Organization also benefits the reader. By following one of the organizational methods at the end of this chapter, you will guide your reader from your first to last sentence. He or she will be able to see how the various points you make in your essay work together and how they support your thesis. | LESSON 10 Providing Support LESSON SUMMARY Your thesis is as important as the evidence that supports it. This lesson describes six different strategies for supporting your assertions. In Lesson 1 the word friendly was used to describe the general reader. It s important to think of your reader this way because when you write for a friendly audience you won t be tempted to employ an unnecessarily adversarial or defensive tone. But friendly doesn t mean that the reader will accept everything and anything you say. Unsubstantiated assertions will be questioned and evidence will be required. An essay is an explanation not just of what you think but of why you think it. The why comprises many types of support including evidence examples and details. Most types of support are in one of six categories 1. specific examples 2. facts 3. reasons 4. descriptions and anecdotes 5. expert opinion and analysis 6. quotations from the text 77 ----------------------------------- PROVIDING SUPPORT -------------------------------------------- The boundaries of these categories are not absolute an anecdote is often an example and a reason can also be a fact. However the categories are useful for discussing types of support and illustrating how to substantiate your assertions in a variety of ways. Specific Examples Specific examples comprise the broadest category of evidence. Such an example offers something tangible to the reader it is a person place or thing that exemplifies your idea. Let s examine the following statement Movies often portray the American suburb as a place of false happiness and hidden misery. But this is an unfair and inaccurate depiction. This thesis has two ideas that need support the portrayal of the American suburb as a place of false happiness and hidden misery and that this depiction is unfair and inaccurate. You could cite films such as American Beauty and The Ice Storm as specific examples. But examples can t simply be mentioned. To support your thesis you ll .
