Reading and Writing Skills 11

Types of Claim

A Claim is a statement that is not considered accepted by all. A claim may be
unverified or controversial to a certain degree. It is usually related to one side of an
issue. If so, the claim is also called a position.
Three Kinds of Claims
Claims are generally divided into three: claims of fact, claim of value, and claim of
policy.
 Buying and fixing a house is better than building a new one.
 It is better to have loved and lost than not to have loved at all.
(Tennyson)
Claims of Policy
Claims of policy are all about what should be. They say that a particular situation
should arise. They prescribe a particular course of action that would lead to a
condition. They are usually made in relation to solving societal problems.

Claims of Fact The following are claims of policy:

Claims of fact relate to the statements that can be verified, no matter how difficult.  The death penalty must be revived.
They are not dependent merely on a person’s preference, but can be true or false.  A national ID system should be adopted.
Facts that are universally accepted are not considered claims of facts because there  Beauty contests should be banned.
is no more disagreement about their truthfulness. Claims of fact talk about what is  The government must devote more funds to building schools than building
or what is not. They say that the certain conditions exist. roads.
The following are examples of claim of fact:

 Santa Claus is real.

 Cancer is not contagious.
 The Earth is warming rapidly.
 The atmosphere has too much carbon dioxide.

Claims of Value

Claims of value are evaluative statements. They are statement about which is
better, more important, more desirable, more needed, or more useful. They may
also relate to what is good or bad.

The following are examples of claims of value:

 It’s more fun in the Philippines. (Official tourism catch phrase)

 This is a very good school.
 It is more advantageous for a Filipino child to grow up speaking
Filipino instead of English.
 It is better to be feared than loved. (Machiavelli)
 Reading and Writing Skills 11
Types of Claim

Name: ____________________________________________________________
Grade and Section: _________________________________________________

Direction. Identify which type of claim the statement is making. (FACT, VALUE,
POLICY)

__________1. Excessive consumption of alcohol can lead to many illnesses.

__________2. Honesty is the best policy.

__________3. Television newscasting influences the way Americans think about

social and political issues.

__________4. The Bates GRE Study Guide is an excellent tutorial for students
preparing to take the GRE.

__________5. To attract more nontraditional students, this college must review

and revise its course offerings.

__________6. The existence of nuclear weapons has prevented the outbreak of

World War III.

__________7. An improved sewer system would solve these flood drainage

problems.

__________8. America should protect its domestic industries with tariffs and
quotas.

__________9. Obesity can cause heart disease.

__________10. 20% of Americans believe that the U.S. has never landed on the
moon.