“Claim-trigger module”
Believability of Statements
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Imagine reading a novel. The truth of the statements presented in the novel
usually doesn’t matter. We are often willing to suspend our disbelief while
reading novels. We whole-heartedly accept the world created by the author.
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On the other hand, when we read to learn, understand, or make decisions,
then the truth of statements does matter. You have to be able to notice
when a claim is being made, and then evaluate the quality of the claim and
supporting reasons.
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Some of the claims will be well-founded, whereas others may have little to
no support at all.
Importance of claims
People make claims all the time such as:
• LCD TVs are most energy efficient.
• You should take Prozac if you are depressed.
• Whole foods has the best fresh produce.
• Americans should buy American-made products.
• The Rayma® Bracelet will balance your body’s ions and renew your
body’s energy.
Importance of claims
When people make these claims, their intension is to persuade you to believe
or do something. Generally, however, they do not provide reasons or
support to tell you why they think their statement is true.
It is important for you to notice when people make claims so you can determine
whether they have enough support for their claim.
Thus, this power point we help you become more skilled in detecting claims.
What is a claim?
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Claims are debatable statements that the speaker is trying to persuade you to
believe a certain way about. By “debatable”, we mean that people can have
different opinions or stances on the issue.
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Because the claim is not agreed upon, it requires support.
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The more controversial the claim, the more support it requires if you
want to convince your audience.
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Question: List all the ways you can notice that a claim is presented….
Clues to claims
• There are many clues that can help you decide that you have
encountered a claim. We are going to show you 4 such ways:
1. Use of knowledge or beliefs
2. Presence of evidence
3. Use of modal verbs
4. Use of evaluative terms
(1) Use your knowledge or beliefs to identify claims
One way to identify claims is to check the believability of statements you hear against
your own knowledge or beliefs.
A statement may be a claim if it runs counter to your beliefs.
– Remember that claims are debatable statements. So finding someone that
disagrees with a statement will indicate that the statement is debatable. If you
notice that a statement is against your personal beliefs or those of others, you can
classify it as a claim.
E.g., Let’s say you believe that TV isn’t harmful and you hear
“Watching violent TV programs is harmful”
Since it is against your beliefs, you can see it is a claim and then ask
“What’s your evidence?”
(1) Use your knowledge or beliefs to identify claims
A statement may also be detected as a claim if you have knowledge that the topic is
controversial
– the easiest way to recognize a claim is to be familiar with different opinions on
the topic.
E.g., If you know that that the topic of TV violence is controversial. It will
than be easy to notice that the following statement is a claim:
“Watching violent TV programs is harmful”.
So pay attention to your own knowledge and beliefs when trying to identify
claims.
(2) Use the presentation of evidence to identify claims
Another clue that indicates a claim was made is the presence of evidence
– when the arguer gives you a reason to support the statement, then they are
acknowledging that it is controversial
E.g., “TV violence is harmful. We know this because of studies
showing increased violence in kids that also watch more violent TV
programs.”
Notice that the speaker gives you a reason to try to persuade you that
the claim is believable. Therefore, the speaker is indicating that a
claim is being made.
(3) Use of modal verbs to identify claims
A statement may be a claim if it has a modal verb.
– Certain types of claims have modals verbs such as “should”, “must”,
“ought to”, “might”, “shall”, “could”. These verbs forms indicate a claim
about how the world should be.
E.g., “Kids should not watch violent TV programs.”
These type of claims with modal verbs are a special type. We call them policy
claims. Policy claims are those in which the speaker is trying to convince
you to change a behavior.
(3) Use of modal verbs to identify claims
E.g.,
Hunting animals for sport should be prohibited.
We should be allowed to hunt animals for sport.
Parents should encourage their children to hunt animals for sport.
We must hunt animals for sport to keep their population down.
(4) Use of evaluative terms
A statement may be a claim if it has one or more evaluative terms.
– Some terms such as “good”, “immoral”, “harmful”, “pretty”, indicate that the
arguer is making an evaluation or judgment of something.
E.g., It is important to monitor the number of violent TV programs your kids
watch.
These type of claims with evaluative terms are a special type. We call them value
claims. Value claims are those in which the speaker is trying to convince you to
trying to change a belief.
(4) Use of evaluative terms
E.g.,
Hunting animals for sport is moral appropriate.
Hunting animals for sport is enjoyable.
It is harmful for rents to encourage their children to hunt animals for sport.
Hunt animals for sport is effective in keeping their population down.
Value claims use evaluative terms
Value claims often have “is” or “are” and an evaluation or opinion term.
Things can be evaluated on many dimensions including:
value (worthy/unworthy, valuable/not valuable, important/unimportant)
E.g., It is important to monitor the number of violent TV programs
your kids watch.
goodness (right/wrong, approve/disapprove, benefit/harm, good/bad)
E.g., Watching violent TV programs is harmful.
justice (just/unjust)
E.g., It is unfair to restrict kids viewing of violent TV programs.
ascetics or preference (like/dislike, pleasant/unpleasant, pretty/ugly)
E.g., Most kids dislike watching violent TV programs.
interpretation of data (what a finding means)
E.g., Recent research shows that watching violent TV programs is
harmful.
You can argue that your value or evaluation is best, but it can not be determined to
be true objectively. These are always claims!
Evaluating claim-ness
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Less obvious
More obvious
claim
claim
1. Kids do not have sex until they are 25 years old.
2. It is important to educate students about birth control.
3. It is important to educate students about birth control because of the
detrimental effects of teen pregnancy.
4. Condoms should be provided to students.
5. Condoms are effective.
6. Condoms are a safe method of birth control.
7. Studies show that condoms are 95% effective.
Name that claim
Chicago should legalize river-boat gambling.
Helping the underprivileged is a worthwhile and rewarding practice.
Poverty in the U.S. in 2010 is below a family income of $11,000 per year.
Recycling materials is a right thing to do.
Physician-assisted suicide must not be permitted for terminally ill patients.
Do you really think we should have to pay taxes?
It is inappropriate for the United States to intervene in other countries’ affairs.
Ignoring air resistance, an object falling freely near the Earth's surface
increases its velocity by 32.2 ft/s for each second of its descent.
Chewing gum while peeling onions will keep you from crying.
Name that claim
Illinois should mandate recycling.
The first Harley Davidson motorcycle was built in 1903, and used a
tomato can for a carburetor.
Sexually explicit music lyrics should be banned.
It is important for people to recycle.
Six-year-olds laugh an average of 300 times a day while adults only
laugh 15 to 100 times a day.
The highway speed should not be limited to 55mph.
We must return children to their natural parents whenever possible.
Google is actually the common name for a number with a million zeros.
Grading is an effective way to motivate high school students.
What is the support for your assertion?
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We hope this tutorial helped you learn to better identify claims using:
1. Your knowledge or beliefs
2. Presence of evidence
3. Presence of modal verbs
4. Presence of evaluative terms
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When you detect such claims, ask yourself did the speaker provide evidence or
support for their claim?
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The more controversial the claim, the more support it requires if you
want to convince your audience.
OK. Why did I call this the “Claim-trigger module”?