[00:23.83]Test Eight
[00:24.81]SECTION A MINI-LECTURE
[00:26.67]In this section,
[00:28.31]you will hear a mini-lecture.
[00:30.06]You will hear the lecture ONCE ONLY.
[00:32.47]While listening, take notes on the important points.
[00:35.97]Your notes will not be marked,
[00:38.04]but you will need them to complete a gap-filling task after the mini-lecture.
[00:42.31]When the lecture is over,
[00:44.83]you’ll be given two minutes to check your notes,
[00:46.91]and another 10 minutes to complete the gap-filling task.
[00:49.86]Now listen to the mini-lecture.
[00:52.48]Seven Types of Evidence
[00:55.54]Good morning.
[00:56.75]Today we will talk about how to use evidence in writing.
[01:01.02]In much of your college writing,
[01:03.42]you will try to persuade your readers to see things your way.
[01:07.79]Without good evidence to support your ideas,
[01:11.29]you will hardly persuade anyone of anything.
[01:14.14]So today we’ll look at seven kinds of evidence
[01:18.62]that are widely used in argumentative writing.
[01:21.90]The first type of evidence is expert testimony.
[01:26.38]An expert is someone who has special skill and knowledge
[01:30.65]based on careful study and wide experience in a certain area.
[01:35.47]More than that, an expert has tested his or her skill
[01:40.06]and knowledge in a public forum.
[01:41.92]Once your opinion is firm,
[01:45.20]you can use expert testimony to support it.
[01:48.05]To use expert testimony wisely,
[01:50.56]you need to be both respectful and critical.
[01:54.06]You will need to differentiate among three kinds of evidence
[01:58.32]that experts provide:
[01:59.96]facts, informed opinions, and speculations.
[02:03.90]Generally, you can use facts and informed opinions,
[02:07.95]but must be cautious with speculations.
[02:11.23]This is because speculations are just what one person thinks is plausible,
[02:17.47]so they should be treated as something that could be true.
[02:21.18]The second type of evidence is statistics.
[02:25.34]Statistics are numerical data gathered and tabulated to yield information.
[02:31.03]Whether they are raw data
[02:33.76]or translated into charts and figures,
[02:36.39]numbers are powerful evidence.
[02:38.79]If they are properly used,
[02:40.76]data can prove a claim rapidly and conclusively.
[02:44.92]When a survey shows that 95 per cent of senior students
[02:49.95]are satisfied with the courses they have taken at a university,
[02:54.21]we can persuade readers that the university is a good one.
[02:58.04]But you must be careful with numbers.
[03:01.11]Only when the data are valid,
[03:03.62]accurate and up to date can they really support your point.
[03:07.77]So when you want to use data,
[03:10.29]examine carefully before putting them down in your article.
[03:13.79]Next comes the third evidence, examples.
[03:18.17]Every day you use examples as evidence for your claims.
[03:22.65]You might write to your parents,
[03:24.95]“Sorry I haven’t written much
[03:26.92]but I’ve been very busy.
[03:28.66]I spent last week in the library,
[03:30.85]bent over the books studying for two midterms.”
[03:34.24]In this case, you establish your claim and back it up with a specific example.
[03:40.26]Examples serve three purposes.
[03:43.98]First, they clarify meaning.
[03:46.49]Your parents may not know exactly
[03:48.90]what you mean by busy until you show them.
[03:52.07]Second, examples demonstrate why,
[03:55.46]at least in one instance,
[03:57.10]you are justified in making your claim.
[03:59.95]studying for two midterms does sound like being busy.
[04:04.65]Third, examples make for entertaining reading.
[04:08.48]Abstractions are dry.
[04:10.89]Claiming that you are busy isn’t very interesting.
[04:14.16]But the image of you bent intently over a book probably pleases your parents,
[04:20.62]who may now forgive you for not writing.
[04:23.13]The fourth type of evidence is personal experience.
[04:27.62]If we actually experience something directly,
[04:31.01]we don’t need experts or statistics to back us up.
[04:34.95]Although we know that our experience is not totally reliable,
[04:39.65]we trust our senses and our ability to understand our personal experience.
[04:44.90]And in some cases,
[04:47.42]our own experience can persuade readers to accept our statement.
[04:51.57]In complex matters,
[04:53.98]however, be aware of jumping to conclusions based on limited personal experience.
[04:59.77]Your experience may help to explain,
[05:03.05]but it cannot prove a more general thesis.
[05:06.56]Knowing someone who cheats on her income tax does not prove
[05:11.04]that the problem with income tax cheaters is pervasive.
[05:14.98]Even if you know five or ten or twenty cheaters,
[05:19.24]all that proves is that you are unlucky in your acquaintances.
[05:23.73]For such a complex subject, you need more than personal experience.
[05:28.43]You need statistics and expert interpretation.
[05:31.93]Analogy is the fifth type of evidence on our list.
[05:36.63]An analogy is a comparison of apparently dissimilar things,
[05:41.67]and its purpose is to illuminate one thing
[05:44.95]by showing how it is like and not like the other.
[05:48.55]If well used,
[05:50.53]an analogy can make an abstract, unfamiliar topic easy to understand.
[05:55.67]For example, if a writer wants to directly persuade readers
[06:00.58]that it is our work that determines our social role,
[06:04.08]he would face a tough task.
[06:06.05]But analogy can help him out.
[06:08.68]Here is his analogy:
[06:10.43]Human beings in a society are like the bees in a hive.
[06:15.35]Each person’s identity is determined by his or her place in the overall system.
[06:21.81]Like drones,no one has any identity but the work he or she does.
[06:27.82]And if one doesn’t work,
[06:29.68]he will be kicked out of the society just like a drone out of the hive.
[06:34.60]However, analogies should be used with caution.
[06:39.08]To the extent that analogies make a point easy to see,
[06:43.02]they are evidence.
[06:44.56]But they don’t prove the point
[06:46.89]—they can never be sufficient evidence for a complex idea.
[06:50.82]After analogy, let’s look at the next type of evidence, known facts.
[06:57.17]When writing, you can safely assume
[07:00.01]that you and your readers share a vast body of facts and beliefs.
[07:04.72]You don’t need to point out Columbus arrived in America in 1492,
[07:10.51]or that China has a history as long as 5,000 years.
[07:14.78]But these facts can be used as evidence in your writing.
[07:19.48]The last type of evidence we usually use is logic and reasoning.
[07:24.08]In some cases, we use them because we can’t find any other factual evidence.
[07:29.88]And in some cases where we can find factual evidence,
[07:33.37]reasoning can make our argument more persuasive.
[07:37.09]People in China believe
[07:39.21]that good argument should appeal to both sense and sensibility,
[07:43.80]which means that both factual evidence and reasoning are necessary.
[07:48.29]OK, these are the seven types of evidence.
[07:52.45]Before we end today’s lecture,
[07:55.07]I would talk about three criteria for good evidence.
[07:58.68]First, good evidence should be relevant.
[08:01.52]It should speak directly to the point.
[08:04.04]You should select particular evidence because it supports the point,
[08:08.31]not because it is novel or comic.
[08:11.48]Second, good evidence should be representative.
[08:15.52]It should represent its source or the situation it describes.
[08:19.79]Last, good evidence should be accurate.
[08:23.29]It is the writer’s duty to ensure the accuracy of the evidence.
[08:28.21]In order to do this, you must check the evidence carefully,
[08:32.91]and present it in your writing carefully.
[08:35.32]Well, with that, we will end today’s lecture.
[08:39.04]We hope that you now understand evidence better,
[08:42.10]and we look forward to seeing well-supported articles
[08:45.39]from you in the future.
