Little Evidence of Research. Inserting quotations, citing authors that bolster your thesis, and presenting a lengthy-but-pertinent bibliography will all help show your professor that you've research your topic well, assuming that you have, in fact, gathered sufficient research material. But evidence of copious research will succeed only if you use the research you've uncovered in a way that logically supports your thesis. Thus, the lack-of-evidence writing flaw is intricately tied to the failure-to-support-thesis flaw, as well as the poor-organization flaw. Remember that your professor can give you the best guidance on how much research you need to do. Check in with your instructor as you're researching and writing your paper, and share your research with him or her. Your teacher can probably tell you whether the research seems adequate. Integrating the research into the paper is trickier. A good rule of thumb is to cite at least one source per paragraph in the body of your paper (not counting the introduction or conclusion, since these paragraphs are your opinions). Go to the next common college student writing flaw: Little Evidence of Understanding Topic. Back to the main page of The Top 15 Writing Flaws That Can Lead to Lower Grades Looking for more writing assistance? Go to our sister site, EnhanceMyWriting.com: Indispensable Writing Resources.
Questions about some of the terminology used in this article? Get more information (definitions and links) on key academic terms by going to our College Success Glossary. [Coming soon!]
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Dr. Randall S. Hansen, CEO of 
Dr. Katharine Hansen, Creative Director of 
