The CER (claim, evidence, reasoning) writing strategy consists of making a claim statement and providing evidence and reasoning to support that claim. It is used most often for writing argumentative, persuasive, or research essays about various academic or scholarly subjects.
A CER paragraph example begins with the writer posing a claim statement. Next, the writer must provide evidence to support that claim. The writer may need to do research to gather this evidence or data. The evidence can be incorporated into the essay through direct quotes or paraphrasing. Finally, the writer must provide reasoning. What is reasoning in writing? It is the way in which a writer explains how and why the evidence supports the claim.
How to Write a Claim Statement
To begin, a writer should draft the claim statement. How does one write a claim statement? The claim statement does more that state the topic of the essay or paragraph; it makes an assertion about the topic. In other words, "cats" may be the topic of an essay, but the writer must make a claim about cats. The claim could be "cats make the best pets," "cats make the worst pets," or even "cats are easy to train."
The claim statement is the central focus of the essay or paragraph and guides the content and structure of the piece of writing. If a piece of evidence or reasoning cannot be tied directly to the claim statement, it does not belong in the essay or paragraph. Claim statements can identify what the essay writer is attempting to argue or prove. For a claim paragraph, the claim statement should be the topic sentence or first sentence of the paragraph. For an essay, the claim statement should appear as the thesis statement or last sentence in the introduction of the essay.
Examples of Claims in Writing
Below are some examples of claims in writing. Read each introductory paragraph and try to identify the claim being made:
Example 1:
Have you ever had to make a choice about your education? Most parents make the choice of a private or a public education for their children, but if it were left up to you, what would you pick? Would you even know how to pick? If given the choice of attending a private or a public school, there are many things to consider. Nevertheless, private school is a better option than public school for students today.
- The claim is "Private school is a better option than public school for students today."
- The claim is identifiable because the argument the writer is making is that public school is better than private school. It is also the last sentence in the introduction.
Example 2:
Most people have a hobby or activity they like to do in their free time. Some people like to create art, some like to play videogames, and others like to read. Besides simply picking a hobby that one enjoys, a person should give some thought about how the hobby benefits them. Playing a team sport like soccer is the most beneficial hobby one can have.
- The claim is "Playing a team sport like soccer is the most beneficial hobby one can have."
- The claim is identifiable because the writer makes the argument that playing a team sport is the most beneficial hobby. It is also the last sentence in the introduction.
Evidence for Supporting Claim
The second component of the CER structure is evidence. The evidence provides proof or support of the claim being made. It can be in the form of research, data, quotes, or textual evidence from a piece of literature. It should not be a guess, assumption, or based on the writer's opinion. It should mention the source from where the evidence was obtained through a citation. In a CER paragraph, the evidence comes after the claim. In an essay, provide at least one piece of evidence per body paragraph.
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Examples of Evidence
Below are some examples of evidence that support the claim statements in the above examples:
Example 1: According to publicschoolreview.com, private schools typically have smaller class sizes than public schools. A study done by the NCES in 2008 revealed the average class size of private schools varied from 15.4-20 students, while public school classes had 20-23 students on average.
- The above statements are considered evidence because they provide support for the claim that private school is better than public school.
- The evidence has been obtained through research; it is not the writer's opinion or best guess.
Example 2: According to Sciencedaily.com, women, in particular, who play soccer will likely continue playing the sport in the long-term. A study done by professors Peter Krustrup and Jens Bangsbo from the University of Copenhagen revealed many of the soccer players continued to play the sport a year after the study was conducted; in contrast, few of the women from the running group continued to run after the study.
- The above statements are considered evidence because they provide support for the claim that playing a team sport like soccer is beneficial.
- The evidence has been obtained through research; it is not the writer's opinion or best guess.
How to Write Reasoning
The third component of the CER structure is reasoning. What is reasoning in writing? Reasoning is when the writer explains how and why the evidence supports the claim. How does one write reasoning? The reasoning should immediately follow the evidence in the paragraph. To incorporate reasoning, begin by explaining or summarizing what the evidence says. Then, explain how or why the evidence supports the claim. It may be helpful to uses phrases like "this shows that" or "this proves that."
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Examples of Reasoning
Below are some examples of reasoning that support the evidence in the above examples:
Example 1: These statistics show private school is a better option than public school because class size has a direct impact on student learning. Students in smaller classes generally learn better because there are less distractions, and the teacher is able to give more individual attention.
- The above statements are considered reasoning because they explain why the evidence about class size supports the claim that private school is better than public.
- The reasoning is identifiable because it uses the phrase "these statistics show that."
Example 2: This study shows women who play a team sport like soccer develop a connection with each other that encourages them to continue playing in the long-term. In contrast, most women from the running group did not continue to run, presumably because running is an individual sport and there was no bond formed.
- The above statements are considered reasoning because they explain how the evidence about women continuing to play soccer after the study supports the claim that soccer is a beneficial sport.
- The reasoning is identifiable because it uses the phrase "this study shows that."
Evidence vs. Reasoning
What is the difference between evidence and reasoning? Evidence is literal proof (from a text, research, lab results, and so forth) that supports the claim statement. It is factual. Reasoning, however, is the writer's own explanation of how the evidence provided supports that claim statement. Reasoning is the part where the writer puts two and two together, so to speak.
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