Search 81,709 tutors  Good Evidence  One of the most common
problems I see in my students' writing is their use of
evidence.  What constitutes good evidence?  What is a good
source?  The first thing I tell all of my students is that
Wikipedia is never an acceptable source.  Why not?  Wikipedia is
written and edited by a variety of people who may or may not
have expertise in the topic about which they are writing. 
Wikipedia is littered with incorrect or dubious information, and
should therefore never be cited in a formal essay. A good,
reliable source is one whose credibility can be verified.  Books
by known experts, articles published in peer-reviewed journals,
and newspaper articles that rely on experts may all be cited in
an history essay as proof of a thesis.  Primary sources--
interviews with historical actors, memoirs, photographs,
artifacts--are also excellent sources of proof in a historical
essay, but take care to provide adequate analysis of these.  For
example, citing the existence of a painting dep