Coming Up with a Juicy (and Arguable) Claim
Opinion and Inappropriate Claims
“I like creative fiction more than academic prose.”
“I think Diane Ackerman is just a ridiculous woman writer.”
Opinions (personal preferences and values) are not conducive to juicy academic inquiry. Typically,
opinions rely on what you and people like you already believe. An opinion statement says in effect,
“This is what I believe and that’s that.” It demands little intellectual engagement or self-reflection.
Opinions are not arguable: they shut out varying perspectives. Inappropriate claims (sarcastic
judgment) also are not helpful in examining a topic. Inappropriate claims often assume that others
will “naturally” feel as you do because they count on a “commonsense” reading. Such a claim does
not anticipate readers who have different beliefs, and thus shows a lack of audience awareness.
Obvious Claim (Statement of Fact)
“Academic prose is formal and often hard to read.”
“Both scientific and creative writing get revised in the writing process.” (Note comparison.)
“Scientific writing requires data; creative writing requires artistic style.” (Note contrast)
Obvious claims are tricky; they seem arguable. However, with obvious claims, you run out of
evidence quickly, because the claim resists being boiled down into further levels: after you state the
obvious, there’s not much left to say about it. Obvious claims typically describe the issue, rather
than analyze it–and they don’t tell your readers anything that they don’t already know. Obvious
claims, like inappropriate ones, don’t encourage dialogue and often lead to excessive summarizing
rather than to a complex and coherent argument. They usually leave your reader thinking, “OK, but
so what?” Basically, if your writing is a description or summary of the information – instead of an
analysis of or argument about it – then you’ve got an obvious claim. Expository writing falls into this
category and is often used in the sciences in undergraduate writing. Most compare/contrast
statements are obvious claims because they merely describe similarities or differences. They do not
assert a point of view. A good place to look for obvious claims is in introductory paragraphs: “People
die every year”; “Advertisements are all around us.” Another place to find obvious claims is amidst
too much quoting of your readings.
Arguable Claim
“Culture constructs self-identity.”
An arguable claim attempts to convince readers to think about something in a new way; it requires
writers to spell out an original theory that explores an idea in a way that only they can present it. It
resists commonsense explanations that too often are merely repetitions of unexamined, local
perspectives. Argument is a theory based on lots of inquiry, hard questions, analysis, and critical
thinking. An arguable claim also presents a position that encourages a variety of perspectives. It
typically recognizes complexity, and so avoids simplistic, easy explanations. This claim addresses a
problem to which no easy answer exists and shows the inquiry-based nature of academic writing.
Arguable claims are precise and specific: they don’t just say that you’re going to examine some text
or idea, they explain exactly how you’re going to examine them and why that matters. I put it this
way: a juicy claim passes the “So what?” test.