• PRO Courses Guides New Tech Help Pro Expert Videos About wikiHow Pro Upgrade Sign In
  • EDIT Edit this Article
  • EXPLORE Tech Help Pro About Us Random Article Quizzes Request a New Article Community Dashboard This Or That Game Forums Popular Categories Arts and Entertainment Artwork Books Movies Computers and Electronics Computers Phone Skills Technology Hacks Health Men's Health Mental Health Women's Health Relationships Dating Love Relationship Issues Hobbies and Crafts Crafts Drawing Games Education & Communication Communication Skills Personal Development Studying Personal Care and Style Fashion Hair Care Personal Hygiene Youth Personal Care School Stuff Dating All Categories Arts and Entertainment Finance and Business Home and Garden Relationship Quizzes Cars & Other Vehicles Food and Entertaining Personal Care and Style Sports and Fitness Computers and Electronics Health Pets and Animals Travel Education & Communication Hobbies and Crafts Philosophy and Religion Work World Family Life Holidays and Traditions Relationships Youth
  • Browse Articles
  • Learn Something New
  • Quizzes Hot
  • Happiness Hub
  • This Or That Game
  • Train Your Brain
  • Explore More
  • Support wikiHow
  • About wikiHow
  • Log in / Sign up
  • Finance and Business
  • Legal Matters
  • Contracts and Legal Agreements

How to Introduce Evidence in an Essay

Last Updated: May 5, 2024

This article was co-authored by Tristen Bonacci . Tristen Bonacci is an English Teacher with more than 20 years of experience. Tristen has taught in both the United States and overseas. She specializes in teaching in a secondary education environment and sharing wisdom with others, no matter the environment. Tristen holds a BA in English Literature from The University of Colorado and an MEd from The University of Phoenix. This article has been viewed 249,115 times.

When well integrated into your argument, evidence helps prove that you've done your research and thought critically about your topic. But what's the best way to introduce evidence so it feels seamless and has the highest impact? There are actually quite a few effective strategies you can use, and we've rounded up the best ones for you here. Try some of the tips below to introduce evidence in your essay and make a persuasive argument.

Things You Should Know

  • "According to..."
  • "The text says..."
  • "Researchers have learned..."
  • "For example..."
  • "[Author's name] writes..."

Setting up the Evidence

Step 1 Set up the evidence in the first sentence of the paragraph.

  • You can use 1-2 sentences to set up the evidence, if needed, but usually more concise you are, the better.

Step 2 Introduce an argument or assertion.

  • For example, you may make an argument like, “Desire is a complicated, confusing emotion that causes pain to others.”
  • Or you may make an assertion like, “The treatment of addiction must consider root cause issues like mental health and poor living conditions.”

Step 3 Discuss a specific idea or theme for a less direct approach.

  • For example, you may write, “The novel explores the theme of adolescent love and desire.”
  • Or you may write, “Many studies show that addiction is a mental health issue.”

Putting in the Evidence

Step 1 Start with an introductory clause for a simple approach.

  • For example, you may use an introductory clause like, “According to Anne Carson…”, "In the following chart...," “The author states…," "The survey shows...." or “The study argues…”
  • Place a comma after the introductory clause if you are using a quote. For example, “According to Anne Carson, ‘Desire is no light thing" or "The study notes, 'levels of addiction rise as levels of poverty and homelessness also rise.'"
  • A list of introductory clauses can be found here: https://student.unsw.edu.au/introducing-quotations-and-paraphrases .

Step 2 Use a claim or argument to introduce the evidence.

  • For example, you may write, “In the novel, Carson is never shy about how her characters express desire for each other: ‘When they made love/ Geryon liked to touch in slow succession each of the bones of Herakles' back…’”
  • Or you may write, "The study charts the rise in addiction levels, concluding: 'There is a higher level of addiction in specific areas of the United States.'"

Step 3 Work the evidence into a sentence.

  • For example, you may write, “Carson views events as inevitable, as man moving through time like “a harpoon,” much like the fates of her characters.”
  • Or you may write, "The chart indicates the rising levels of addiction in young people, an "epidemic" that shows no sign of slowing down."

Step 4 Include the author’s name and the title of the reference.

  • For example, you may write in the first mention, “In Anne Carson’s The Autobiography of Red , the color red signifies desire, love, and monstrosity.” Or you may write, "In the study Addiction Rates conducted by the Harvard Review...".
  • After the first mention, you can write, “Carson states…” or “The study explores…”.
  • If you are citing the author’s name in-text as part of your citation style, you do not need to note their name in the text. You can just use the quote and then place the citation at the end.

Step 5 Use quotation marks around a direct quote.

  • If you are paraphrasing a source, you may still use quotation marks around any text you are lifting directly from the source.

Step 6 Cite the evidence...

  • For example, you may write, “In the novel, the characters express desire for each other: ‘When they made love/ Geryon liked to touch in slow succession each of the bones of Herakles' back (Carson, 48).”
  • Or you may write, "Based on the data in the graph below, the study shows the 'intersection between opioid addiction and income' (Branson, 10)."
  • If you are using footnotes or endnotes, make sure you use the appropriate citation for each piece of evidence you place in your essay.

