English I C.P.
1

Think of yourself as a member of a jury, listening to
a lawyer who is presenting an opening argument.
You'll want to know very soon whether the lawyer
believes the accused to be guilty or not guilty, and
how the lawyer plans to convince you. Readers of
academic essays are like jury members: before
they have read too far, they want to know what
the essay argues as well as how the writer plans
to make the argument.
2

After reading a claim, a reader should have a
thought along the lines of…
"This essay is going to try to convince
me of something. I'm not convinced
yet, but I'm interested to see how I
might be!"
3
What you plan
to argue
Preview how you
plan to argue.
What a Claim is NOT…
•A claim is never a question
•A claim should never be vague, combative or confrontational.
What a Claim is…
•An effective claim has a definable, arguable statement.
•A claim should be as clear and specific as possible.
4
Your claim must have the following:
1. Title and author of novel/text
2. Arguable statement; take a stance!
3. Three different (cannot repeat) reasons/prongs
supporting your stance
5
Where does a Claim go?

A claim is the last sentence of your introduction
paragraph

A claim needs to be arguable. Someone should be
able to go against what you are claiming!

A claim has three prongs or reasons supporting the
statement
•A thesis should never be vague, combative or confrontational.
6
“The twin towers collapsed
in NYC because of America’s
stupidity and lack of
preparedness.”
A claim should never be vague, combative, and does not provide three
reasons/prongs.
•An effective thesis has a definable, arguable claim.
7
"While many forces contributed to the
collapse of the twin towers in NYC, our
lack of airport security, non existent
homeland security, and emergency
non-preparedness played the key roles
in the loss of thousands of lives."
An effective claim has a definable, arguable claim with three
prongs/reasons.
8
In the short story “Black
Boy” Richard Wright is
an amazing character."
A claim should be as clear and specific as possible with the
author listed and three reasons/prongs provided.
9
In the short story “Thank You,
Ma’m,” the older woman is nice
because she helps the boy.”
A claim should be as clear and specific as possible with the
author listed and three reasons/prongs provided.
•An effective thesis has a definable, arguable claim.
10
“In the short story, “Black Boy” by
Richard Wright, Richard learns the
value of defending himself when he
bravely walks to the grocery store,
stands his ground while the bullies
threaten him and eventually beats up
the group of boys that stole his
money.”
An effective claim has the title/author listed, an arguable
statement, and three reasons/prongs.
11 Create Your Own Claim

In the novel Of Beetles and Angels by Mawi
Asgedom, was it a good idea for Mawi and his
family to immigrate to America?
Checklist:
 Title/Author Listed
 Arguable Statement
 Three Prongs/Reasons