Claim, Data, Warrant
Next Exit
The Road to Answering
Open Response Questions
What is claim, data,
warrant?
» Claim, data, warrant (CDW) is a
formal and analytical writing style.
» CDW helps you prove your
thoughts using evidence.
» It can be used for answering open
response questions, discussion
questions, or writing essays.
» You can use it in any class.
Claim
»
»
»
»
What you are claiming is true
Your opinion about the subject
Your answer to the question
Often the topic sentence of a
paragraph
» Very much like a hypothesis
Data
» The evidence or the facts you use to
support your claim
» Examples to support your claim
» Quotes from the text to support the
claim
» References to the text supporting your
claim
» Statistics supporting the claim
» Content specific vocabulary that supports
the claim
Warrant
» The explanation of how the data
supports your claim
» Explains how the example,
statistic, quote or reference
supports the claim
» Explains the significance of the
data
» Usually three to five sentences long
Easy Example
» Claim: BCMS has an excellent afterschool program.
» Data: We offer archery, art, and cooking
classes along with tutoring in all core
subject areas.
» Warrant: Archery helps students
develop strength, focus, and confidence.
Art allows students to tap into their
creativity, and cooking teaches students
to be self-sufficient. Tutoring classes
reinforce students’ academic skills.
Color-coding your
answers
» Claim is highlighted in pink.
» Data is highlighted in
green.
» Warrant is highlighted in
yellow.
Example
BCMS has an excellent after-school
program. We offer archery, art, and
cooking classes along with tutoring in all
core subject areas. Archery helps
students develop strength, focus, and
confidence. Art allows students to tap
into their creativity, and cooking teaches
students to be self-sufficient. Tutoring
classes reinforce students’ academic
skills.
Things to remember:
» The order of claim, data, warrant
may not be the same for every
open response.
» Sometimes you may give the data
first and then write the claim and
warrant.
» Occasionally open responses may
only require you to include data
and warrant in your response.
Math Example
• Samantha made the following scores on unit tests
for the term: 92, 98, 15, 92, 87, 92. Samantha’s
teacher said her grade would be based on the
mean of her grades. Samantha argued that her
grade should be based on the median score of
her grades.
• A. Find the mean and median of Samantha’s
grades.
• B. Which do you think best reflects Samantha’s
work for the term? Explain your answer.
Part A of this response includes both claim and
data. Your answer is your claim because it is
what you are asserting to be true. The work is
the data or evidence you are using to support
your claim.
92
A. The mean of
Samantha’s grades
is about 79.3
The median of
Samantha’s grades
is about 92.
98
15 Mean
92
87
+ 92
476
Median
98 92 92 92 87 15
Part B contains claim and warrant. This first sentence is
your opinion about what is best. Remember your
opinion is a claim, and the remainder of the paragraph
is your explanation of why you think this is the best way
to represent Samantha’s work. Explanation is always
warrant.
B. I think the median best reflects Samantha’s
work. This is because except for two low grades
none of her grades was below 92. The 87, which
is really fairly high, and the 15 bring the total
score down considerably, and although these
grades are important, they don’t fairly represent
Samantha’s work considering the damage they do
to her scores.
A. The mean of
Samantha’s grades
is about 79.3
The median of
Samantha’s grades
is about 92.
92
98
15 Mean
92
87
+92
476
Median
98 92 92 92 87 15
B. I think the median best reflects Samantha’s work. This
is because except for two low grades none of her grades
was below 92. The 87, which is really fairly high, and the 15
bring the total score down considerably, and although these
grades are important, they don’t fairly represent Samantha’s
work considering the damage they do to her scores.
Science Example
Yolanda and James’ Disagreement
Yolanda and James are having a disagreement. Yolanda thinks
that natural rainwater is better for plant growth than water
from the hose in her garden. James disagrees. He thinks that
natural rainwater has too many chemicals from the
atmosphere and the hose water is better. They perform the
following experiment to see whose prediction is correct.
• They buy two plants of the same species and size.
• They plant one outside and one inside away from the rain.
• When it rains, they water the inside plant with hose water.
