evidence is everything a comprehensive essay on narumitsu

Phoenix/Miles

Phoenix Wright/Miles Edgeworth , otherwise known by Narumitsu or Wrightworth , is a slash ship from Ace Attorney.

Narumitsu is a portmanteau of their original Japanese names, Naruhodou Ryuuichi (成歩堂 龍一) and Mitsurugi Reiji (御剣 怜侍), respectively.

Roughly a third of all works for the fandoms involve this pairing. [1]

In 2023, the relationship won 2nd place in the third MLM Ship Bracket Tournament out of 32 entrants.

• Golden Chain of Fate by AsikIkisa, ( Soulmate AU ), May 2016
• Evidence Is Everything: A Comprehensive Essay on Narumitsu by sophie_inthesky, July 2020

Fanart & Fancomics

• if this isn’t the gayest shit ever by jittotone, collab with soosdraws, 22 Sep 2018
• Leyendecker energy by Foervraengd, 18 Apr 2019
• “It’s alright. I’m here.” by cross-examination-san, 15 Apr 2018

Zines/Doujinshi

• Unnecessary Feelings
• Wright Anything Bakery by cross-examination-san
• Laws of Attraction: a WrightWorth Zine
• Narumitsu and Japanese Honorifics by fluttering-cravat and trusted-truthseekers, 9 Feb 2018

Communities & Resources

• ^ Ace Attorney fics on archiveofourourown.org. As of 2/14/2021, out of 13841 fics posted 4412 were tagged Phoenix/Edgeworth and 1508 were tagged gen.
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NaruMitsu is the slash ship between Phoenix Wright and Miles Edgeworth from the Ace Attorney fandom.

• 1.1 Phoenix Wright
• 1.2 Justice for All
• 1.3 Trials and Tribulations
• 1.4 Apollo Justice
• 1.5 Miles Edgeworth: Investigations
• 1.6 Dual Destinies
• 1.7 Spirit of Justice
• 1.8 Other Media
• 2.1 Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney
• 7.1 Official
• 7.3 Screenshots
• 9 References
• 10 Navigation

Phoenix Wright [ ]

Originally, the ship started during the end of “Turnabout Samurai”, where they have their first full-fledged conversation in years. Edgeworth expresses his feelings of unease and uncertainty when speaking to Wright (his exact words were “Thanks to you I am saddled with unnecessary… feelings.”)

The two meet again in Turnabout Goodbyes, as Miles is accused of murder. Phoenix takes it upon himself to become Miles’ lawyer and defend him in court. In the end, he succeeds and the two form a closer bond.

One of Phoenix's reasons for becoming a lawyer stemmed from him having a chance to meet his childhood friend who after the traumatic events during the DL-6 incident, transferred to another school. Their friendship originally started when Phoenix was accused of stealing Miles’ lunch money, even though Larry Butz, their other friend, was the one who actually stole the money. Young Edgeworth decided to defend Wright in the class trial and that is when their friendship began.

Justice for All [ ]

From “Reunion and Turnabout” to “Farewell, My Turnabout”, our main character, Phoenix Wright, expresses his anger and feelings of despair while talking about Miles Edgeworth, even him dismissing his existence to his partner, Maya Fey.

It all started when the news of the apparent suicide of Miles Edgeworth started to surface, reaching Wright. The alleged suicide note, read: “Prosecutor Miles Edgeworth chooses death.” Phoenix felt that the Edgeworth he knew had died and was replaced with a shadow of his former self. During these cases, it was clear that Phoenix wanted nothing to do with Edgeworth, yet talked about him in great detail whenever someone asked. Jokingly, most fans say that Phoenix acts like a typical ex who just had his heart broken by a former lover.

During “Farewell, My Turnabout”, after the assassination attempt on Franziska von Karma, Miles Edgeworth steps in as the prosecutor for the case. During the investigations, Miles helps out Phoenix, giving him info and evidence that could help him in the trial. Eventually, when Edgeworth finds out about Maya’s kidnapping, Edgeworth and Wright team up and try to get to the bottom of the case, both even helping each other out in court.

