Without evidence, no one can make his or her argument effectively. It would be on weak grounds. There are different types of evidence. What counts as evidence?
There are two types of evidence, firsthand evidence and secondhand evidence. In firsthand, to get evidence people uses observations, interviews, surveys, experiments and most importantly, personal experience. Most people when they write an argument they use personal experience because they know it will hit the readers on a personal level. In Lunsford page 478, Winn Schwartau reports on an experiment performed by a former hacker. The hacker took his audience to a trash bin behind Pacific Bell. He went dumpster diving and found all kinds of information useful for a hacker. He made a few calls and easily got $100,000 to his bank account with just that information he found in the dumpster. It is scary to know people can easily steal information and your identity! For secondhand evidence, people use library sources, and online sources to get evidence.
Writers must consider their audience and how evidence relates to them. The main thesis or point of the chapter is evidence and what kinds there are. I consider the most important for my academic writing is using different kind of evidence and how to use them effectively.
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