Types of Claims Establishing Purpose and Organization Claims

Types of Claims: Establishing Purpose and Organization Claims of Fact Claims of Definition Claims of Cause Claims of Value Claims of Policy

Five Types of Claims l l Claims of Fact Claims of Definition Claims of Cause Claims of Value Claims of Policy Virtually all arguments can be categorized according to one of five types of claims. Claims can be identified by discovering the question the argument answers. As we browse the types, notice how the questions all invite different purposes and different points of view. They all lead to argument.

Claims of Fact: l l Did it happen? Does it exist? Is it true? Is it a fact?

Fact Claim l When you insist a paper was turned in on time even if the professor cannot find it, or that you were not exceeding the speed limit when a police officer claims that you were, you are making claims of fact.

Fact Claims l l These are central to court room debate since lawyers argue about what happened in order to prove innocence or guilt. Historians also argue about what happened as they sort through historical evidence to try to establish historical fact.

Fact Claims: l l l Women are as effective as men in combat. The ozone layer is becoming depleted. Increasing population threatens the environment. Bigfoot exists in remote areas. Men need women to civilize them.

Fact Claims l l l Note that all these claims are statements of fact, but not everyone would agree with them. They are all controversial. The facts in these claims need to be proved as either absolutely or probably true in order to be acceptable to an audience.

Claims of Definition: l l l What is it? How should we define it? What is it like? How should it be classified? How should we interpret it? How does its usual meaning change in a particular context?

Definition Claims: l l The entire argument can center around the definition of a term. When you argue that an athlete who receives compensation for playing a sport is “professional, ” and thereby looses “amateur” status, you are making a claim of definition.

Definition Claims: l l We are considering definition claims that dominate the argument as a whole. Definition is also used as a type of support, often at the beginning, to establish the meaning of one or more key words.

Definition Claims: Examples l l l Marriage as an institution needs to be redefined to include modern variations on the traditional family. Some so-called art exhibits could more accurately be described as pornography exhibits. The fetus is a human being, not just a group of cells.

Definition Claims: Examples l l l Wars in this century can all be defined as “just” rather than “unjust” wars. Sexual harassment is defined in terms of behavior and not sexual desire. Note that arguments introduced by these claims will focus on the definitions of family, art, fetus, just war, and sexual harassment.

Claims of Cause: l l l 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 the long term?

Cause Claims: l l When you claim that staying up late at a party caused you to fail your exam the next day or that your paper is late because the library closed too early, you are making claims of cause. People often disagree about what causes something to happen, and they also disagree about the effects.

Clause Claims: Examples The cause-effect relationship is at issue in these statements l l l Overeating causes disease and early death A healthy economy causes people to have faith in their political leaders Sending infants to day care results in psychological problems later in life Inadequate funding for AIDS research will result in a disastrous worldwide epidemic Crime is caused by lack of family values

Cause Claims l l An organizational strategy commonly used for cause papers is to describe causes and then effects. Clear-cutting would be described as a cause that would lead to the ultimate destruction of the forests, which would be the effect.

Cause Claims: l l l Effects may be described and then the cause or causes. The effects of censorship may be described before the public efforts that resulted in that censorship. You may also encounter refutation of other actual or possible causes or effects.

Cause Claims l l The type of support for establishing a causeand-effect relationship is factual data, including examples and statistics that are used to prove a cause or an effect. Various types of comparison, including parallel cases in past history to show that the cause of one event could also be the cause of another similar even.

Cause Claims l Signs of certain causes and effects can also be used as well as hypothetical examples that project possible results.

Claims of Value: l l l l Is it good or 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?

Value Claims l l When you claim that sororities and fraternities are the best extracurricular organizations for college students to yoin, you are making a claim of value. Claims of value, as their name implies, aim at establishing whether the item being discussed is either good or bad, valuable or not valuable, desirable or not desirable.

Value Claims l It is often necessary to establish criteria for goodness or badness in these arguments and then to apply them to the subject to show why something should be regarded as either good or bad.

Value Claims: Examples l l l Public school are better than private schools Science Fiction novels are more intereesting to read than romance novels Dogs make the best pets Mercy Killing is immoral Computers are a valuable addition to modern society Viewing television is a wasteful activity

Value Claims: Examples l l Contributions of homemakers are as valuable as those of professional women Animal rights are as important as human rights

Claims of Policy? l l l What should we do about it? How should we act? What should our future policy be? How can we solve this problem? What concrete course of action should we pursue to solve the problem?