A big theme about this trial is the trust Edgeworth puts in Phoenix for him to do the right thing at the end, putting all his faith into Wright. And Phoenix, at the end of the trial, trusts him back and gives his client, Matt Engarde, a guilty verdict.

Trials and Tribulations [ ]

During the game’s last case, “Bridge to the Turnabout”, Phoenix falls off a bridge and is unable to defend his client, Iris Fey. Larry calls Edgeworth to inform him of the danger Phoenix is in, and Miles immediately books a flight to go and see Wright.

While Phoenix was not in any danger, he asked Edgeworth to defend Iris in court, giving him his attorney’s badge and magatama. When Iris asks Edgeworth what Phoenix is to him in the 3DS HD remake and onwards, he responds with that he is “a very dear and indispensable friend”. Another interesting thing to note is that when Edgeworth presents an incorrect profile (one other than Phoenix) during a Psyche-Lock session with Iris, Iris will mention a deep dark secret that Edgeworth is hiding and he seems shocked that she knows about it. Iris also says that it "takes one to know one." While we never find out more about this, some people believe that Iris could sense Edgeworth also harbors feelings for Phoenix, like herself.

During the investigation and first court trial, Miles figures out how hard a life of a defense attorney is, and gains a little more respect for Wright. After the trial and after his quick recovery, Phoenix meets up with Miles, thanking and complimenting his skills in the trial.

Day 2 of the Investigation takes a dark turn when an earthquake hit Hazakura Temple. Miles’ biggest fear being earthquakes, Phoenix immediately thinks of the danger Edgeworth could be in and rushes over to Dusky Bridge. While Edgeworth is alright, his noticeable fear of earthquakes is present in his behavior, blaming himself for letting Iris slip away because he was passed out.

After sometime, the two meet in the garden, where Edgeworth talks intimately about his relationship with earthquakes and DL-6, opening up to him. During this encounter, Wright even thinks of hugging Edgeworth, but holds back. If you keep presenting profiles to Edgeworth, he’ll start being comedic with Wright after enough profiles have been presented.

Apollo Justice [ ]

While Edgeworth is not directly named in AJ, Phoenix reveals in DD that during the seven-year gap he went overseas to help him with legal work as well as to study the legal systems there. [1]

Miles Edgeworth: Investigations [ ]

Similarly, Phoenix is never referred to by name in the spin-off, but Edgeworth does make vague references to him, even remarking that his usage of the word “contradiction” is Phoenix rubbing off on him. He also makes numerous references to the defense attorney in the unofficial fan-translation of the 2nd game, referring to him as “that man” or “a certain friend”, and attributing the cause of the destruction of his own “self-centered sense of justice” to Phoenix. At the end of the game Edgeworth has a little speech and refers to Phoenix by saying “The sight of that man still shines brilliantly in my eyes...” [2]

Dual Destinies [ ]

When Phoenix mentions going to Europe, he reveals that he went to study the legal systems there, and would help him with some cases from time to time. Phoenix actually became a lawyer again because Edgeworth asked him to return to help him prove Blackquill's innocence and put an end to the “dark age of the law”, meaning that for the second time in his life, Phoenix became an attorney for Edgeworth. While Edgeworth only appears in the last case of the game the trial itself is full of characters making quips about how close the two lawyers are. Even Fulbright, comments that they exemplify the phrase “close enough to argue.”

Later, Phoenix needles Edgeworth about his aesthetic sense weakening along with his eyesight (as of this game and onwards, he wears glasses) and Edgeworth is not amused. The Judge steps in to smooth things over, assuring Edgeworth that the defense is only concerned about his ocular health. When the trial is over, Athena comments on their “love-hate” relationship. Add it all up, and it seems that quite a few people in-game seem to regard the face-off between the two lawyers as a marital spat. A funny dialogue happens if you mess up in a certain part of the trial and are shown a back and forth between Edgeworth and Phoenix ending with Phoenix being told to “put a sock in it” and him replying with “Y-yes, Daddy” to Edgeworth. [3]

At the end of Dual Destinies Phoenix has realized that Edgeworth stepped in to speed up the process of getting him reinstated because it was too easy a process. Edgeworth had not mentioned this or tried to take credit for it, but he admits he has a lot of debts to pay up to Phoenix. He says the same in the end credits, since he now owes Phoenix again for helping acquit Blackquill, but swears to repay him someday (while doing his head-tilted half smile pose). There is also the bit where Phoenix tells Edgeworth that the frown lines on his forehead are getting too deep and he should smile more; Edgeworth tells him (while smirking) that he will think about it.

