What are claims in writing? Anytime you state something you believe, then you’re making a claim. Claims in writing most often come into play in argumentative, persuasive, or literary analysis essay writing. These can be written professionally and submitted to journals and magazines, and frequently in academics. So, if you’re in class (any class — doesn’t have to be an English or creative writing class) and your instructor assigns an essay that requires you to prove a point, you will say what you believe then spend the rest of the essay explaining why your belief is correct.
As a writer, your goal is to convince your reader to agree with your claim by the time they are done reading your essay.
What Are the Two Parts of a Claim?
There are two parts to a claim: 1) stating it, and 2) backing it up with proof.
Think of a defense attorney in a courtroom. Their job is to fight for their client by first claiming their innocence, then to build a case proving why their claim of innocence is true. To win their case, what does the lawyer need to provide to get the jury to agree with their claim? Evidence. A knife with DNA or fingerprints, phone records, an alibi — it’s an exhaustive list.
With an essay, you will also use various types of evidence to support your claim.
Sure, it would be great (*cough* easy) if opinion qualified as strong, convincing evidence. But in academics, any essay is only as good as its evidence, which means you’re going to need text-based proof.
If the claim is the roof of a house, the evidence is what holds it off the ground. The more support you have for your claim, the better.
Having evidence isn’t enough, though. Much like the lawyer before a jury, you’ll need to explain to your reader why your textual evidence validates the point you are trying to make.
How Do I Write a Claim in a Paragraph?
If you’re new to making and supporting claims in writing, or just need a refresher, here’s a trick of the trade for structuring paragraphs for textual evidence. Ladies and gents, we give you *drumroll* TEPAC.
- Topic Sentence: Usually the first sentence of the paragraph. It tells the reader the focus of the paragraph.
- Evidence: This is where you will provide your reader with proof that supports your claim, usually in the form of a direct quote pulled from a textbook or work of literature. It is critical to say where the quote is from, who said it, and the page where you found it. This should be done by introducing the quote or including a parenthetical citation after the quote.
- Paraphrase: It’s not enough for an attorney to show a jury a piece of evidence without explaining what it proves, and it’s not enough for you while writing an argumentative or persuasive essay or literary analysis. Paraphrasing in TEPAC is one simple sentence restating what is being said in the quote. This might feel redundant, but it actually helps your argument because you’re able to not only break it down for the reader who might need the additional help in understanding context, and it proves that by saying it in your own words, you truly understand what is going on and why it is a convincing piece of evidence.
- Analysis: This is your interpretation of the evidence. Possibly the most crucial part of providing evidence is how well you analyze the weight of its importance. To have the strongest argument possible, you absolutely must provide an analysis of the evidence. As you grapple with the meaning of the evidence, consider these two questions — what is happening and what does it prove?
- Conclusion: The concluding sentence is the last sentence of the paragraph. It should emphasize the claim. Keep in mind that a solid concluding sentence restates why the claim being argued is so important. Remember that a concluding sentence does exactly what it sounds like — it concludes the paragraph. Thus, this is not (repeat not!) the place to add a new quote or bit of information not previously mentioned in this paragraph. Keep it focused.
Aristotle, the Godfather of Persuasion, Held School for Rhetoric
We can’t talk about persuasive writing without mentioning the godfather of persuasion himself, Aristotle.
He categorized so much of what we use today, from contributing to the classification of animals to founding formal logic. His career spanned most of the sciences and many of the arts, and considering that he did all of this Before Common Era but we still use it today, it’s safe to say Aristotle was one of our very first influencers. The O.G., if you will.
With regard to persuasive writing, Aristotle believed that for an argument to be convincing, it must have elements that appeal to the audience in several different ways. Thus, he developed what are known as rhetorical devices:
- Ethos: Wherein the writer or speaker uses their credibility to persuade their audience. For example, a doctor should have more influence on your belief of science than someone without the same degrees or experience.
- Logos: This is an appeal to reason, or logic. To understand logos, consider a car salesperson. If you arrive at the dealership with your three children, in search of a fancy new sports car, the dealer will possibly try to sway you in the direction of a sizable minivan and will use logic to convince you.
- Pathos: said that to be persuasive, a speaker (or writer in our case) must appeal to one’s emotions. Aristotle believed that people follow the call to action by the way a speaker makes them feel. This is why, as writers, we must consider our audience. What taps the emotions of a soccer mom could be different than that of a twenty-year-old member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon.
- Metaphor: This device is used to make difficult concepts easier to understand. The idea is to compare two using the word is or are. For example, “your smile is the sun” is a very simple metaphor communicating that a person’s smile is bright, gives life, or makes someone feel warm (who wouldn’t want to hear that?!). In the words of the man himself, Aristotle said that “to be a master of metaphor is the greatest thing by far.”
- Brevity: Overload your argument with too many words and you’ll lose your audience. Don’t be afraid to cut out excess information or points that aren’t as strong as the rest of your argument.
What Are the Different Types of Claims in Writing?
There are three main types of claims that a writer can make.
- Fact: When you make a claim about something that can be either proven or disproven with the support of concrete fact. The key thing to keep in mind here is that the point of your argument is to assert a claim that can be debated. If someone can disagree with you, you’ve found a debatable topic. With a claim of fact, you’re basically trying to win your argument by using the strongest facts possible so that there is no denying how sound (correct, agreeable, undeniable) your argument is.
- Value: This one is about morals — what’s good or bad, right or wrong. This should be handled carefully since your readers come to your paper with their own set of beliefs, and if you assert your values too forcefully or with weak support, it’s possible that you will lose your reader completely before they’ve even reached the middle of your essay. This is similar to our third and final type of claim.
- Policy: This type of claim is one which is meant to call the reader to take some form of action. The goal here is to provide information that will persuade your reader to understand your perspective of a topic so much that they not only agree with you but also feel moved to take part in it somehow. Topics for policy tend to focus on an area of society that needs reformation. Perhaps you see an increase in homelessness in your community and are using your essay as a platform to present a solution.
Be careful to maintain your command of the topic by disallowing yourself from becoming too emotional while writing about a topic you are passionate about.
You’ll lose your reader’s buy-in if they feel like you are demanding them to do something about your topic. Rather, focus on the persuasion. Make your reader feel like it was their idea to agree with you.