CER systematically guides students through three distinct steps: stating a claim, providing relevant evidence to back it up, and articulating the reasoning that links the evidence to the claim. This framework is highly effective in content-specific subjects like science and social studies, where students must logically connect concepts and justify their conclusions. By making the expectations for strong, evidence-based writing transparent, the CER strategy fosters critical thinking and elevates student responses beyond simple descriptions.

This strategy helps students:

• Develop the ability to articulate a clear, defendable position or statement (the Claim).
• Learn to discern and select relevant, supportive data or information (the Evidence) from source materials.
• Practice explaining the connection (the Reasoning) between their supporting facts and their original assertion.
• Transition from making surface-level observations to constructing thoughtful, justified arguments.
• Apply critical thinking skills to content areas by demanding proof and logical explanation for their stated beliefs.

• Structural Clarity: It provides a highly visible three-part scaffold that demystifies the structure of formal academic arguments, making expectations transparent.
• Focus on Justification: The requirement for both Evidence and Reasoning forces students to think critically, moving them past simple fact recall to deep conceptual understanding.
• Cross-Curricular Applicability: It is easily transferable to diverse content areas (e.g., science, history), establishing a consistent standard for evidence-based communication.
• Reduced Ambiguity: By defining the roles of the three components, it helps students avoid common errors such as providing evidence without explanation or stating claims without support.
• Cognitive Scaffolding: Breaking the complex task of argumentation into three manageable steps supports students in organizing their thoughts and producing a coherent final product.