Spirit of Justice [ ]

Miles implies he has seen some of Trucy's shows, and she leans on him while asleep on an airplane in a cutscene implying them to be quite close. [4] He even says later when Trucy is found to have stowed away in his bag that she pulled the old sneak into Edgeworth's bag trick, implying she has done something like that before. [5] Miles and Phoenix also share living accommodations while in Khura'in. Both Phoenix and Edgeworth share some fun back and forth moments when investigating during the last case of the trial. If you ever ask Edgeworth if he has “any ideas”, he grumbles about Phoenix leaving the states without telling him. Phoenix asks if Edgeworth missed him, which Edgeworth characteristically denies. They both speculate how much fun it would be to sightsee in Khura’in if they were not there on business, although Edgeworth teasingly adds that Phoenix is the last person he would want to go with.

Later on Phoenix makes fun of Edgeworth for his gaudy taste and his grey hair, asking if he wants to dye it black Investigating anywhere at the Bazaar will have Edgeworth wax sentimental about how he and Phoenix are finally investigating a case “side by side”, only for Phoenix to tease him for being so sentimental. Edgeworth goes out of his way to help out in the last investigation, even chartered a jet for the entire Wright Anything Agency to go to Khura’in (a call back to another time he did this in T&T), and even pulled rank with all the investigators and legal officials in Khura’in to help Phoenix. At the beginning of their segment together, Phoenix confesses that he would have been “totally lost” without Edgeworth’s help.

Other Media [ ]

In the anime, both intros heavily focus on the relationship between the two. The first OP showcases a sort of golden chain that binds the two together, not only a symbol of court, but also a symbol of their relationship. The second showcasing, again, the contrast between the two, but since their relationship has grown, they are both seen smiling at each other while facing in court. Something that was added in the anime is the show Signal Samurai and how it connects them together. Phoenix keeps his signal blue keychain and never lets it go as shown by how worn out it is. While Miles denies it at first he never let his signal red keychain go either but kept it hidden away until it can be seen on his desk years later. He even takes it with him after writing the “suicide” note while saying he was sorry to leaving for the second time, addressing this to Phoenix.

The second season shows Miles’ face softening in a smile when he notices Phoenix behind him in the intro. In “Turnabout Express - Last Trial”, Gumshoe cries tears of joy at the two working together to find the truth to this case. Before the train blows up, Phoenix can be seen looking back into the car at Miles on the screen, and Miles smiles at him. In “Sound the Turnabout Melody”, it is a flashback with Phoenix, Larry, and Miles as kids. Phoenix still has his signal blue keychain showing he has not forgotten about Miles, and even blushes when Larry sees he still has it. He wants to try to send a message for him and in the end he does. Another flashback is shown of Miles and Phoenix together before Miles left and they both smile and blush at each other. At the end of the last trial Edgeworth goes to shake hands with Phoenix but Phoenix takes his hand with both of his while saying he could not done it without his help, but holds onto his hand for quite a bit while they both stare at each other softly. Even after Larry and the others interrupt their moment together they keep holding hands for a bit longer.

