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:
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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:
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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:
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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?
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Claims of Value
• Types of Support
• Appeals to values
• Motivational appeals
• Analogies
• Literal
• Figurative
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Quotations from authorities
Induction
Signs
Definitions
Claims of Value
• Organization Strategies
• Applied criteria
• Topical organization
• Narrative structure
Claims of Policy
• Questions Answered:
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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
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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