AP® English Language and Composition review sheet from Aim for Five (aimforfive.com/lang/units/1/1-6)
Unit 1 · Topic 1.6
1.6 Writing a claim-and-evidence paragraph
A claim-and-evidence paragraph states a claim, brings in evidence by quoting, paraphrasing or summarizing, and explains how the evidence supports the claim. Working evidence smoothly into your own sentences shows readers you're in control of your sources.
Key terms
- topic sentence
- quotation
- paraphrase
- summary
- commentary
The basic shape
Most strong paragraphs follow the same path. First, a topic sentence states the paragraph's claim. Next comes evidence that supports it. Then you explain how that evidence proves the claim, which is called commentary. Often a last sentence links back to your thesis. You can repeat the evidence-and-commentary pair more than once in a paragraph.
Quote, paraphrase or summarize
There are three ways to bring a source into your writing. The examples below use Ralph Waldo Emerson's essay "Self-Reliance" (1841).
| Method | Use it when | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Quote | The exact words matter | Emerson insists that "Whoso would be a man, must be a nonconformist." |
| Paraphrase | You need the idea, not the wording | Emerson argues that becoming a full person means refusing to simply follow the crowd. |
| Summarize | You need the big picture of a longer passage | In "Self-Reliance," Emerson urges readers to trust their own judgment over custom and public opinion. |
Embedding evidence in your own sentences
A "dropped quote" is a quotation that sits alone as its own sentence, with no lead-in. It forces readers to guess why it's there. Instead, bring the quotation in with a signal phrase ("Emerson warns that...") or blend a short piece of it into your own grammar.
Short quotations usually work better than long ones. Quote only the words you plan to discuss. If you cut words out of the middle, use an ellipsis (...); if you change a word to fit your sentence, put your change in square brackets. Never trim a quotation so that it says something the writer didn't mean.
- Signal phrase: As Emerson puts it, "..."
- Blended: Emerson calls a thoughtless habit of agreeing with yourself "the hobgoblin of little minds."
- Colon after a full sentence: Emerson's warning is blunt: "..."
Then explain
Evidence never explains itself. After every piece of evidence, write at least a sentence that tells the reader how it supports your claim. Topic 3.1 covers this explaining, called commentary, in depth.
A helpful rule is to sandwich every piece of evidence: introduce it, present it, then explain it. If a paragraph has two pieces of evidence, it needs commentary after each one, not a single sentence of explanation at the very end. Readers can tell the difference between a paragraph that argues and one that collects quotations.
Worked examples
Try each one yourself first, then open the solution.
- Example 1
Fixing a dropped quote
Practice draft (written for this page), answering the prompt "Is it better to fit in or to stand out?": "It is better to stand out. 'A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds.' People should be themselves." Revise it into a full claim-and-evidence paragraph using Emerson's line from "Self-Reliance" (1841).
Show the solutionHide the solution
- Step 1: Diagnose: the claim is vague, the quotation is dropped in with no lead-in, and nothing explains how it connects to the claim.
- Step 2: Sharpen the claim so it says why standing out matters.
- Step 3: Introduce the source and the quotation with a signal phrase so readers know who is speaking.
- Step 4: Explain what the quotation means and how it supports the claim.
- Step 5: Link back to the larger argument.
Answer: Model paragraph: [Claim] Standing out is worth the discomfort, because people who always go along with the group lose the habit of thinking for themselves. [Evidence] Emerson makes this point in "Self-Reliance," warning that "a foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds." [Commentary] By calling mindless consistency a "hobgoblin," a small nagging spirit, Emerson suggests that the urge to stick with whatever you said before haunts and shrinks the mind instead of guiding it. In the same essay he pairs that fear with conformity, the fear of disagreeing with everyone else, as the two habits that keep people from trusting themselves. [Link] A student who changes an opinion after hearing a better argument may look inconsistent, but that student is doing the independent thinking that fitting in discourages.
Common mistakes
- Dropping a quotation in as its own sentence with no introduction.
- Quoting a long passage when only a few words matter. Quote the key words and explain them.
- Ending a paragraph on a quotation, which leaves the reader to make the argument for you.
- Cutting a quotation so it misrepresents the writer's meaning.
On the exam
- Writing questions on the exam often ask which version best integrates a quotation or which sentence best follows a piece of evidence. Pick the one that connects the evidence to the claim.
- In Question 2, embed short quotations from the passage directly into your sentences. Readers look for specific evidence followed by your explanation.
Connected topics
Videos
Check yourself
4 questions on 1.6 Writing a claim-and-evidence paragraph. Pick an answer to see if you got it, and why.
Written for this practice set: a student's draft of an argument for a civics class. Milford and its sources are invented.
Sentence 3 is reproduced below. "The difference between the two streets is not luck; it is shade." This sentence is important to the argument mainly because it
Which of the following best describes how the writer brings in the evidence in sentence 6?
The writer wants to add commentary after sentence 6 that explains how the evidence supports the claim in sentence 4. Which choice best accomplishes this goal?
The writer wants to combine sentences 10 and 11 so that the sentence admits the cost but makes her own point clear. Which version best accomplishes this goal?
0 of 4 answered