In the Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney: Official Casebook, Volume 2: The Miles Edgeworth Files , Miles can be seen looking up at the stars wistfully as they take the form of Phoenix’s profile, and he thinks to himself, “For some reason, whenever I’m tired, I’m reminded of you”. [6] In another panel, Edgeworth dresses up as Phoenix to help find him and the conversion goes like, starting with Phoenix saying, “D-Don’t tell me, Edgeworth you love m...” and Edgeworth interrupting him with “Don’t finish that sentence”. [7]

In Marvel vs. Capcom 3 , they make a brief cameo in She-Hulk’s ending, the two are terrified of her after she breaks a desk with a gavel and jump into each others arms. [8]

The pair has an official set of matching rings [9] made by Material Crown and more recently they've released a set of necklaces as well. [10]

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney [ ]

Wrightworth is one of, if not, the most popular ship in the entire Ace Attorney fandom. The development team after finishing the first game quickly found out how popular it was with fans of the series after searching their game on the internet, while surprised by the results they were happy to see that the game was so popular with the BL community. Many think that the ship could become canon. The chemistry between the two is undeniable, and the two being a great ying and yang pair (Prosecutor and Defense Attorney, Red and Blue, Night and Day).

Around 2015 an event called Narumitsu Week was started that lasts from July 1st to July 8th it celebrates the pairing by making a different theme for 8 days, people can either make fan art or fan fiction to go along with the theme. It started out on Tumblr but starting in 2019 it is now on Twitter as well. The dates for the week were chosen because the 3rd of July is unofficially known as Narumitsu Day in Japan. Because in Japanese “7” is Na natsu and “3” is Mi tsu, Na ruhodou Ryuuichi (Phoenix’s Japanese name) and Mi tsurugi Reiji (Miles’), respectively.

For 2020, a user wrote an extensive 57,000-word essay on AO3 detailing all canon evidence from the games and other media.

Fans banded together to get a pixelated artwork of the pairing on r/place 2022, at the coordinates "1315, 93." They also appear to be wearing wedding rings, and have hearts surrounding them (one red, one colored in the colors of the bisexual flag, and one colored in the colors of the asexual flag.)

FAN FICTION

• Eric Vale (Phoenix’s English VA) and Christopher Wehkamp (Miles) made jokes regarding the nature of their relationship in the Ace Attorney Outtakes .
• There was once an article written in issue #72 of an official UK Nintendo magazine called Nintendo Gamer about the best fictional couples, and Wrightworth was on that list. [11]
• There is a supposed interview with the writers of Ace Attorney, that Edgeworth isn't interested in women, but thinks Phoenix looks rather nice. Also, it has been confirmed that Phoenix thinks Edgeworth looks attractive. [12]
• On Valentines Day 2014 the Official Ace Attorney Facebook page shared Narumitsu fan-art. [13]
• The Facebook page also posted more art from a Narumitsu artist on Christmas Eve 2014. [14]
• They were both once featured in a magazine article called “SoulxMate”. [15] A full translation of the article is unavailable, but it compares the two to light and darkness at some point. The article featured two other couples with ones who harbored feelings for the other. [16]
• In May of 2021, the San Fransisco Chronicle published an article about the rising visibility of older queer men in video games. The article talked extensively about Phoenix and Edgeworth’s relationship, noting the plethora of romantically-coded moments between the two. The article was also included in a print edition of the paper. [17]
• Edgeworth and Phoenix placed second in an August 2021 Twitter competition to determine the ultimate red/blue pairing. [18]
• In June 2022, an article by Inverse covered Narumitsu, analyzing why people ship them, what would happen if it were to be made canon, and the impact of it on the fanbase. [19]

Gallery [ ]

Official [ ].

Screenshots [ ]

References [ ]

Navigation [ ].

