Types of Claims Understanding Claims

Types of Claims

Understanding Claims

• Claims form the basis of any argument
• Categories for claims helps us understand the purposes and special features of argument
• Allows us to predict and anticipate features of the type of argument presented

Claims and Thesis Statements

• Every thesis statement will make a claim about your topic.
• Understanding the types of claims you can make will lead to more focused and effective thesis statements.

Get a Sense of the Purpose and Parts of Argument

• Divide the argument into parts
• Ask why the parts have been placed in this order
• Analyze the relationships among the parts

Types of Claims

• Claims of fact or definition
• Claims of comparison
• Claims of cause
• Claims of value
• Claims of policy

Claims of Fact

• Questions answered by claims of fact:
• Did it happen?
• It is true?
• Does it exist?
• Is it a fact?
• Types of support
• Factual
• Inductive reasoning – cites examples and then draws probable conclusions
• Analogies– comparisons
• Signs – past or present state of affairs
• Expert opinion

Claims of Fact

• Possible organizational strategies
• Chronological order
• Topical order
• Often stated near the beginning of the argument

Claims of Definition

• Questions Answered:
• What is it?
• What is it like?
• How should it be classified?
• How should it be interpreted?
• How does its usual meaning change in a particular context?

Claims of Definition

• Types of support
• Reliable authorities and accepted sources
• Analogies
• Organization Strategies
• Comparison-and-contrast
• Topical
• Explain the controversy; give reasons for accepting one view

Claims of Cause

• Questions Answered:
• What caused it?
• Where did it come from?
• Why did it happen?
• What are the effects?
• What will probably be the results over the short and long term?

Claims of Cause

• Types of Support
• Factual data
• Statistics
• Analogies
• Literal
• Historical
• Signs of certain causes
• Induction
• Deduction

Claims of Value

• Questions Answered:
• Is it good or bad?
• How bad?
• How good?
• Of what worth is it?
• Is it moral or immoral?
• Who thinks so?
• What do those people value?
• What values or criteria should I use to determine its goodness or badness?
• Are my values different from other people’s values or from the author’s values?

Claims of Value

• Types of Support
• Appeals to values
• Motivational appeals
• Analogies
• Literal
• Figurative
• Quotations from authorities
• Induction
• Signs
• Definitions

Claims of Value

• Organization Strategies
• Applied criteria
• Topical organization
• Narrative structure

Claims of Policy

• Questions Answered:
• What should we do?
• How should we act?
• What should future policy be?
• How can we solve this problem?
• What concrete course of action should we pursue to solve the problem?
• Claims of policy tend to focus on the future

Claims of Policy

• Types of support
• Data
• Statistics
• Moral and commonsense appeals
• Motivational appeals
• Appeals to values
• Literal analogies
• Argument from authority
• Definition
• Deduction

Claims of Policy

• Organization Strategies
• Problem-Solution
• Problem described in sufficient detail so audience will want a solution
• Solution is spelled out
• Show how solution will work
• Show how solution is superior to any alternatives
• Visualization of how matters will be improved
• Ends with action step

Claims in Life

• Two or more types of claims may be present in one essay
• Look for the predominant claim
• The main purpose of the argument
• Types of support that may be used
• Possible organization strategies
• Claims follow a predictable sequence

Value of the Claims

• Useful to identify the claim and main purpose
• Help identify minor purposes
• Analyze issues
• Write a claim about an issue