Policy Claims l l When you claim that all new students should attend orientation or that all students who graduate should participate in graduation ceremonies, you are making claims of policy. A claim of policy often describes a problem and then suggests ways to solve it.

Policy Claims: Examples l l l We should stop spending so much on prisons and start spending more on education Children in low-income families should receive medical insurance from the government Social security should be distributed on the basis of need rather than as an entitlement

Policy Claims: Examples l l Every person in the United States should have access to health care Film-makers and recording groups should make objectionable language and subject matter known to prospective sonsumers

Mixed Claims l l In argument one type of claim may predominate, but other types may also be present as supporting arguments or sub claims. It is not always easy to establish the predominant claim in an argument, but close reading will usually reveal a predominant type, with one or more other the other types serving as subclaims.

Mixed Claims l For example, a value claim that the media does harm by prying into the private lives of public figures may establish the fact that this is a pervasive practice, may define what should be public and what should be private information, may examine the causes or more likely the effects of this type of reporting, and may suggest future policy for dealing with this problem.

Mixed Claim l l l All may occur in the same article. Still, the dominant claim is one of value, that this practice of news writers is bad. By identifying the dominant claim, you also identify the main purpose of the argument.

Mixed Claim l l When planning and writing argument, you will more easily focus on the main purpose for your argument when you have established the predominant claim and have identified its type. You can use other types of claims as subclaims if you need to.

Mixed Claim l When you know your purpose, you can then plan appropriate organization and support for your paper, depending on the type of claim that dominates your paper.

Claims and Argument in Real Life l l As you read and write argument, you will also notice that claims follow a predictable sequence when they originate in real-life situations. In fact, argument appears most vigorous in dramatic, life and death, situations or when a person’s character is called into question.

Claims and Argument in Real Life l We see claims and rebuttals, many kinds of support, and every conceivable organizational strategy in these instances.

Claims and Arguments in Real Life l For example, as juvenile crime in this country increased in recent years, the issues that emerged included these: – – What is causing young people to commit crimes? What can be done to protect the family unit? Is the educational system adequate? Should the criminal justice system treat young offenders differently from older criminals?

Claims and Argument in Real Life l l l Is the educational system adequate? Should the criminal justice system treat young offenders differently from older criminals? Does racial discrimination contribute to juvenile crime? How can we make inner cities more livable? How can we improve social programs?

Claims and Argument in Real Life l l l Such real-life situations, particularly when they are life-threatening as juvenile crime often is, not only generate issues; they also usually generate many arguments. Interestingly, the types of arguments usually appear in a fairly predictable order. The first arguments made in response to a new issue-generating situation usually involve claims of fact and defintions.

Claims and Argument in Real Life l l People first have to come to terms with the fact that something significant has happened. They need to define what happened so that they can understand it better.

Claims and Argument in Real Life l l The next group of arguments that appear after fact and definition often inquire into cause. People need to figure out why the event happened.

Claims and Argument in Real Life l l l Multiple causes are often considered and debated. Next, people begin to evaluate the goodness and badness of what has happened. It is usually after all of these other matters have been dealt with that people turn their attention to future policy and how to solve the problems.

Claims and Argument in Real Life l l The issues and claims that emerged from the 9/11/2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City follow this pattern. Again, people were caught off guard, and the first questions that emerged as people watched their television sets were questions of fact.

Claims and Argument in Real Life l l l What is happening? Is this a Bomb? Are we being attacked? Definition arguments followed. The issue was how to define what had happened, which would help determine the country’s response.

Claims and Argument in Real Life l The president and his advisers defined the situation as a act of terrorism and then declared a war on terrorism.

Claims and Argument in Real Life l l Causal Arguments engaged people for a long time after he initial event. Possible caused of the attacks included the presence of evil in the world, the terrorists’ desire for power, religious conflict, the uneven opportunities between developed and developing nations, hatred of America, even biblical prophecy.

Claims and Argument in Real Life l l l At the same time many value arguments appeared in the media. The questions were, “How bad is this? ” and “Can any good be discovered? ” Pictures of grieving survivors and te excavation of work at Ground Zero, along with obituaries of the dead, forcefully demonstrated the bad effects.

Claims and Argument in Real Life l Some good was found in the heroic efforts of passengers on one of the planes who attacked the terrorists and died with them, as well as in the selfless efforts of New York Police officers and fire fighters, many of whom died in the rescue effort in the buildings.

