this is the type of claim that says what we ought to do

2.ii: Types of Claims to Look out for

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• Instructor (English) at City Higher of San Francisco
• Source: ASCCC Open Educational Resources Initiative

Audio Version (October 2021):

As we make notes on what a writer is claiming at each bespeak, it is worth distinguishing what kind of claim they are making.

Claims of Policy

The most familiar kind of argument demands activeness. It is like shooting fish in a barrel to come across when the writer is request readers to practise something. Hither are a few phrases that signal a claim of policy, a merits that is pushing readers to do something:

• We should _____________.
• We ought to _____________.
• We must _____________.
• Let'southward _____________.
• The best course is _____________.
• The solution is to _____________.
• The next step should exist _____________.
• We should consider _____________.
• Further research should be done to determine _____________.

Hither are a few sample claims of policy:

• Landlords should not be allowed to raise the rent more than 2% per year.
• The federal government should require a groundwork check before allowing anyone to buy a gun.
• Social media accounts should not be censored in any way.

A claim of policy can as well look like a direct command, such as "So if you are an American citizen, don't let anything stop you from voting."

Annotation that not all claims of policy give details or specifics well-nigh what should exist washed or how. Sometimes an author is only trying to build momentum and bespeak usa in a certain direction. For example, "Schools must find a way to make bathrooms more than private for everyone, not but transgender people."

Claims of policy don't have to be about dramatic actions. Even discussion, enquiry, and writing are kinds of activeness. For example, "Americans need to learn more well-nigh other wealthy nations' health care systems in society to see how much amend things could be in America."

Image byOpenClipart-Vectors fromPixabay under the Pixabay License.

Claims of Fact

Arguments do non always point toward action. Sometimes writers desire usa to share their vision of reality on a particular subject. They may desire to paint a picture of how something happened, depict a trend, or convince u.s.a. that something is bad or good.

In some cases, the writer may desire to share a particular vision of what something is like, what furnishings something has, how something is irresolute, or of how something unfolded in the by. The argument might define a miracle, a trend, or a period of history.

Frequently these claims are simply presented as fact, and an uncritical reader may not see them equally arguments at all. Nevertheless, very often claims of fact are more controversial than they seem. For instance, consider the merits, "Caffeine boosts performance." Does it really? How much? How do nosotros know? Performance at what kind of task? For everyone? Doesn't it also take downsides? A author could spend a book convincing us that caffeine really boosts performance and explaining exactly what they mean by those 3 words.

Some phrases writers might use to introduce a claim of fact include the post-obit:

• Inquiry suggests that _____________.
• The data indicate that _____________.
• _____________is increasing or decreasing.
• There is a trend toward _____________.
• _____________causes _____________
• _____________leads to _____________.

Often a merits of fact will be the basis for other claims about what we should practice that look more like what nosotros associate with the word "statement." However, many pieces of writing in websites, magazines, office settings, and academic settings don't effort to motility people toward activeness. They aim primarily at getting readers to agree with their view of what is fact. For example, it took many years of argument, research, and public messaging before most people accepted the merits that "Smoking causes cancer."

Here are a few arguable sample claims of fact:

• Information technology is easier to grow upward biracial in Hawaii than in any other part of the United States.
• Raising the minimum wage volition forcefulness many small-scale businesses to lay off workers.
• Fires in the western United States take gotten worse primarily because of climate change.
• Antidepressants provide the about benefit when combined with talk therapy.

Claims of Value

In other cases, the writer is not but trying to convince united states of america that something is a certain mode or causes something, just is trying to say how adept or bad that thing is. They are rating information technology, trying to get us to share her assessment of its value. Think of a motion picture or book review or an Amazon or Yelp review. Even a "similar" on Facebook or a thumbs upwardly on a text message is a claim of value.

Claims of value are fairly like shooting fish in a barrel to identify. Some phrases that indicate a claim of value include the following:

• _____________is terrible/disappointing/underwhelming.
• _____________is mediocre/average/decent/acceptable.
• We should celebrate _____________.
• _____________is swell, wonderful, fantastic, impressive, makes a substantial contribution to _____________.

A claim of value can also make a comparison. It might assert that something is meliorate than, worse than, or equal to something else. Some phrases that betoken a comparative claim of value include these:

• _____________is the best _____________.
• _____________is the worst _____________.
• _____________is better than _____________.
• _____________is worse than _____________.
• _____________is just as expert as _____________.
• _____________is just as bad every bit _____________

The following are examples of claims of value:

• The Bay Area is the best place to commencement a biotech career.
• Forest fires are becoming the worst threat to public health in California.
• Human rights are more than important than border security.
• Experimenting with drag is the best fashion I've institute to explore my feelings about masculinity and femininity.
• It was so rude when that lady asked you lot what race you are.

Note that the above arguments all include claims of fact just go beyond observing to praise or criticize what they are observing.

Practice Exercise \(\PageIndex{1}\)

Practice Exercise \(\PageIndex{2}\)

On a social media site like Facebook or Twitter or on your favorite news site, find an case of one of each kind of merits.

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Source: https://human.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Composition/Advanced_Composition/Book%3A_How_Arguments_Work_-_A_Guide_to_Writing_and_Analyzing_Texts_in_College_(Mills)/02%3A_Reading_to_Figure_out_the_Argument/2.02%3A_Types_of_Claims_to_Look_out_for

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