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The following are the characteristics of good claims:

writer makes a clalim,
topic, Readers E4pel I
y raise objections if
that are aly

NN claim should be argumentative and debatable, When a

he/she is making a case for a particular perspective of the
to be able to raise objections to your claim, and they can onl
the claim is something that can be reasonably challenged, Claims
factual or based on opinion, thus, are not debatable

2. Aclaim should be specific and focused. If the claim Is unfocused, the paper will
bie
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. Aclaim 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 af id

learn something new from you.

4 A claim should be logical, It should result from reasonable weighing of support
provided.
Here are some questions to help you determine t
reading a text:
“ What is the author's main point?

. What is the author's position regarding it?

he writer's claim while you are

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, of 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:

. Isthisissue related toa possible cause of effect?

. Is this statement true or false? How can its truthfulness be verified?

. ls this claim controversial of 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
thal
some values are more or less desirable compared to others, They make Judgments,
based
on 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

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?

Unit |: THE READING PROCESS |