Building an Evidence-Based Paragraph: Claim, Evidence, Explanation

Whether you are writing a text response, a legal studies extended answer or a psychology discussion, markers look for the same core move: a point, the evidence for it, and an explanation of why that evidence supports the point. Most weak paragraphs have the first two and skip the third.

Start with a claim you can defend

Turn the question into one specific point. "The character is complex" is too broad to prove in a paragraph. "The character's silence at the meeting shows a gap between private intention and public action" gives you something definite to support. Check the task verb too: analyse, evaluate, compare and explain ask for different things.

Separate what you see from what it means

An observation is what the evidence shows on the surface. An interpretation is what you argue it suggests. Keep them distinct in your planning. If your interpretation goes further than the evidence can carry, either find more evidence or narrow the claim.

Write the link sentence

The explanation sentence is where most marks sit. It should answer: why does this detail matter to the question? If your explanation just restates the quotation or data in different words, it is not doing its job yet.

Revise with a quick markup

• Underline the claim.
• Circle the evidence.
• Box the sentence that explains the connection.

If you cannot find something to box, that is the sentence to write next. Keep the original and revised versions so you can see what changed.

For a short original example worked through these stages, see how to build an evidence-based paragraph on Australian Study Resources, a separate free site published by the same company that operates ATARMAxxing.

Apply it to your subject

For VCE English, our text response essay guide shows the structure in a full essay. Legal studies students can see the same reasoning in making supported judgements in HSC Legal Studies. Write a paragraph, then get the answer marked to see where the link between evidence and claim is still thin.