Handout/Worksheet 2
Writing at the Paragraph Level
Claim  Evidence  Reasoning
Remember: for excellence, you must concentrate on the individual paragraph level, and how the paragraphs
within your subclaim sections are developed and organized. Great writing emerges from great individual
paragraphs. Each paragraph must represent one logical, supported, developed unit of meaning, and C - E - R
gives us a framework with which to construct this meaning.
Claim: A claim is a point of view, observation, or interpretation that must be explained and justified. A claim
makes a statement that goes beyond a fact and is something worthy of further discussion.
 A boring observation/fact: “Many teachers incorporate the arts into their lesson plans.”
 A strong claim: “By incorporating the arts into their lesson plans, many teachers are successfully
reaching students where traditional methods alone have failed.”
See Handout/Worksheet 1--Writing the Sub-claim Section for more.
Evidence: To begin supporting your sub-claim, now you must present evidence. This will primarily consist of
the quotations you’ve organized and compiled in your Illustration of Research and Source Reviews. After you
write your subclaim statement (CLAIM), you might start your evidence in a way like this:
For example, according to Charles Montaldo in “Myths and misperceptions about serial killers,” “[m]ost
serial killers can hide in plain sight because they look just like everyone else with jobs, nice homes and
families” (par. 3). Montaldo further suggests that this “appearance of normalcy” hinders police
investigations and leads to public interest and alarm (par. 5).
*NEVER under any circumstances begin or end a paragraph with a quotation or parenthetical citation!
Reasoning: After presenting your evidence, provide an equal amount of reasoning: this is YOUR discussion
and amplification of the evidence. Refer to the “Moves of Reasoning” handout on RP/BB for guidance.
Reasoning explains the significance of the claim, often answering the reader’s implied “so what?” question. It
also explains how the evidence relates to or supports the claim through interpretation, implication,
elaboration, and explanation.
People are both fascinated and afraid because it would seem as if anyone capable of such horrific crimes
would stand out as a warning to others. But, as many cases have proven, this just isn’t so. Perhaps the
most well known version of this “appearance of normalcy” is Ted Bundy. By all accounts, both in print
and film representation, Bundy is described as a charming, handsome, and quite intelligent individual...
This is the “yada, yada, yada” that a lot of students call “BS,” but it’s actually the most important part of your
paper if it is logical, smart, and interesting. You must establish an appropriate balance of evidence and
reasoning (most likely 2-3 sentences of evidence followed by 2-4 sentences of reasoning).
One way to incorporate strong reasoning into your paragraph is through counter-arguing. Counter-arguing is
an aspect of reasoning, in the same vein in which you practiced engaging in a dialogue with the sources and
challenging the author in your “Analysis” section of the Source Reviews. Counter-arguing can come at any
point in the paragraph, and could follow a template such as: “While some might see this as [...], it might also
be seen as [...]” Acknowledging that there are alternative viewpoints and responding to those viewpoints
intelligently is an example of critical thinking through reasoning.