Value of the Claims and the Claim Questions: For Reading and Writing Argument l Readers of argument find the list of the five types of claims and the questions that accompany then useful for identifying the claim and the main purpose in an argument: to: – – – Establish fact To define To establish cause To assign value To propose a solution

Value of the Claims and the Claim Questions: For Reading and Writing Argument l l Claims and claim questions can also help readers identify minor purposes in an argument, those that are developed as subclaims. When a reader is able to discover the overall purpose of an argument, it is much easier to make predictions and to follow the argument.

Value of the Claims and the Claim Questions: For Reading and Writing Argument l Writers of argument find the list of the five types of claims and the questions that accompany them useful for analyzing: – – Analyzing an issue Writing a claim about it Identifying both the controlling purpose for a paper Additional ideas that can be developed in the paper.

Value of the Claims and the Claim Questions: For Reading and Writing Argument l l l l Example: Should high schools be safer places? Write the claim questions about this issue and write a paragraph in response to each of them: Is it a fact that high schools are unsafe places? How should we define unsafe? What causes a lack of safety in high schools and what are the effects? Is a lack of safety good or bad?

Value of the Claims and the Claim Questions: For Reading and Writing Argument l l Example cont’d: What criteria could be established to judge the goodness or badness of safety in high schools? What can be done to make high schools safer places? Finally, the author reads the paragraphs and selects the one that is most promising to form the major claim and purpose in the paper.

Value of the Claims and the Claim Questions: For Reading and Writing Argument l l For example, suppose the author decides to write a policy paper, and the claim becomes “Parents, students, teachers, and administrators all need to cooperate to make high schools safer places. ” To show this can be done becomes the main purpose of the paper.

Value of the Claims and the Claim Questions: For Reading and Writing Argument l l The information generated by asking the other claim questions, however, can also be used in the paper to provide reasons and evidence. The claim questions, used in this way as part of the prewriting process, can generate considerable information and ideas for a paper.

Some Other Preliminary Questions to Help you Develop your Claim l l The following questions can help you clarify and develop your claim. Is the Claim Narrow and Focused? – – Issue area: the environment Specific related issue: What problems are associated with nuclear energy? Aspects of the issue: What should be done with nuclear waste? How hazardous is nuclear energy, and how can we control the hazards? What are the alternatives to nuclear energy?

Value of the Claims and the Claim Questions: For Reading and Writing Argument l l l In selecting a narrowed issue to write about, you may want to focus on only one of the three aspects of the nuclear energy problem. Claim: Solar power is better than nuclear energy Revised claim: Solar power is better than nuclear energy for certain specified purposed

Value of the Claims and the Claim Questions: For Reading and Writing Argument l l Which Controversial Words in you Claim will you Need to Define? Example: you would need to be clear about what you mean by television violence, censorship, and free speech rights.

Value of the Claims and the Claim Questions: For Reading and Writing Argument l l l Can you Learn Enough to Cover the Claim Fully? If the information for an effective paper is unavailable or too complicated, write another claim, one that you know more about and can research more successfully. Or narrow the claim further to an aspect that you can understand develop.

Value of the Claims and the Claim Questions: For Reading and Writing Argument l l l How Can you Make Your Claim Both Interesting and Compelling to Yourself and Your Audience? Develop a fresh perspective on your issue when writing your claim. Example: claim: public education should be changed.

Value of the Claims and the Claim Questions: For Reading and Writing Argument l You discover a couple of new aspects of the issue: – – – Parents should be able to choose their child’s school Competition among schools might lead to improvement Contractors can take over schools and manage them to improve and make a profit.

Value of the Claims and the Claim Questions: For Reading and Writing Argument l New Claim: Competition among school, like competition in business, leads to improvement

Value of the Claims and the Claim Questions: For Reading and Writing Argument l l l At What Point are you and the Audience Entering the Conversation on the Issue? Consider Audience If you and the audience are new to the issue you might decide to include claims of fact and definition.

Value of the Claims and the Claim Questions: For Reading and Writing Argument l l If your audience understands the issue to some extent but needs more analysis, include claims of cause or value. If you and your audience have adequate background on the issue, you may want to write a policy claim and try to solve the problems associated with it.

Value of the Claims and the Claim Questions: For Reading and Writing Argument l l l Issues and Audiences are dynamic. As soon as audiences engage with issues, both begin to change. You must be constantly aware of the current status of the issue and the audience’s current stand on it.