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When you tell others what you think, and are trying to convince them to agree with you, it’s not enough just to give your opinion. You need to give good reasons for why you think the way you do.

You do this by providing evidence, which is a set of facts or proof that supports what you say.

You might need to use evidence in:

• a persuasive non-fiction piece of writing, like a brochure, report or news article

• a discussion or debate

• a presentation about a particular viewpoint

When you give evidence, you must always say what it shows and why or how it supports your point of view.

Compare these two statements:

• Vegetables are good for you.

• Vegetables are good for you. A 2018 study by the Centre of Vitamin Studies found that 70% of adults who started to eat more vegetables daily had fewer days off work than those who ate fewer vegetables.

The sentence ‘vegetables are good for you’ may well be true, but without any evidence it is only an opinion. By giving evidence you support your point of view, by explaining what the evidence shows and why.

Top tip!

• Using evidence in this way is much more likely to persuade people to agree with you!

When you are giving your opinion, there are some helpful words you can use to introduce your supporting evidence, make comparisons when talking about it, and draw conclusions (opinions or judgements) based on what you’ve said:

• although

• according to

• as

• because

• but

• for example

• however

• so

• since

• therefore

Look at this example:

Eating vegetables is good for you. Although many people say they don't enjoy eating vegetables, it is beneficial to your health to do so.

According to a study done by the Centre for Vitamin Studies in 2018, 70% of adults who ate more healthily, for example by eating more green vegetables and salads, had better health over a six month period. Therefore, more people should consider eating more vegetables since it could be better for society long-term.

Top tip!

• Using a range of these words in your writing makes what you say sound balanced, well-researched and credible (convincing or believable)!

First, try this short quiz to test your skills so far in identifying evidence to back up opinions!

This news article argues that children should have one hour a week during school time when they can do their homework, instead of having to do it at home.

Some words are missing from the text though!

Copy it out and choose words from the table beneath it to fill in the gaps.

You can check your answers in this .

Look at the two different opinions below on recycling.

• There need to be better facilities for recycling waste in my town.

• Recycling waste is easy in my town.

Choose one of the opinions and write a short text in which you provide evidence to support it, by doing some research.

It’s important to include reasons to support what you say so think about what you need to find out in order to give examples, make comparisons and draw conclusions.

Here are some ideas for things you could try to find out:

• what your local council says about recycling in your town

• what your local MP (Member of Parliament) says about recycling in your town

• facts and figures about recycling in your area

• facts and figures about recycling in the UK

You could look online to research facts and figures.

Write at least 50 words. Aim to include some of the useful words you saw at the end of the Learn section.

Top tip!

• Ask an adult for help when researching online, so that you can find the information you need most effectively.

• Try to include statistics (information that shows numbers or amounts, based on research) in your writing – these can be great for providing evidence!