Analytical Writing: The Evidential Block

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Analytical WritingThe Evidential Block
(Adapted from Kevin Leals program for Mr. Gs
English 11 and 12CP) The Meat. The Main Course.
The Specialty of The Chef. The reason people
come to this place.
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What is an Evidential Block?

• The evidential block is the primary component in
  the body paragraphs of an analytical writing
  piece. Basically, you are formatting, conveying,
  and analyzing information in a logical manner in
  your attempt to prove your thesis statement.
• This is the space where you present the evidence
  for your claim.
• Its the Meat of your essay.

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What is evidence?

• Research Information acquired by experiment,
  test, survey, reading, etc.
• Statistics Numerical data that reveals
  information
• Quotes The writings or spoken word of experts
• Examples Observed behaviors or trends
• Personal Experience Something from your life
  that is consistent with the premise/claim
• Stories Third person or even fictional accounts
  that illustrate the premise/claim

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Contextual Relevance of Evidence

• Not all evidence is relevant for all analyses
• Each analysis has evidence types that are
  relevant for that analysis
• What Uncle Jethro told you one time would not
  suffice for an analysis of the dangers of
  Thimerisol
• unless Uncle Jethro has a PhD in Chemical
  Biology and took part in a study that examined
  the effects of Thimerisol on thousands of
  children over a ten year period (with a control
  group, of course)

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Basic Evidential Block C-SEE

• C Claim One of the claims/reasons (premises)
  that demonstrates the truth of your thesis
  (proposition).
• S Set Up A phrase that provides the context
  for your evidence.
• E Evidence The actual piece of information
  that proves/supports your claim.
• E Explanation Two or three sentences that
  provide all of the relevant detail about HOW the
  evidence proves/supports the claim AND how the
  claim then supports the thesis.

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C The Claim (Topic Sentence)

• States the point you wish to make in support of
  your thesis statement.
• Is argumentative (not explanatory)
• Does NOT convey plot or summary
• Introduces the subject you wish to analyze

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S The Set-Up

• Introduces a quotation or phrase
• Supplies the contextual information (whats going
  on in the text at the point you are quoting or
  paraphrasing)
• Identifies the speaker, if necessary
• Identifies antecedents, if necessary
• Has specific punctuation requirements

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E The Evidence or Quotation

• Is typically a quote or paraphrase
• Has specific format requirements (prose, verse,
  block quotation)
• Has proper MLA or APA parenthetical documentation
• Quotations do not convey plot (literary) or
  summary (research, argument), but must relate
  directly to your claim or thesis statement.
• In other words, your quotations prove your
  argument

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E Explanation/Analysis

• This is where the money isor meat.
• You are interpreting and analyzing the text here.
• You must explain HOW and WHY your evidence proves
  your claim/supports your thesis. YOU do the work
  here, not the reader.
• Is longer than the quotation/evidence portion.
  Usually a 31 ratio.

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Evidential Block Sample with Paraphrase (Personal
Experience, Observation, Story, etc.)

• (Thesis Mr. Gaughen should be fired.)
• C Mr. Gaughen is mentally unstable.
• S After class yesterday,
• E Mr. Gaughen was sitting in the corner, rocking
  back and forth and drooling all over himself.
• E For the average adult, sitting in a corner
  drooling on oneself indicates that all is not
  well mentally and emotionally. Usually, we refer
  people with these symptoms to psychiatric care.
  We do not put them in charge of American
  teenagers.

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Evidential Block Sample with Quotation (Personal
Experience, Observation, Story, etc.)

• (Thesis Mr. Gaughen is a supremely talented surf
  coach.)
• C He took a team of raw, emerging-talent 7th
  graders to a second place state finish.
• S A member of that team, a future pro, stated,
• E We thought you just surfed in Surf Club, but
  Mr. G showed us how to work together, play off
  our strengths, and help each other.
• E Getting 7th graders to do anything as a group
  is a significant achievement, let alone a bunch
  of 12-year old surf rats. Typically prone to
  self-serving actions, this group of bros
  became a brotherhood. It is this building of
  team that enable this group to place so high in
  competition.

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Evidential Block Sample with Paraphrase from
Literature/Expository Text

• (Thesis Buzz Lightyears transformation from a
  selfish, delusional Space Ranger to a loyal,
  loving toy is a clear illustration of the
  internal Heros Journey.)
• C Ultimately, as Buzz Lightyear comes to regard
  life as a toy as being superior to life as a
  Space Ranger, he atones for his prior arrogance
  by delivering himself and Woody directly to Andy.
• S Near the end,
• E Buzz flies past the moving van, aims for Moms
  van, and drops himself and Woody into the box
  next to Andys seat.
• E While it would have been possible, even
  easier, to draw the direct line into the moving
  van and the waiting welcome of their fellow toys,
  Buzz opts for the more difficult yet more
  profound act of going right to Andy. This
  unselfish move serves to reunite a child and his
  favorite toys. Woody, long asserting that
  toy-hood is noble, is validated and indeed
  comforted. Buzz thus acknowledges the importance
  of the toy-child relationship, temporarily
  relinquishing the camaraderie of fellow toys to
  serve the needs of others.

