TYPES OF CLAIMS AND EVIDENCE Mr Eble English

TYPES OF CLAIMS AND EVIDENCE Mr. Eble English Adapted from Chapter 3 of The Language of Composition by Shea, Scanlon, and Aufses

What’s a claim? • A claim is an assertion or a proposal that states the argument’s main idea of position. • Claims must be arguable. • An arguable claim: Single-sex classrooms are ineffective because they do not prepare students for the realities of the workplace. • Not an arguable claim: Many schools have single-sex classrooms. • Not an arguable claim: Effectiveness of single-sex schools.

Claims of Fact • Claims of fact assert that something is true or not true. • They often pivot on what exactly is “factual”; facts become arguable when they are questioned, when they raise controversy, when they challenge people’s beliefs. • Very often, so-called facts are a matter of interpretation. Example: • Not a claim of fact: Zimbabwe is in Africa. (easily verifiable: Look on a map!) • Claim of fact: Zimbabwe has an unstable government. (What does “unstable” mean? )

Claims of Value • Claims of value argue that something is good or bad, right or wrong, desirable or undesirable. • To develop an argument from a claim of value, you must establish specific criteria or standards and then show to what extent the subject meets your criteria. • Example: Captain Phillips is an Oscar-worthy film because it engages the audience in an edge-of-your-seat thrill ride. • The most common type of claim. Other examples: • The food in the cafeteria tastes lousy. • Andy Dalton is a sub-par quarterback who crumples under pressure in big games.

Claims of Policy • Claims of policy occur when you propose a change. • Generally begins with a definition of the problem (a claim of fact), explains why it is a problem (claim of value), and then explains the change that needs to happen. • May call for an action or a change in attitude or behavior. Examples: • People should eat more fish than meat because all kinds of seafood contain more brain-friendly nutrients than beef, chicken and pork. • Obey your thirst—Drink Sprite!

Types of Evidence • First-Hand Evidence: Something you know, whether from personal experience, anecdotes you’ve heard from others, observations, or your general knowledge of events. • Pros: • Personal experiences can add a human element to your argument and appeal to the audience’s emotions—strong motivators for any claim. • If you have insider knowledge, you add much to the argument with authority. • Cons: • Don’t work well if the writer doesn’t have much knowledge as an insider. • People often make hasty generalizations based on one piece of personal evidence.

Types of Evidence • Second-Hand evidence is evidence that is accessed through research, reading, and investigation. • It includes factual and historical information, expert opinion, and quantitative data. • Helps you appeal to reason and logic.

Second-Hand Evidence • Historical Information • Provides background, context to current debates. • Chomsky does this well in “They Take Our Jobs!” by looking at the past and its effect on the present. • Also shows your authority as a writer: You’ve done your homework and found past events that relate to your current situation! • Expert Opinion • An expert is someone who has published research on a topic or whose job or experience gives him/her specialized knowledge. • When using this piece of evidence, you must provide credentials of the expert. • Otherwise, you run the risk of appealing to false authority—citing someone who has no expertise as an expert. • EXAMPLE: Tiger Woods being used as a spokesperson for Tag Heuer watches…

Second-Hand Evidence • Quantitative Evidence • Things that can be represented in numbers: Statistics, surveys, polls, census information. • Can be persuasive with its appeal to reason and logic. • Doesn’t just need to be dollar figures or percentages—can be trends… • Be careful when using such information for a few reasons: • Just because many people like / do something, that fact does not make a claim justified (“Aw, mom—everyone at school smokes crack, so you should let me do it, too”) • Statistics are like bikinis: They show a lot, but they hide the most important parts of an issue.

PRACTICE: Reading a Text for Claim / Evidence • We’ll read Chapter ____ of 20 Myths together. • As a class: We’ll think aloud about what claim she’s making. • Then, we’ll analyze her evidence as we read.

PRACTICE: MAKING EVIDENCEBASED CLAIMS • Using your reading of “They Take Our Jobs!” and 20 other myths about immigration, make a claim of • fact about immigration • value about the summer reading book • policy about immigration Include supporting evidence for each. Write these on your Dy. Know slide. Be sure to write your partner’s name on the slide, too.

Remember… • Your claims need to be • arguable • explicit or implicit • supported by evidence • Your evidence needs to be • relevant • accurate • sufficient