Summary
Highlights
Claim, Evidence, Reasoning (CER) is a scientific explanation format that articulates your thinking behind an answer. It helps in structuring a comprehensive response to a question.
The 'Claim' is the initial part of your explanation, directly answering the question. It should be a single-sentence statement at the beginning of a paragraph and often includes words from the original question. For instance, if asked about the relationship between temperature and volume, your claim would state that they have a directly proportional relationship.
The 'Evidence' consists of data and observations that substantiate your claim. Key elements include using data from investigations, incorporating quantitative data when available, and clearly stating the source of this data. For a claim about temperature and volume, the evidence would include specific temperature and volume readings.
The 'Reasoning' explains how your evidence supports your claim in your own words, and incorporates known scientific principles. It clarifies why the evidence is meaningful, what is already understood about the topic, and often refers to established scientific laws, such as Charles's Law for temperature and volume examples.
It is recommended to use a self-check guide to ensure all necessary components of a CER are included. Further practice with CER scenarios involving data analysis and answer formulation using this format is also suggested.