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Writing a Paper: Revising for Stronger Evidence

Revising for Stronger Evidence

The following paragraph relies on weak evidence:

Needs Improvement: Small scale business leaders drive economic growth; however, these business practitioners face many challenges. Small businesses are more likely to fail than they are to survive.

There are no sources cited in this paragraph. Without any support from sources, the reader may question this information and wonder if it is actually true. Your paper will be much stronger if you support your ideas with published, credible evidence.

Revision: Small scale business leaders are the driving force for economic growth, employment, and poverty alleviation (Adebowale, 2011; Nair & Chelliah, 2012; Ojokuku et al., 2014). Nevertheless, practitioners in small business sectors encounter diverse challenges that hinder long term survival and development (Ojokuku et al., 2014). Small businesses have slim-to-fair chances of survival (Fadahunsi, 2012). Up to 70% of new start up small business managers will fail in the future (Ucbasaran et al., 2010).

The evidence in this revised paragraph is stronger. The citations are current and come from published research. In this paragraph, your readers can see that you have read relevant, credible sources about your topic, helping to support your claims and build credibility with the reader.

 

Revised paragraph source:

Akaeze, C. O. (2016). Exploring strategies required for small business sustainability in competitive environments [Doctoral study, Walden University]. ScholarWorks. https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/