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Evidential Block Sample with Quote from
Literature/Expository Text

• Thesis OBrien effectively employs indirect
  characterization to bring his characters to
  life in The Third Policeman.
• C The appearance of Sergeant Pluck, an enormous
  caricature of a man, is presented in anatomical
  minutiae in order to call the readers attention
  to OBriens penchant for detail.
• S His face alone is described as,
• E enormously fat, red and widespread, sitting
  squarely on the neck of his tunic with a clumsy
  weightiness that reminded me of a sack of flour.
  The lower half of it was hidden by a violent red
  moustache which shot out from his skin far into
  the air like the antennae of some unusual animal.
  His cheeks were red and chubby and his eyes were
  nearly invisible, hidden from above by the
  obstruction of his tufted brows and from below by
  the fat foldings of his skin.
• E While it may be more efficient to declare
  Pluck a fat, red-headed sterotype of an Irish
  policeman, OBrien masterfully gives us the
  sensation of staring at him in astonishment.
  This provides the reader a vicarious response to
  the narrators predicament. A part of that
  predicament, the reader must now be aware, is the
  necessary attention to O Briens detail in all
  facets of the story.

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Evidential Block Sample with Quote (from
Literarure/Expository Text)

• (Thesis Edwin Deckers Sordid Tales article is
  an irrelevant slam document that debases City
  Beat magazine.
• C Decker is clearly ignorant of California law
  which prohibits expiration dates and dormancy
  fees on gift cards.
• S His misinformed rant states,
• E How a business has the audacity to put an
  expiration date on a gift certificate blows my
  brains right through my eyehole. There is no good
  reason, except that its a blatant attempt by the
  company to nullify said certificate as soon as
  possible-so it never gets redeemed, which is, of
  course, free money in their pocket
• E Deckers statement, while humorous, neglects
  law enacted in California prohibiting such
  practices. Ironically, Decker is a local writer,
  who if he behaved professionally, would have
  researched this piece prior to submitting it.
  City Beat would be wise to fact-check Deckers
  pieces since he appears incapable of doing so
  himself.

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Evidential Block Sample with Quote (from Verse)

• (Thesis Little Boy Blue evinces the decline
  of Western civilization due to the failure of
  authority figures to discipline problem
  behaviors.)
• C The narrators attempt to delegate an
  undesirable personnel action demonstrates a lack
  of leadership that is critical to farm
  management.
• S The text reveals,
• E Little Boy Blue, come blow your horn./ The
  sheep's in the meadow, the cow's in the corn./
  Where is the boy that looks after the sheep?/
  He's under the haycock, fast asleep./ Will you
  wake him? No, not I/ For if I do, he'll be sure
  to cry.
• E While the boys insubordination and lazy
  behavior do require immediate attention and
  correction, the narrator asks a co-worker to
  rouse the boy. Due to the sensitive nature of
  employee discipline, it is the duty of the
  management to carry out any required disciplinary
  actions swiftly and appropriately. Attempts to
  delegate discipline to co-workers often results
  in dissention and mistrust among the rank and
  file both toward management and each other.

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Evidential Block Sample with Quote(from
Research)Primary Thesis Helicopter Parents do
more harm than help in their childrens
futures.Section Claim Hyper-involved parents
damage a childs ability to interact practically.

• C While the intention is good, hyper-involvement
  actually fosters dependency.
• S Mel Levine, a professor of pediatrics at the
  University of North Carolina Medical School in
  Chapel Hill thinks
• E children are being coddled and protected to a
  degree that threatens their ability later in life
  to strike off on their own and form healthy
  relationships and proper job skills. These
  parents are trying to create a really terrific
  statue of a child rather than a child (Levine
  2005).
• E The result of this micromanagement is a child
  who learns to rely and depend on the parent and
  then enters adulthood still reliant on the
  parent. Performing routine tasks such as finding
  housing, paying bills, and negotiating repairs on
  cars become daunting stressors requiring rescue
  by mom. Personality conflicts at work are not
  solved in the lunchroom but by a phone call from
  dad to the boss. Worse yet, typical
  disagreements for a young couple become the
  subject of parental intervention.

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Evidential Block Sample with Paraphrase(from
Research)Primary Thesis Helicopter Parents do
more harm than help in their childrens
futures.Section Claim Hyper-involved parents
damage a childs ability to interact practically

• C While the intention is good, hyper-involvement
  actually fosters dependency.
• S According to Levine(2005),
• E the intense involvement and over-protective
  actions of some parents can actually make it more
  difficult for children to develop independence,
  proper job skills, and even healthy relationships
  
• E The result of this micromanagement is a child
  who learns to rely and depend on the parent and
  then enters adulthood still reliant on the
  parent. Performing routine tasks such as finding
  housing, paying bills, and negotiating repairs on
  cars become daunting stressors requiring rescue
  by mom. Personality conflicts at work are not
  solved in the lunchroom but by a phone call from
  dad to the boss. Worse yet, typical
  disagreements for a young couple become the
  subject of parental intervention