Distinguish an Example from External Evidence

1. Fit the support to the claim

Support is useful only when it can do the job your claim asks it to do. An illustrative example makes an idea concrete: it shows what a situation might look like or how a process could work. An empirical claim, by contrast, says something about what is actually true beyond a made-up scenario—for example, what usually happens, how often something happens, or whether one factor affects another. An invented example can clarify an empirical claim, but it cannot establish that claim. Before choosing support, underline the claim’s key words. Does it say “could,” “for instance,” or “imagine”? That wording may call for illustration. Does it say “most,” “in general,” “increases,” or “causes”? That wording makes a factual claim that needs evidence appropriate to its scope.

2. Decide what the task requires

Use this quick decision process. First, identify the question the assignment asks you to answer. If you are explaining how a strategy might work, a clearly labeled hypothetical example may be enough. If you are reporting what happens in the world, you need external evidence suited to the claim—such as a source the assignment permits and that directly supports the point. Second, check the size of the claim. One person’s experience, even if real, cannot by itself establish what happens to everyone. Third, make the relationship visible to the reader: name the support, then explain what it demonstrates and what it does not demonstrate. When an assignment does not provide sources and asks for an empirical conclusion, do not fill the gap with invented data or an authoritative-sounding example. Narrow the claim, identify the evidence still needed, or explain the limitation.

3. Worked demonstration: a school reading routine

The following scenario and both passages are invented for instruction; they are not research or reports of real students. Suppose a writer is explaining a possible way to make independent reading easier to begin. The draft says: “Students who set a ten-minute reading goal are more likely to read regularly. For example, imagine Mina, who writes ‘read for ten minutes’ on a note before starting. The small goal helps her begin, so students who use this method build a regular habit.” The imagined case can show a reader what setting a small goal might look like. It cannot support the draft’s claims about what students generally do or whether the method builds habits. The problem is not that the example is vivid; it is that the conclusion reaches beyond the example.

A more careful revision is: “A small, specific goal can make a reading plan easier to picture. For example, imagine Mina writing ‘read for ten minutes’ on a note before she opens her book. This invented scene illustrates one way a student might begin a reading session; it does not show whether students generally read more regularly or whether the goal causes a lasting habit. To make either broader claim, a writer would need relevant external evidence.” The revised paragraph keeps the example’s useful job—making a strategy concrete—while drawing a boundary around what it can establish. It neither pretends to have evidence nor leaves the reader to mistake a fictional scene for a finding.

4. Revise the claim and the label

The revision works through three linked choices. It changes the opening from a statement about what students generally do to a modest explanation of what a small goal can make easier to picture. It introduces Mina with “imagine,” which clearly marks her as invented. And it separates illustration from proof by stating that the scene does not establish a general pattern or cause. This is more than adding a disclaimer at the end: the claim itself now matches the support. If your task requires an empirical answer, do not simply replace a strong claim with a weaker one and stop. Use the permitted external evidence, if available, and check that it addresses the actual claim. If suitable evidence is unavailable, say what remains unknown rather than implying that the example settles it.

5. Run a support check

Read each claim beside the support that follows it. Ask: Is this support invented, observed, or drawn from an external source? Have I identified it accurately? What exactly does it show? Does my wording stay within that boundary? Watch especially for a leap from one case to a population-wide statement, or from a sequence of events to a cause-and-effect claim. For an illustrative task, signal the example as hypothetical and explain the point it makes. For an empirical task, use relevant external evidence and represent its scope carefully. If the passage contains only an illustration, keep the conclusion illustrative too—or state that external evidence is needed. A precise limit is not a weakness; it helps readers understand what the writing can and cannot support.