Step 7 Reference your sources...

  • You may also mention the title of the work or source you are paraphrasing or summarizing and the author's name in the paraphrase or summary.
  • For example, you may write a paraphrase like, "As noted in various studies, the correlation between addiction and mental illness is often ignored by medical health professionals (Deder, 10)."
  • Or you may write a summary like, " The Autobiography of Red is an exploration of desire and love between strange beings, what critics have called a hybrid work that combines ancient meter with modern language (Zambreno, 15)."

Step 8 Discuss 1 piece of evidence at a time.

  • The only time you should place 2 pieces of evidence together is when you want to directly compare 2 short quotes (each less than 1 line long).
  • Your analysis should then include a complete compare and contrast of the 2 quotes to show you have thought critically about them both.

Analyzing the Evidence

Step 1 Discuss how the evidence supports your claim or argument.

  • For example, you may write, “In the novel, Carson is never shy about how her characters express desire for each other: ‘When they made love/ Geryon liked to touch in slow succession each of the bones of Herakles' back (Carson, 48). The connection between Geryon and Herakles is intimate and gentle, a love that connects the two characters in a physical and emotional way.”
  • Or you may write, "In the study Addiction Rates conducted by the Harvard Review, the data shows a 50% rise in addiction levels in specific areas across the United States. The study illustrates a clear connection between addiction levels and communities where income falls below the poverty line and there is a housing shortage or crisis."

Step 2 Address how the...

  • For example, you may write, “Carson’s treatment of the relationship between Geryon and Herakles can be linked back to her approach to desire as a whole in the novel, which acts as both a catalyst and an impediment for her characters.”
  • Or you may write, "The survey conducted by Dr. Paula Bronson, accompanied by a detailed academic dissertation, supports the argument that addiction is not a stand alone issue that can be addressed in isolation."

Step 3 Include a final sentence that links to the next paragraph.

  • For example, you may write, “The value of love between two people is not romanticized, but it is still considered essential, similar to the feeling of belonging, another key theme in the novel.”
  • Or you may write, "There is clearly a need to reassess the current thinking around addiction and mental illness so the health and sciences community can better study these pressing issues."

Expert Q&A

Tristen Bonacci

You Might Also Like

Break the No Contact Rule

  • ↑ Tristen Bonacci. English Teacher. Expert Interview. 21 December 2021.
  • ↑ https://writing.wisc.edu/handbook/assignments/quoliterature/
  • ↑ https://writingcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/evidence/
  • ↑ https://wts.indiana.edu/writing-guides/using-evidence.html

About This Article

Tristen Bonacci

Before you introduce evidence into your essay, begin the paragraph with a topic sentence. This sentence should give the reader an overview of the point you’ll be arguing or making with the evidence. When you get to citing the evidence, begin the sentence with a clause like, “The study finds” or “According to Anne Carson.” You can also include a short quotation in the middle of a sentence without introducing it with a clause. Remember to introduce the author’s first and last name when you use the evidence for the first time. Afterwards, you can just mention their last name. Once you’ve presented the evidence, take time to explain in your own words how it backs up the point you’re making. For tips on how to reference your evidence correctly, keep reading! Did this summary help you? Yes No

  • Send fan mail to authors

Reader Success Stories

Dagomar

Apr 15, 2022

Did this article help you?

how to introduce evidence in an essay sentence starters

Mar 2, 2019

Do I Have a Dirty Mind Quiz

Featured Articles

 Make Your Android Screen Black and White or Grayscale

Trending Articles

12 Believable Excuses for Accidental Calls

Watch Articles

Prevent Nail Polish Stains

  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Do Not Sell or Share My Info
  • Not Selling Info

Don’t miss out! Sign up for

wikiHow’s newsletter

how to introduce evidence in an essay sentence starters

IMAGES

  1. How to Introduce Evidence in an Essay: 14 Steps (with Pictures)

    how to introduce evidence in an essay sentence starters

  2. 12 Ways to Introduce Textual Evidence in Your Essay in 2020

    how to introduce evidence in an essay sentence starters

  3. How to Introduce Evidence in an Essay: 14 Steps (with Pictures)

    how to introduce evidence in an essay sentence starters

  4. Text Evidence Sentence Starters

    how to introduce evidence in an essay sentence starters

  5. How to Introduce Evidence in an Essay: 14 Steps (with Pictures)

    how to introduce evidence in an essay sentence starters

  6. Citing Evidence Sentence Starters by kphrossowyc

    how to introduce evidence in an essay sentence starters

VIDEO

  1. How To Start The Introduction of Essay?

  2. Writing a literature review, template sentence starters for introducing a study or topic

  3. Academic Essay Evidence Paragraph 1 Guided Reading

  4. How To Analyze the Evidence in Your Outline

  5. Explainer Video Exploring 'ing' Verbs as Sentence Starters

  6. Writing an Essay: How to Cite Evidence Properly