Claims!
Constructing Argumentative Papers
TS English/Fall2014
Course Goal
• Argument: To produce complex and persuasive claims
that matter in an academic context
– A “complex” claim is NOT about using big words or making
your idea as hard to understand as possible. It is about
approaching your topic of inquiry from a critical
perspective, developing it from a variety of angles, and
incorporating within it several types of analytic points.
– Most importantly, claims are intended to be “persuasive”
which means your primary goal is to persuade your
audience to your critical point.
Terms: Argument/Claim
• An argument includes:
– An ANALYTIC engagement with multiple pieces of
EVIDENCE that are organized by…
– A LINE OF INQUIRY which helps to develop those
pieces of analysis in support of…
– A central, argumentative CLAIM that seeks to add
to the ACADEMIC CONVERSATION on the
topic/text/issue at hand.
Claim Vs. (5-paragraph) Thesis
• LIKE a Thesis Statement, a Claim…
– Is located at the beginning of the paper
– Helps your reader to understand your goals and to follow along
with your ideas as they develop
• UNLIKE a Thesis Statement, a Claim…
– Is not limited to one sentence
– Does not contain a list of every point you will make in the paper,
but focuses on explaining your goal, how you will go about
achieving it, and, perhaps, why it matters
– Is NOT general (so that many types of evidence can be used in
its service), but argumentative in its specific and detailed
analysis of a topic/issue.
– Speaks to the concerns of a particular academic conversation
Claim vs. (5-paragraph) Thesis
• Thesis: Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein connects education to
themes of ambition and pride. We can see this connection
in X, Y and Z.
– One sentence
– Vague position: “connects” is a vague gesture, not a detailed
description of the relation of these concepts. Not a strong
position.
– Shallow analysis: Fails to submit this “connection” to more
inquiry. What happens because of this connection? What is the
meaning of that? How does the novel develop this connection?
– Fails to say anything about why this connection matters for our
understanding of larger topics or issues.
Complicating your Claims
• Thesis: Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein connects education
to themes of ambition and pride. Through these
themes, Shelley uses Frankenstein’s education to
illustrate both the positive and negative inflections of
Enlightenment individualism. On one hand, his
education at home is characterized in terms of
“freedom” and self-determination. But his university
education is marked by casual self-interest, isolation,
and obsession. By representing Frankenstein’s
education and gradual degradation in these terms,
Shelley critiques Enlightenment values which present
individualism and Reason as unquestionable values.
Complicating your Claims
• Thesis: Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein connects
education to themes of ambition and pride.
While education in the Romantic period was
certainly associated with both the value of
secular Reason and the virtue of Enlightenment
individualism, Frankenstein’s education takes a
turn towards obsession and isolation once he
leaves his ideal family life in Geneva. Shelley’s
critique suggests that this education, and its
values, were dependent on the mental and
emotional balance provided by nineteenth
century domesticity.
Complicating your Claims
• Thesis: Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein connects education
to themes of ambition and pride. In particular,
Frankenstein’s education represents the dark
consequences of a society which overemphasizes
rationality and science. Lacking in social connections,
and innocent of instructive tales of “supernatural
horror,” Frankenstein’s ambition leads him to commit
crimes against nature. In contrast, the monster
experiences his own exclusion through the sentimental
education he receives from Felix and his family. In this
way, Frankenstein makes an argument for another type
of education which would supplement reason with an
emphasis on moral prohibition and the sanctity of
social bonds.
Claims are always “in process”
• Writing is NOT simply the result of thinking and
learning that happens elsewhere, it is a valuable part of
the learning/thinking process. Encountering difficulties
as your develop your idea is a productive aspect of this
process
• You should always remember that your claim (like your
analysis and organization) is a work in process until the
paper gets turned in.
• You should be open and willing to changing your claim
(either drastically or through small alterations) AS YOU
WRITE and think through your analysis. A “feedback
loop”!
Claim "Spectrum"
• All claims must be simultaneously “argumentative” and
“arguable.”
– Argumentative: not obvious, something that someone
might be interesting in disagreeing with/in conversation
with other academic work
– Arguable: can be supported effectively using viable
evidence and analysis. Not speculative or populated by
inappropriate assumptions.
• Truly effective claims will strike a balance between
these two poles, achieving both a somewhat “risky”
argumentative position that is ALSO persuasive in its
supporting evidence and analysis.
Evaluating Claims
• Arguable, but not Argumentative:
– Pointed Summary
– Analytic points that amount to common-sense platitudes
(“pride goes before a fall”)
– “First level” interpretive observations (including claims
which “teach” us about character and plot.
EX. Frankenstein is a novel that comments upon the status of
education in 19th Century Europe.
EX. The novel thematizes family and gender to suggest that
blood is thicker than water.
EX. The novel’s theme of obsession is important because it
helps us to understand why Victor is a bad father.
Evaluating Claims
EX. Frankenstein is a novel that comments upon the
status of science in 19th Century Europe.
• What do I do if my claim is Arguable, but not
Argumentative?
– Ask critical questions to make it more specific
(“Comments” in what way? What is the “status”
of science in the novel relative to its context?)
– Return to the evidence and make use of more
detailed analysis
Evaluating Claims
• Argumentative, but not Arguable
– Speculative claims which rely on character motivations ,
hypothetical situations, or authorial intent.
– Claims which require forms of research which you don’t
have academic support for (historical, political, etc)
EX. The monster in Frankenstein is representative of
problems with the 19th Century mother-son relationship,
since Frankenstein would have never created the monster
had his mother been alive.
EX. Frankenstein’s monster reflects the Mary Shelley’s limited
understanding of biological science and her personal fear
of motherhood.
Evaluating Claims
EX. The monster in Frankenstein is representative of
problems with the 19th Century mother-son relationship,
since Frankenstein would have never created the monster
had his mother been alive.
• What do I do if my claim is Argumentative, but not
Arguable?
– Do research to fill in the gaps (history of 19th C family?)
– Avoid basing your claim on these assumptions by asking
different questions (What is the status of family in the
novel? How do you interpret these patterns in gender?)
– Return to the textual evidence and make use of more
detailed analysis (where can I use the TEXT to say this?)