You are trying to convince your parents to let you go to South Padre for Spring Break. Asserting that
you want to go is not going to be convincing. You need Supporting Material. You know that your parents are motivated by anything that
helps your education. You relay the report that your Spanish prof said this would be a good opportunity to practice your Spanish language skills. You’ve just used testimony, a form of supporting material to
provide evidence for your argument. Because others have different experiences, attitudes, and knowledge than you, they will want to see supporting material to help them reach a position similar to yours. To
learn more about using support material, consider the following:
Prepared by Pam Benoit and Kelly Berg-Nellis to accompany Communication 104: Controversies in Communication. Suggestions or comments are welcome. ©Pam Benoit, Professor, University of Missouri. Last updated 02/04/04 by Greg G. Armfield.