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Table of Contents

Andrea A. Lunsford

Andrea Lunsford , Louise Hewlett Nixon Professor of English emerita and former Director of the Program in Writing and Rhetoric at Stanford University, joined the Stanford faculty in 2000. Prior to this appointment, she was Distinguished Professor of English at The Ohio State University (1986-2000) and, before that, Associate Professor and Director of Writing at the University of British Columbia (1977-86) and Associate Professor of English at Hillsborough Community College. A frequent member of the faculty of the Bread Loaf School of English, Andrea earned her B.A. and M.A. degrees from the University of Florida and completed her Ph.D. in English at The Ohio State University (1977). She holds honorary degrees from Middlebury College and The University of Ôrebro. Andreas scholarly interests include the contributions of women and people of color to rhetorical history, theory, and practice; collaboration and collaborative writing, comics/graphic narratives; translanguaging and style, and technologies of writing. She has written or coauthored many books, including Essays on Classical Rhetoric and Modern Discourse; Singular Texts/Plural Authors: Perspectives on Collaborative Writing; and Reclaiming Rhetorica: Women in the History of Rhetoric , as well as numerous chapters and articles. For Bedford/St. Martin’s, she is the author of The St. Martins Handbook, The Everyday Writer , and EasyWriter; the co-author (with John Ruszkiewicz) of Everything’s an Argument and (with John Ruszkiewicz and Keith Walters) of Everything’s an Argument with Readings; and the co-author (with Lisa Ede) of Writing Together: Collaboration in Theory and Practice . She is also a regular contributor to the Bits teaching blog on Bedford/St. Martin’s English Community site. Andrea has given presentations and workshops on the changing nature and scope of writing and critical language awareness at scores of North American universities, served as Chair of the Conference on College Composition and Communication, as Chair of the Modern Language Association Division on Writing, and as a member of the MLA Executive Council. In her spare time, she serves on the Board of La Casa Roja’s Next Generation Leadership Network, as Chair of the Kronos Quartet Performing Arts Association--and works diligently if not particularly well in her communal organic garden.

John J. Ruszkiewicz

John J. Ruszkiewicz is a professor emeritus at the University of Texas at Austin where he taught literature, rhetoric, and writing for forty years. A winner of the President’s Associates Teaching Excellence Award, he was instrumental in creating the Department of Rhetoric and Writing in 1993 and directed the unit from 2001-05. He has also served as president of the Conference of College Teachers of English (CCTE) of Texas, which gave him its Frances Hernández Teacher—Scholar Award in 2012. For Bedford/St. Martins, he is coauthor, with Andrea Lunsford, of Everything’s an Argument and the author of How to Write Anything. In retirement, he writes the mystery novels under the pen name J.J. Rusz; the most recent, The Lost Mine Trail, published in 2020 on Amazon.

Keith Walters

Keith Walters is professor of applied linguistics at Portland State University. Much of his research focuses on language and identity in North Africa, especially Tunisia, and the United States. He has also taught freshman composition and English as a second/foreign language.

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6.2: Evidence

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WHAT THIS HANDOUT IS ABOUT

This handout will provide a broad overview of gathering and using evidence. It will help you decide what counts as evidence, put evidence to work in your writing, and determine whether you have enough evidence. It will also offer links to additional resources.

INTRODUCTION

Many papers that you write in college will require you to make an argument ; this means that you must take a position on the subject you are discussing and support that position with evidence. It’s important that you use the right kind of evidence, that you use it effectively, and that you have an appropriate amount of it. If, for example, your philosophy professor didn’t like it that you used a survey of public opinion as your primary evidence in your ethics paper, you need to find out more about what philosophers count as good evidence. If your instructor has told you that you need more analysis, suggested that you’re “just listing” points or giving a “laundry list,” or asked you how certain points are related to your argument, it may mean that you can do more to fully incorporate your evidence into your argument. Comments like “for example?,” “proof?,” “go deeper,” or “expand” in the margins of your graded paper suggest that you may need more evidence. Let’s take a look at each of these issues—understanding what counts as evidence, using evidence in your argument, and deciding whether you need more evidence.

WHAT COUNTS AS EVIDENCE?

Before you begin gathering information for possible use as evidence in your argument, you need to be sure that you understand the purpose of your assignment. If you are working on a project for a class, look carefully at the assignment prompt. It may give you clues about what sorts of evidence you will need. Does the instructor mention any particular books you should use in writing your paper or the names of any authors who have written about your topic? How long should your paper be (longer works may require more, or more varied, evidence)? What themes or topics come up in the text of the prompt? Our handout on understanding writing assignments can help you interpret your assignment. It’s also a good idea to think over what has been said about the assignment in class and to talk with your instructor if you need clarification or guidance.

WHAT MATTERS TO INSTRUCTORS?

