Chapter 16

This chapter from the book Everything’s an Argument was about what does and doesn’t count as proper evidence. People use all kinds of evidence to support a claim. It is often argued that the quality of evidence may not be accurate. The three important things to consider when looking at evidence is who collected it, how it was collected and for what purpose it was collected. Another important thing to look at when considering evidence is if the time and place of the information is relevant to what is being proved in your argument.

This idea of the accuracy of evidence brings me to the lesson I recently learned in my Human Development class. As we were discussing the topic of death and dying, we talked about the Kübler-Ross model. This model provides the Five Stages of Greif when someone finds out they, or someone they know is dying. These stages include denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. We learned how this method has not only been applied to death, but in today’s time, it has also been applied to many other aspects of life. It wasn’t until after we learned about this model that we learned that many other professionals of thanatology disagree with Kübler-Ross. Looking at her research, she never actually followed any specific personal through the entire cycle of the stages. And she could never prove that someone would experience these stages in any certain order, or even at all. This just goes to show how it is important to consider the source and research before including certain evidence in your argument because you want information that is concrete and that will support your ideas.

The book then goes on to talk about the various types of evidence. It talks about Firsthand Evidence and Research. These types of evidence include interviews, observations, surveys and questionnaires, experiments, and personal experiences. The various types of Secondhand Evidence include things like library sources, online sources, and other impersonal databases.