Evaluating the evidence used to support a claim is an important step in analyzing the argument’s effectiveness. When you evaluate evidence, you should ask yourself:
Is there sufficient evidence to support the claim?
Determine whether there are enough examples or facts to support each claim or reason. For example, a passage states that the majority of US citizens support offshore drilling and uses only one survey to support that claim. But the survey only includes 50 people; it does not provide sufficient information to support that claim.
Is the evidence relevant?
Analyze whether evidence actually applies to the claim. Is it taken out of context or misrepresented? Is it too general or too narrow in scope to really support the claim?
Is the evidence credible?
Check that the source of the evidence is listed and is reliable. A statistic from a peer-reviewed journal will be more credible than one from an amateur blog, for example.