Instructors in different academic fields expect different kinds of arguments and evidence—your chemistry paper might include graphs, charts, statistics, and other quantitative data as evidence, whereas your English paper might include passages from a novel, examples of recurring symbols, or discussions of characterization in the novel. Consider what kinds of sources and evidence you have seen in course readings and lectures. You may wish to see whether the Writing Center has a handout regarding the specific academic field you’re working in—for example, literature , sociology , or history .

WHAT ARE PRIMARY AND SECONDARY SOURCES?

A note on terminology: many researchers distinguish between primary and secondary sources of evidence (in this case, “primary” means “first” or “original,” not “most important”). Primary sources include original documents, photographs, interviews, and so forth. Secondary sources present information that has already been processed or interpreted by someone else. For example, if you are writing a paper about the movie “The Matrix,” the movie itself, an interview with the director, and production photos could serve as primary sources of evidence. A movie review from a magazine or a collection of essays about the film would be secondary sources. Depending on the context, the same item could be either a primary or a secondary source: if I am writing about people’s relationships with animals, a collection of stories about animals might be a secondary source; if I am writing about how editors gather diverse stories into collections, the same book might now function as a primary source.

WHERE CAN I FIND EVIDENCE?

Here are some examples of sources of information and tips about how to use them in gathering evidence. Ask your instructor if you aren’t sure whether a certain source would be appropriate for your paper.

Print and electronic sources

Books, journals, websites, newspapers, magazines, and documentary films are some of the most common sources of evidence for academic writing. Our handout on evaluating print sources will help you choose your print sources wisely, and the library has a tutorial on evaluating both print sources and websites. A librarian can help you find sources that are appropriate for the type of assignment you are completing. Just visit the reference desk at Davis or the Undergraduate Library or chat with a librarian online (the library’s IM screen name is undergradref).

Observation

Sometimes you can directly observe the thing you are interested in, by watching, listening to, touching, tasting, or smelling it. For example, if you were asked to write about Mozart’s music, you could listen to it; if your topic was how businesses attract traffic, you might go and look at window displays at the mall.

An interview is a good way to collect information that you can’t find through any other type of research. An interview can provide an expert’s opinion, biographical or first-hand experiences, and suggestions for further research.

Surveys allow you to find out some of what a group of people thinks about a topic. Designing an effective survey and interpreting the data you get can be challenging, so it’s a good idea to check with your instructor before creating or administering a survey.

Experiments

Experimental data serve as the primary form of scientific evidence. For scientific experiments, you should follow the specific guidelines of the discipline you are studying. For writing in other fields, more informal experiments might be acceptable as evidence. For example, if you want to prove that food choices in a cafeteria are affected by gender norms, you might ask classmates to undermine those norms on purpose and observe how others react. What would happen if a football player were eating dinner with his teammates and he brought a small salad and diet drink to the table, all the while murmuring about his waistline and wondering how many fat grams the salad dressing contained?

Personal experience

Using your own experiences can be a powerful way to appeal to your readers. You should, however, use personal experience only when it is appropriate to your topic, your writing goals, and your audience. Personal experience should not be your only form of evidence in most papers, and some disciplines frown on using personal experience at all. For example, a story about the microscope you received as a Christmas gift when you were nine years old is probably not applicable to your biology lab report.

USING EVIDENCE IN AN ARGUMENT

Does evidence speak for itself.

Absolutely not. After you introduce evidence into your writing, you must say why and how this evidence supports your argument. In other words, you have to explain the significance of the evidence and its function in your paper. What turns a fact or piece of information into evidence is the connection it has with a larger claim or argument: evidence is always evidence for or against something, and you have to make that link clear.

As writers, we sometimes assume that our readers already know what we are talking about; we may be wary of elaborating too much because we think the point is obvious. But readers can’t read our minds: although they may be familiar with many of the ideas we are discussing, they don’t know what we are trying to do with those ideas unless we indicate it through explanations, organization, transitions, and so forth. Try to spell out the connections that you were making in your mind when you chose your evidence, decided where to place it in your paper, and drew conclusions based on it. Remember, you can always cut prose from your paper later if you decide that you are stating the obvious.

