READING AND WRITING SKILLS

(1st Quarter, 2nd Semester)

Module 3
Week 5-6
Identifying and Analyzing Claims

OBJECTIVE
After completing the module, you should be able to identify claims explicitly or implicitly
made in a written text: (EN11/12RWS-IIIij-6 )
a. Claim of fact (EN11/12RWS-IIIij-6.1)
b. Claim of policy (EN11/12RWS-IIIij-6.2)
c. Claim of value (EN11/12RWS-IIIij-6.3)

Let us study about the different types of claims

LEARNING ACTIVITY

DETERMINING EXPLICIT AND IMPLICIT INFORMATION

Critical reading also means that you are able to distinguish the information that is clearly stated (explicit) in
the text from ideas that are suggested (implicit). This will help you make inferences about what you read.

How can you tell whether something is implicit or explicit? As you have observed, explicit information is clearly
written and explained in the text so the reader will not be confused.

Meanwhile, which ideas are implied? Implicit information is something that is implied, but not stated outright
in the text. Because the idea is not written in the text, you need to use the clues in the text to make an inference on
what you have read. An inference is a conclusion that you make based on explicit information and your reasoning and
background knowledge.

DEFINING CLAIMS

Knowing how to identify explicit and implicit information will help you in one of the most important skills
needed in critical reading: evaluating the claims made by an author. This involves going back to the text to recognize
the writer’s arguments and evidence so you can begin judging the writer’s work.

Whenever you read something, you find yourself looking for the writer’s point or position regarding the
chosen topic. That point is also known as the claim, or the central argument or thesis statement of the text. This claim
is what the writer tries to prove in the text by providing details, explanations, and other types of evidence. As such,
it is usually found in the introduction or in the first few paragraphs of the text.

The claim is the most important part of the text. The quality and complexity of the reading depend on the
claim, because the claim defines the paper’s direction and scope. The claim is a sentence that summarizes the most
important thing that the writer wants to say as a result of his/her thinking, reading, or writing.

The following are the characteristics of good claims:

1. A claim should be argumentative and debatable. When a writer makes a claim, he/she is making a case for a
particular perspective on the topic. Readers expect to be able to raise objections to your claim, and they can
only raise objections if the claim is something that can be reasonably challenged. Claims that are only factual or
based on opinion, thus, are not debatable.

2. A claim should be specific and focused. If the claim is unfocused, the paper will be too broad in scope and will
lack direction and a clear connection to the support provided. It may also lead to overgeneralizations and vague
assertions.

3. A claim should be interesting and engaging. It should hook the reader, who may or may not agree with you, to
encourage them to consider your perspective and learn something new from you.

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 4. A claim should be logical. It should result from reasonable weighing of support provided.

Here are some questions to help you determine the writer’s claim while you are reading a text:
• What is the author's main point?
• What is the author's position regarding it?

DISTINGUISHING BETWEEN THE TYPES OF CLAIM

Now that you know the characteristics of a good claim, you will be introduced to the different types of claim
that a writer can make: fact, value, or policy. You can usually determine this by examining the type of questions they
answer about the text.

First, claims of fact state a quantifiable assertion, or a measurable topic. They assert that something has
existed, exists, or will exist based on data. They rely on reliable sources or systematic procedures to be validated; this
is what makes them different from inferences.

Claims of fact usually answer a “what” question. When determining whether something is a claim of fact, the
following questions are useful:
• Is this issue related to a possible cause or effect?
• Is this statement true or false? How can its truthfulness be verified?
• Is this claim controversial or debatable?

Next, claims of value assert something that can be qualified. They consist of arguments about moral,
philosophical, or aesthetic topics. These types of topics try to prove that some values are more or less desirable
compared to others. They make judgments, based 0f certain standards, on whether something is right or wrong, good
or bad, or something similar.

Claims of value attempt to explain how problems, situations, or issues ought to be valued. To discover these
explanations. you may ask the following questions:
• Which claims endorse what is good or right? What qualities should be considered good? Why?
• Which of these values contend with others? Which ones are more important, and why? Whose
standards are used?
• What are some concrete examples of such values?

Finally, claims of policy posit that specific actions should be chosen as solutions to a particular problem. You
can easily identify a claim of policy because they begin with “should,” “ought to,” or “must.” Claims of policy because
they defend actionable plans, usually answer “how” questions. The following questions will be useful in evaluating a
claim of policy:

• Does the claim suggest a specific remedy to solve the problem?

• Is the policy clearly defined?
• Is the need for the policy established?
• Is the policy the best one available? For whom? According to whose standards?
• How does the policy solve the problem?

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