Evidence Repertoire
Develop flexible evidence from history, science, literature, current events, personal observation, and credible sources for argument prompts.
A lesson of AP English Language and Composition, in Argument Essay, about 10 minutes.
Building an Evidence Repertoire for the Argument Essay
By the end of this lesson, you will be able to identify the types of evidence available for AP Lang argument essays, evaluate the relative strength of different evidence types, and practice deploying evidence precisely and relevantly.
What Is Evidence in an Argument Essay?
In the AP Lang argument essay, evidence is any concrete support you bring from outside the prompt to support your claim. Unlike the synthesis essay (which requires you to use provided sources), the argument essay asks you to draw on your own knowledge.
This is daunting for many students — but the good news is that you already have far more usable evidence than you think.
Types of Evidence
1. Historical Examples
Historical events provide concrete, well-documented support for claims about human nature, society, and institutions.
Examples:
- The Holocaust as evidence of where dehumanizing rhetoric leads
- The New Deal as evidence that government can effectively address economic collapse
- The civil rights movement as evidence that collective action can achieve structural change
- The Tulsa Race Massacre as evidence of how wealth and power can be violently stripped from communities
How to deploy: Specify — not just "the Civil Rights Movement" but "the 1965 Voting Rights Act, which eliminated literacy tests and increased Black voter registration in Mississippi from 6.7% to 59.8% within two years."
2. Literary and Artistic Examples
Literature and art can support abstract claims about human experience.
Examples:
- 1984 (Orwell) → surveillance, totalitarianism, language manipulation
- The Great Gatsby → wealth and the American Dream's false promises
- Things Fall Apart → effects of colonialism; cultural contact and loss
- Shakespeare's plays → power, ambition, jealousy, leadership
Warning: Be careful to analyze the example, not just name-drop. "As Shakespeare shows in Macbeth, ambition destroys those who pursue power for its own sake" is not analysis. Show HOW the text supports your claim.