Here are some questions you can ask yourself about a particular bit of evidence:

• O.k., I’ve just stated this point, but so what? Why is it interesting? Why should anyone care?
• What does this information imply?
• What are the consequences of thinking this way or looking at a problem this way?
• I’ve just described what something is like or how I see it, but why is it like that?
• I’ve just said that something happens-so how does it happen? How does it come to be the way it is?
• Why is this information important? Why does it matter?
• How is this idea related to my thesis? What connections exist between them? Does it support my thesis? If so, how does it do that?
• Can I give an example to illustrate this point?

Answering these questions may help you explain how your evidence is related to your overall argument.

HOW CAN I INCORPORATE EVIDENCE INTO MY PAPER?

There are many ways to present your evidence. Often, your evidence will be included as text in the body of your paper, as a quotation, paraphrase, or summary. Sometimes you might include graphs, charts, or tables; excerpts from an interview; or photographs or illustrations with accompanying captions.

When you quote, you are reproducing another writer’s words exactly as they appear on the page. Here are some tips to help you decide when to use quotations:

• Quote if you can’t say it any better and the author’s words are particularly brilliant, witty, edgy, distinctive, a good illustration of a point you’re making, or otherwise interesting.
• Quote if you are using a particularly authoritative source and you need the author’s expertise to back up your point.
• Quote if you are analyzing diction, tone, or a writer’s use of a specific word or phrase.
• Quote if you are taking a position that relies on the reader’s understanding exactly what another writer says about the topic.

Be sure to introduce each quotation you use, and always cite your sources. See our handout on quotations for more details on when to quote and how to format quotations.

Like all pieces of evidence, a quotation can’t speak for itself. If you end a paragraph with a quotation, that may be a sign that you have neglected to discuss the importance of the quotation in terms of your argument. It’s important to avoid “plop quotations,” that is, quotations that are just dropped into your paper without any introduction, discussion, or follow-up.

Paraphrasing

When you paraphrase, you take a specific section of a text and put it into your own words. Putting it into your own words doesn’t mean just changing or rearranging a few of the author’s words: to paraphrase well and avoid plagiarism, try setting your source aside and restating the sentence or paragraph you have just read, as though you were describing it to another person. Paraphrasing is different than summary because a paraphrase focuses on a particular, fairly short bit of text (like a phrase, sentence, or paragraph). You’ll need to indicate when you are paraphrasing someone else’s text by citing your source correctly, just as you would with a quotation.

When might you want to paraphrase?

• Paraphrase when you want to introduce a writer’s position, but his or her original words aren’t special enough to quote.
• Paraphrase when you are supporting a particular point and need to draw on a certain place in a text that supports your point—for example, when one paragraph in a source is especially relevant.
• Paraphrase when you want to present a writer’s view on a topic that differs from your position or that of another writer; you can then refute writer’s specific points in your own words after you paraphrase.
• Paraphrase when you want to comment on a particular example that another writer uses.
• Paraphrase when you need to present information that’s unlikely to be questioned.

When you summarize, you are offering an overview of an entire text, or at least a lengthy section of a text. Summary is useful when you are providing background information, grounding your own argument, or mentioning a source as a counter-argument. A summary is less nuanced than paraphrased material. It can be the most effective way to incorporate a large number of sources when you don’t have a lot of space. When you are summarizing someone else’s argument or ideas, be sure this is clear to the reader and cite your source appropriately.

Statistics, data, charts, graphs, photographs, illustrations

Sometimes the best evidence for your argument is a hard fact or visual representation of a fact. This type of evidence can be a solid backbone for your argument, but you still need to create context for your reader and draw the connections you want him or her to make. Remember that statistics, data, charts, graph, photographs, and illustrations are all open to interpretation. Guide the reader through the interpretation process. Again, always, cite the origin of your evidence if you didn’t produce the material you are using yourself.

DO I NEED MORE EVIDENCE?