This experiment has several mistakes.
a. Identify two mistakes in the experiment’s
design.
b. Explain how you could redesign the
experiment to settle Yolanda and James’
disagreement.
Part A is a combination of claim and data. When you say
the experiment has too many variables, you are putting
this forth as your claim. When you give examples of
problems in this experiment, this is your data.
A. There are many mistakes in this experiment
because there is more than one variable.
One mistake is that the plants are not in the
same climate or environment so they will be
getting amounts light and be exposed to
different temperatures. Another mistake
involves the inaccurate water
measurements. In this experiment the
plants are not receiving the exact same
amounts of water.
Part B includes both claim and warrant. The claim is
what you are saying needs to be changed, and the
warrant is your explanation of exactly how to conduct
the experiment correctly.
B. The experiment should be designed to
allow for only one variable. Both plants
should be located in the same type of
environment so that the temperature and
lighting are the same. Rain water should be
collected and then measured before adding
it to one plant, and the hose water should
be measured in an equal amount before
adding it to the other plant.
Social Studies Example
The Road to the American Revolution
A. Describe three restrictions (taxes and acts) that the British
placed on the colonists that denied them their personal
liberties (individual rights) and helped lead to the Revolution.
B. Explain why the colonists had restrictions (taxes and acts)
placed upon them.
C. Explain how these restrictions of the colonists’ rights led to
the Revolutionary war.
Part A of this question requires you to
write data because you are giving factual
information about various acts and taxes.
A. Three restrictions that helped lead to the
Revolutionary War were the Stamp Act, Townshend
Act, and Intolerable Act. The Stamp Act placed a tax on
all printed materials such as marriage licenses, letters,
wills, and even playing cards. The Townshend Act
placed a tax on all imported goods such as tea, lead,
paper, silk and spices. The Intolerable Act, passed in
reaction to the Boston Tea Party, closed the port of
Boston, shut down the Massachusetts legislature,
established a new Quartering Act, and sent British
soldiers and officials back to England for trial.
Part B is warrant because it requires you to
explain why the colonists were placed under
these restrictions.
The colonists had these restrictions
placed on them because the British
government was in debt after the French
and Indian War. The British felt the
colonists should have to pay back the
debt because the war was fought to
provide protection for them.
Part C of the question is a combination of claim, data
and warrant. Remember anything you assert to be
true is a claim. Factual references to historical events
will be data, and your explanation of how that data
supports the claim is warrant.
The taxes increased the tension and resentment
between England and the colonies. These restrictions
created financial difficulty, and the colonists felt that
they had no voice in the British government. They
begin using the battle cry “No taxation without
representation”. This meant if the colonists were going
to be taxed by the British government then they should
be able to run for office and have a voice in
government. Many of the colonists felt that they
should separate from England if they weren’t given this
right.
Language Arts Example
Mood is the overall feeling of the text, and
authors use imagery to help create mood.
Imagery is language that appeals to the senses
and paints a picture in the mind of the reader.
Read the passage on pp. 91-93 in The
Outsiders.
A. Identify the mood of the passage.
B. Explain how S.E. Hinton uses imagery to
create this mood.
Part A of the question is your claim
because it is what you are claiming to be
true.
a. In this passage from The Outsiders, S.E.
Hinton uses imagery to create a mood of
danger and desperation.
Part B of your response will contain both data and
claim. You should make specific references to the text
to support your claim, and this will be data. As you
explain how those references (data) support your claim
(how they create mood), you will be writing warrant.
b. In this scene, Pony and Johnny save some kids from the
burning church. Images such as “the roar and crackling was getting
louder”, “drowning in smoke”, and “timber crashing and flames
roaring” work to establish a feeling of intense risk. The imagery
affects the reader in this way because it is connected to life or
death situations. “The roar and crackling was getting louder” is a
sound image that emphasizes the sense of danger and also helps
build suspense. The reader realizes the fire is growing more out of
control. “Timber crashing and flames roaring” is another sound
image that intensifies the mood of danger in the scene because we
know the church is close to collapsing. “Drowning in smoke”
emphasizes the desperate nature of the situation and underscores
the fact that the smoke is deadly.