Evidence and Analysis

Why It Matters

Guidance on evidence and analysis sets parameters for the content and form of a writing assignment: What kinds of sources should students be working with? Where should they find those sources? How should they be working with them? As the course head, answering these questions for yourself can help clarify the role of other elements in the prompt (just as, of course, articulating the roles of other elements can help clarify how evidence and analysis should work in a particular assignment).

In many cases, the evidence and analysis we ask students to use (or not use) in a given writing assignment reflects the purpose and genre at hand: using certain primary sources (e.g., data sets or archives or poems assigned in class), often in combination with certain secondary sources (e.g., research articles or lecture notes), is more or less conventional depending what discipline we’re working in or who our audience happens to be. In any writing assignment prompt—but especially in Gen Ed—it’s important to make sure students understand the scope of evidence and analysis they’ll be working with.

In terms of evidence, that includes guidance about

what kinds of evidence should be used (peer-reviewed articles versus op-ed pieces)
which evidence in particular and how much (3–5 readings from class versus independent research), and
why (because op-ed pieces capture a kind of public discourse better than peer-reviewed articles, or because 3–5 readings from class is manageable for our 4-page essay and also reinforces the readings assigned for the course, etc.).

In terms of analysis, that includes addressing

whether the assignment is asking students to make an argument. If so, what kind of argument? (e.g., a rhetorical analysis weighing the pros and cons of a think piece, or a policy memo making normative claims about recommended courses of action, or a test a theory essay assessing the applicability of a framework to real-world cases?)
and if not, what is it asking them to do with evidence? (e.g., summarize a source’s argument, or draft a research question based on an annotated bibliography or data set)
and why? (because it’s important to establish other thinkers’ positions accurately before taking your own position, or because asking questions before moving on to a thesis or conclusion will make the research process more compelling).

What It Looks Like

In the tabs below you'll find annotated examples of “evidence and analysis” in assignment prompts, drawn from recent Gen Ed courses across a range of Gen Ed categories.

Science & Technology in Society

STEP 1: PROPOSAL WITH ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY

Length: 250–500 words, not including annotated bibliography. The annotated bibliography must have at least 5 different references from outside the course and 5 different references from the syllabus.

Source requirements:

Minimum 5 different references from outside the course (at least 3 must be peer-reviewed scholarly sources) [1]
Minimum 5 different references from Gen Ed 1093 reading assignments listed on the syllabus; lectures do not count toward the reference requirement, and Reimagining Global Health will only count as one reference [2]
Citation format either AAA or APA [3], consistent throughout the paper
Careful attention to academic integrity and appropriate citation practices
The annotated bibliography does not count toward your word count, but in-text citations do. [4]

__________
[1] Explicit guidance about what kinds of sources and how many sources to include
[2] Clarification about what does / doesn't count toward the required number of sources
[3] Clear guidance about citation format
[4] Clarification about what does / doesn't count toward the required word count

Adapted from Gen Ed 1093: Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Cares? Reimagining Global Health | Fall 2020

Ethics & Civics

PAPER 1

On p 13 of Why not Socialism?, G. A. Cohen states that the principle of “socialist equality of opportunity” is a principle of justice. What is the principle of “socialist equality of opportunity,” why does Cohen think it is a principle of justice, why does he think it is a desirable principle, and why does he think it is feasible? Which part of his argument do you think is most vulnerable to objections? Formulate some objections and explore how Cohen could respond. Do you think the objections succeed, or is Cohen’s view correct?

Proceed as follows: [1] State what socialist equality of opportunity is, by way of contrast with the two other kinds of equality of opportunity identified by Cohen. Explain why Cohen thinks, as a matter of justice, socialist equality of opportunity is preferable to the other two, and explain why an additional principle of community is needed to supplement that principle of justice. Then assess whether Cohen offers additional reasons (beyond the superiority of his principle over the alternatives) as to why equality and community are desirable, both for the camping trip and society at large. In a next step briefly summarize what he says about the feasibility of the principle. Devote about two thirds of your discussion to the tasks sketched so far, and then devote the remaining third to your exploration of the objections to parts of Cohen’s argument and an exploration of their success.

General Guidance

In section, your TF will discuss general guidelines to writing a philosophy paper. [2] Please also consult the “Advice on Written Assignments” posted on Canvas before writing the paper. Recall that you will write three papers in this course. The assignments get progressively more demanding. In the first paper, the emphasis is on reconstructing arguments, allowing you to develop the skill of logical reconstruction rather than narrative summary of a text. …The second paper goes beyond reconstruction, putting more emphasis on the critically evaluating arguments. The third paper gives you an opportunity to develop a well-reasoned defense in support of your own view regarding one of the central issues of the class. [3]

__________
[1] Students are given clear advice about how to use evidence differently at different points in their assignment.
[2] Students are assured that they will learn guidelines for working with evidence and analysis in a more disciplinary kind of writing (with which many of them will likely be unfamiliar).
[3] The move from “reconstruction” to “critically evaluating” to “well-reasoned defense” signals a scaffolded development of ways to work with evidence, along with reasons why students are being are being asked to work with evidence in a certain way for this first essay, viz., “to develop the skill of logical reconstruction."

Adapted from Gen Ed 1121: Economic Justice | Spring 2020
Professor Mathias Risse

Histories, Societies, Individuals

Research Requirements

All projects, regardless of which modality you adopt, will need to include [1]

an annotated bibliography that includes at least 5 scholarly sources. These sources can include scholarly articles, books, or websites. For a website, please check with the TFs to confirm the viability of it as a source. [2] There are legitimately scholarly websites, but many content-related sites are not scholarly.
a 1-page artist statement.

See “How tos_Annotated Bibliography_your Artist Statement” for specific instructions for both the annotated bibliography and the artist statement. [3]

__________
[1] Explicit guidance about what kinds of sources and how many to include
[2] Advice on how to get help evaluating whether a source counts as viable evidence
[3] Additional resources (tied to guidelines and process) that help explain the roles of evidence and analysis in the assignment

Adapted from Gen Ed 1099: Pyramid Schemes: What Can Ancient Egyptian Civilization Teach Us?
Professor Peter der Manuelian

Aesthetics & Culture

Mixtape

Introduce yourself to another student in the class by making a virtual mixtape for them.
⋮
Your tape should contain the following (in any order): [1]

The greeting on the Golden Record that best describes you (or record your own)
One piece of music included on the Golden Record
Your personal summer hit of 2020
A “found sound” (recorded in your environment that seems characteristic or interesting)
A piece of music that best describes you
Your favorite piece/song by a musician outside the US/Canada

Use these guidelines as a starting point for your mixtape. Feel free to get creative. The mixtape should say something important about YOU. (There will be no written text accompanying your file. The sounds have to say it all.) [2]

__________
[1] Students are given a clear checklist of what to include in their assignment.
[2] In this assignment, the evidence makes its argument through curation, rather than additional written analysis. Making sure students understand that particular relationship of evidence to analysis ahead of time frames the assignment’s purpose and genre.

Adapted from Gen Ed 1006: Music from Earth | Fall 2020
Professor Alex Rehding

More annotations for these examples of "What it Looks Like" coming soon