Let’s say that you’ve identified some appropriate sources, found some evidence, explained to the reader how it fits into your overall argument, incorporated it into your draft effectively, and cited your sources. How do you tell whether you’ve got enough evidence and whether it’s working well in the service of a strong argument or analysis? Here are some techniques you can use to review your draft and assess your use of evidence.

Make a reverse outline

A reverse outline is a great technique for helping you see how each paragraph contributes to proving your thesis. When you make a reverse outline, you record the main ideas in each paragraph in a shorter (outline-like) form so that you can see at a glance what is in your paper. The reverse outline is helpful in at least three ways. First, it lets you see where you have dealt with too many topics in one paragraph (in general, you should have one main idea per paragraph). Second, the reverse outline can help you see where you need more evidence to prove your point or more analysis of that evidence. Third, the reverse outline can help you write your topic sentences: once you have decided what you want each paragraph to be about, you can write topic sentences that explain the topics of the paragraphs and state the relationship of each topic to the overall thesis of the paper.

For tips on making a reverse outline, see our handout on organization .

Color code your paper

You will need three highlighters or colored pencils for this exercise. Use one color to highlight general assertions. These will typically be the topic sentences in your paper. Next, use another color to highlight the specific evidence you provide for each assertion (including quotations, paraphrased or summarized material, statistics, examples, and your own ideas). Lastly, use another color to highlight analysis of your evidence. Which assertions are key to your overall argument? Which ones are especially contestable? How much evidence do you have for each assertion? How much analysis? In general, you should have at least as much analysis as you do evidence, or your paper runs the risk of being more summary than argument. The more controversial an assertion is, the more evidence you may need to provide in order to persuade your reader.

Play devil’s advocate, act like a child, or doubt everything

This technique may be easiest to use with a partner. Ask your friend to take on one of the roles above, then read your paper aloud to him/her. After each section, pause and let your friend interrogate you. If your friend is playing devil’s advocate, he or she will always take the opposing viewpoint and force you to keep defending yourself. If your friend is acting like a child, he or she will question every sentence, even seemingly self-explanatory ones. If your friend is a doubter, he or she won’t believe anything you say. Justifying your position verbally or explaining yourself will force you to strengthen the evidence in your paper. If you already have enough evidence but haven’t connected it clearly enough to your main argument, explaining to your friend how the evidence is relevant or what it proves may help you to do so.

COMMON QUESTIONS AND ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

• I have a general topic in mind; how can I develop it so I’ll know what evidence I need? And how can I get ideas for more evidence? See our handout on brainstorming .
• Who can help me find evidence on my topic? Check out UNC Libraries .
• I’m writing for a specific purpose; how can I tell what kind of evidence my audience wants? See our handouts on  audience , writing for specific disciplines , and particular writing assignments .
• How should I read materials to gather evidence? See our handout on reading to write .
• How can I make a good argument? Check out our handouts on argument and thesis statements .
• How do I tell if my paragraphs and my paper are well-organized? Review our handouts on paragraph development ,  transitions , and reorganizing drafts .
• How do I quote my sources and incorporate those quotes into my text? Our handouts on quotations and avoiding plagiarism offer useful tips.
• How do I cite my evidence? See the UNC Libraries citation tutorial .
• I think that I’m giving evidence, but my instructor says I’m using too much summary. How can I tell? Check out our handout on using summary wisely.
• I want to use personal experience as evidence, but can I say “I”? We have a handout on when to use “I.”

WORKS CONSULTED

We consulted these works while writing the original version of this handout. This is not a comprehensive list of resources on the handout’s topic, and we encourage you to do your own research to find the latest publications on this topic. Please do not use this list as a model for the format of your own reference list, as it may not match the citation style you are using. For guidance on formatting citations, please see the UNC Libraries citation tutorial .

Lunsford, Andrea A., and John J. Ruszkiewicz, John J. Everything’s an argument. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 1999

Miller, Richard E., and Kurt Spellmeyer. The New Humanities Reader Home Page. 22 Feb. 2005 http://www.newhum.com/for_students/t...ama/index.html .

http://www.lib.umd.edu/UES/library_guides_subject.html