Using evidence to support your point

It is generally not enough to include a reference at the end of your sentence. Evidence often needs to be explained, analysed and interpreted so that the reader understands how it supports the point. You might feel that the reader can work it out for themselves, but it’s your job as the writer to do that work.


Conflicting evidence

You can strengthen your work by acknowledging conflicting evidence. This shows that you can critique your own work; you have actively looked for counterarguments, tested your thinking and have come to a carefully considered conclusion.

  • Last Updated 20 Mar, 2024
  • Views 123
  • Answered By Tracy Slawson

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