Evidence, in order to have a point, must be backed up by claims. Without claims, evidence is a simple fact, nothing more, and the readers are left to guess what you mean the evidence to say. Evidence doesn't really speak for itself, it needs a lens through which to look at it. By leaving it leaving it open you leave your audience unsure of what you are trying to get across to them.
The opposite is also true; that claims must be backed up by evidence. Simply making claims on a subject, stating your opinion, may be easy to do, but no one will care about your opinion if they don't think it could be a valid one. You need to show your sources to be trustworthy ones.
While I'm writing my papers for English class, I'll need to remember this every step of the way. Part of writing a paper is making it interesting and believable. When I bring in secondary sources next week I will of course check and recheck my sources for validity, but I also will need to make sure my claims are giving the evidence a point.
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