An unsupported assertion is a claim with nothing behind it. Revising means finding that claim and attaching exact evidence and a link to the question. This is an editing skill: you improve a draft rather than write from scratch.
It belongs to writing and answer development and uses precise evidence and quotations.
How do you revise a draft, step by step?
- Underline the claims. These are sentences that say what happened or why.
- Ask “how do I know?” for each one.
- Mark the unsupported ones. No fact, date, figure or source nearby means unsupported.
- Add the evidence. Choose a precise fact that supports that exact claim.
- Add a link. End with a clause that returns to the question.
- Check fact against viewpoint. If the support is a source, say whose viewpoint it is.
Worked example
The setting is invented: the Port Marlow dock dispute of 1926. The facts:
- 10% pay cut announced by the firms: 1 March
- Strike begins: 3 May
- Outside workers arrive: 17 May, unloading at about half speed
- Council proposes talks: 8 June
- Union fund empty: 12 June
- Agreement cutting the reduction to 5%: 19 June
Question: Why did the strike end on 19 June 1926?
Original paragraph:
“The strike ended because the union was weak. The firms were too strong and the dockers gave up. Everyone wanted the dispute to finish, so the council helped them agree.”
Step 1 and 2, claims and “how do I know?”:
- “The union was weak”: no evidence. Unsupported.
- “The firms were too strong”: no evidence, and it also conflicts with half-speed unloading. Unsupported.
- “The council helped them agree”: no date or action. Unsupported.
Step 3 to 5, revision:
“The strike ended mainly because the union ran out of money. The fund was empty by 12 June, a week before the agreement, so the dockers had no wages to continue on. The firms were not simply strong: outside workers unloaded at about half speed from 17 May, which gave them a reason to settle too. The council’s proposal of talks on 8 June gave both sides a route to the 5% compromise.”
What changed: “weak” became a specific fact, “too strong” was corrected by evidence, and “helped” became a dated action. The claim now rests on evidence a reader can check.
The mistake to watch for
Mistaken revision: “The union was very weak, extremely weak in fact, and the firms were clearly much stronger, so the strike ended.”
The student made the claim louder rather than supporting it. Strong adjectives are not evidence. The fix is always a fact, not a stronger word.
A second trap is adding a fact that does not fit the claim, such as using the 1 March pay cut to support “the union was weak”. The evidence has to support that exact claim.
Check yourself
1. Which sentence is an unsupported assertion: “The fund was empty by 12 June” or “The union had no hope”?
Show answer
“The union had no hope”. It states a judgement with no fact behind it. The fund sentence is evidence.
2. Revise: “The council was the key to the settlement.”
Show answer
For example: “The council proposed talks on 8 June, and the agreement followed on 19 June, so its proposal was a likely route to the settlement, although the empty fund also pushed the union to accept.” The revision supports the claim and softens it to match the evidence.
3. A student writes “The firms were very, very afraid of losing money.” Why is this still an assertion?
Show answer
Repeating “very” adds emphasis, not evidence. The sentence needs a fact, such as outside workers unloading at about half speed from 17 May, and a link to why the firms agreed.
Where does this lead next?
You now have the four skills in this module. Bring them together in the integrated practice set, then return to the module overview to plan your revision.
Rewriting your own answers is where a teacher can help most. Online one-to-one History tuition lets you revise a real paragraph with someone reading over it.