Fun Writing a Proof Argument

How to Get from Research to Proving Your Case

 

Making your proof argument a fun project!

What do you do when you have finished a lot of research on one of your families? We all know what we're supposed to do -- write it up!

Write It Up

Devon Noel Lee from the Family History Fanatics in her series "Researching Over My Shoulder" has inspired me over the past couple of years to get better about this. When tackling a bit sticky family, I now generally start a new Google Sheet, and start roughing out a plan. As I work, I try to keep it updated with records found (and not found), other notes, and lately, adding citations as I go. Our Persons Of Interest group was an excellent impetus for that, because if you have written a detailed timeline for your person or family, it is much easier to have others look at your work and offer ideas and suggestions you have not yet considered. Of course not everything we write is a proof, but not every family is easy, and not every locality and time has enough records which offer direct evidence. Also, sources are not evidence, they are containers of information, items which give us the raw material we use to create proofs. Evidence is a result of our attention to detail and reasoning powers.

Evidence Analysis

Lately I've started writing about my McBee family, trying to prove my third-great-grandparents' family, but what I've written so far has not been as clear as I would like. In preparation for studying Elizabeth Shown Mills' Evidence Explained first two chapters, I read chapter one, "Fundamentals of Evidence Analysis." This reminded me of a Rootstech sesson I recently had watched, so I re-watched "Where’s the Proof? Organizing and Writing Genealogical Findings, Part 2" on Youtube and found some concepts I think will make my reasoning and writing much simpler and clear. Lisa Stokes, AG,  introduced a "Model for a Well-Written Proof." 

Presenting the Sources

The part that really grabbed me was the portion about presenting the sources, analyzing and correlating between the building blocks of your proof. 

What really caught my eye was the charts she built for analysis. The first step is eliminating irrelevant sources and information, so that you are zeroing in on the proof you are building and presenting only the most compelling, reliable and convincing evidence. Remember that the same source can be used for multiple proofs with relevant information for each building block.

Eliminate the Irrelevant

She begins by listing all the sources which provide evidence to support your each point of your argument, such as relationship to parents. Here is my rough draft from the Google Doc table.

Source list for each building block of proof argument

Questions to ask as you evaluate your evidence:

• What is most compelling? What convinced you that you had answered your research question?
• How reliable is each source? Discuss any concerns you have. 
• Who was the informant, and how reliable are they? How soon after witnessing the event did they give their evidence?
• What evidence in the source convinces you that the person is question is the one described in the source?

Nitty Gritty

Now it's time to fine-tune your argument by analyzing your sources, information and evidence in detail. This can be done in another table, as below. 

Fine-tuning the proof argument

As you build your argument, ask: 

• Does the information you have extracted from your source correlate with the evidence you will present?

• Is the compilation of evidence compelling and does each building block of your argument support the other parts?

• Are there conflicts which must be resolved?

Arrange your source and information in the best order, then in another column note the type of evidence (direct, indirect) and anything else that needs mentioning.

More Analysis > Easier Writing

To sum up, arrange the sources and evidence in each proof separately, then arrange the building blocks for the entire proof argument so that each builds on the previous proof. If you have done all of this in notes or chart form, your writing will flow, and your summation will be compelling. 

Organize the Case

So: begin by telling them what you are going to tell your readers, beginning with a simple, clear title, and introductory material. Then lay out your proofs in the order they make the best sense, and finally, state your confident conclusion which answers your research question.

After the sources and their information and evidence are analyzed, decide on the order of importance to present your proofs so that they build on one another in either the most compelling or the most logical way.

Depending on the nature of your evidence, it can be presented in narrative form, tables, bullets, abstracts, and in any other form that makes sense, including maps.

Post-script

I'll be watching these three videos more than once as I continue to work on my proof argument "Who Were the Parents of Angeline McBee?" because as I began to demonstrate the steps to building that paper, I began to notice holes in my research. Just today I've requested the probate file for George Henry McBee, who presumably died in Decatur County, Iowa between 1870 when he's living with his youngest son George Henry McBee Jr., and 1880 when he is not found, and Jr. drops the "junior." Those records have been filmed, but can only be viewed in a Family History Center. 

We all know that research is never done, but in my case, the paper cannot yet be finished. When it is, I'll brag about it here!

Valorie Cowan Zimmerman