Supporting Evidence

In order to support the main idea or key point, a student is expected to introduce evidence, which is usually in the form of an example, a definition, or an explanation.

GIVING AN EXAMPLE

For example/For instance…
Letʼs take X as an example.
such as
Think about…
like…
as evidenced by…

GIVING A DEFINITION

This can be defined as…
X is the term for
is/can/may be defined as…

GIVING AN EXPLANATION

In other words,…
What I meant by this is…
Let me clarify…
To put it another way,…
What is meant by X is…
To illustrate,…
Let me explain…

In many contexts, it is the speakerʼs choice whether to use a question with or without an assumption. Asking a question with an assumption is useful in following up points raised and maintaining the flow of the discussion. The idea is to provoke a speaker to provide some supporting evidence.