Defining “Evidence” and “Analysis”

1. Defining “Evidence” and “Analysis” TS English/Fall2013

2. Course Goals Analysis: To build and support your argument through a purposeful analysis of evidence and assumptions. • An argument is “built” on analysis meaning that critical analysis gives your claim shape and structure. MOST of the content in any argumentative paper will consist of analysis • Analysis “supports” arguments/claims meaning that every aspect of your analysis should connect to and play a role in justifying your claim. Analysis that does not support your claim is extraneous.

3. Evidence and Analysis • Evidence is something that you can present as “the thing that everyone can see and know” – the obvious or factual • Physical Sciences - empirical data, quantifiable experiment results, observable phenomenon • Social Sciences – interviews, census data, statistics • History – archival materials, texts, accounts of events • English – THE TEXT! (alongside history, political background, etc) • Evidence is the foundation of any academic argument. If you don’t have evidence for it, you can’t argue it!

4. Evidence and Analysis • Analysis is the logical, interpretation that bridges the gap between what we can see and know (evidence) and what you want to say (your claim) • Exists purely to explain how the evidence (the obvious) can be used to deduce/infer/explain your argument (which is not obvious)

5. Evidence and Analysis (rhetorically) • For your reader: • Evidence fully discloses the basic sources of your argument. Makes it clear that the claim you are making is not based in pure speculation, personal opinion, or unsubstantiated rumor. • Analysis helps your reader to follow exactly how you are using your evidence to make a larger point. Similar to “showing your work” in math or physics, it helps to explain not only your “answer” but how you arrived at that conclusion. If your reader is able to follow your analysis, they will be more likely to agree with your argument.

6. Evidence and Analysis (disciplinarily) • In English Literary Studies: • Evidence = Textual Evidence • Analysis = Interpretation of Language • One of the most prevalent modes of literary analysis is “Close Reading” which entails • A presentation of manageable portions of the text as evidence • A careful and methodical analysis of the language and meaning of that particular passage in the service of an argumentative, interpretive claim • Close Reading is so common as a critical practice within Literary Studies that it constitutes a textual convention – one of the things your audience will expect from you in an English paper!

7. Evidence and Analysis (in process) • When you are working: • Observation and analysis should be exploratory. New question and unpredicted opinions can and should be pursued. • The goal is not to have a preset opinion which you then find the evidence to support (ignoring all others). The goal is to confront the evidence with logical analysis and record the results. Sometimes this means changing your original plan.

8. Recap of Thurs/Fri Discussion • Monsters are connected to… • Historically-specific social anxieties/paranoia • Racial, nationalist stereotypes and prejudices • Social values, practices, or institutions that are considered “abnormal” – gender, liberal capitalism, violence • Messages about how to negotiate “difference”