1. examples
2. narratives (personal, literary, historical hypothetical)
3. definitions (authoritative, stipulated, operational, comparative)
4. descriptions
5. historical fact
6. scientific fact
7. statistics
8. testimony (Tucker 2018, p. 121)

Facts

verifiable truths, or information that is independent of opinion (Gunn 2017, loc. 193)

whereas opinion is an expression of personal feeling or judgement

Statistics

the collection, analysis, comparison, and interpretation of numerical data, understanding its comparison with other numerical data (Tucker 2018, p. 129)

descriptive statistics

features of the group

inferential statistics

inferring about the group from a sample

Statistics tips

• use as support
• provide (reliable) source
• do not overuse stats
• use graphics if apt
• explain but don’t belabor
• don’t abuse

Misleading statistics

Base-rate fallacy

Tricky medians

Stephen J. Gould was told the median survival of his peritoneal mesothelioma was 8 months after diagnosis; he lived for another 20 years: “The Median isn’t the Message

Testimony

opinions are judgments that may or may not depend on facts or knowledge (Gunn 2017, loc. 201)

• types
  • expert
  • lay/peer
  • personal experience

1. purposeful physical movement (without distraction)
2. conflict (i.e., drama)
3. novelty
4. humor
5. familiarity
6. contrast
7. repetition
8. suspense
9. proximity (distance between you and audience)
10. satisfying needs
11. intensity
12. concreteness