strong essay claims

How to Write an Effective Claim (with Examples)

Formulating a claim for your essay can be difficult even if you are already a masterful debater — especially if you are not quite sure what a claim is, and how it may differ from a counterclaim or thesis statement. This guide will make it easy to decide on your claim!

Essay Claim Basics

In essay writing, a claim can most succinctly be defined as "a debatable statement" — which the writer then defends with supporting evidence and rhetoric. It is easy to confuse a claim and a thesis statement, because the thesis is indeed a type of claim as well. Essays can contain further claims that orbit the topic of the thesis statement, however.

Claims straddle the line between opinion and fact. If you're hoping to make a strong claim that seamlessly fits into a powerful essay, you will need to make sure that your claim ticks the right boxes:

Your claim can debated — solid arguments can be made both in favor and against. Therefore, statements such as "I live in Queens" or "Joe Biden is the President" are not claims. In an argumentative essay, "the death penalty should be abolished" is an example of a claim. Even scientific papers make claims, such as "Keyboards contain more germs than toilet seats", which can be tested. These are called hypotheses.
You will state your claim as a matter of fact. "Many people oppose the death penalty, and with good reason" is not a good claim, but "the death penalty is no longer an appropriate punishment in modern America" can be.
Your claim is sufficiently specific to allow you to explore all aspects that you intend to tackle. "The Victorian era was Britain's darkest era" give you more bite than you can comfortably chew. "Fast food should be taxed to reduce obesity rates" is more specific.

Types of Claim (With Examples!)

Claims are debatable statements, but there are numerous different types. If you have specifically been asked to present a claim in an essay, you may be able to choose what kind of claim you would like to work with.

1. Claim of Fact or Definition

In research essays, a claim of fact or definition is one that defines a fact, as you see it, and proceeds to lay out the evidence in favor of the claim. Here are some examples to show you how it works:

Plant species are becoming extinct at a faster rate than animal species, yet the plight of plants has been overlooked.
Amazon's Alexa has revolutionized many people's daily lives — but this appliance also makes us vulnerable to new forms of hacking.
Commercial air travel transformed the way in which we do business.

2. Claim of Cause & Effect

In a claim of cause and effect, you argue that one thing causes another, such as:

Internet gaming has a widespread negative effect on students' grades.
Lax enforcement of preventative measures against Covid has enabled the pandemic to continue for much longer than it need have.
Playing jigsaw puzzles leads to novel cognitive connections that help senior citizens stay sharp.

3. Claim of Value

Claims of value are more heavily opinion-based than other types of claims. If you are making a claim of value, you will usually want to compare two things. For example:

George W Bush was a better President than George W H Bush.
Emotional health is just as important as physical health.
Stephen King is the best horror writer of al time.

4. Claim of Solution or Policy

Claims of solution or policy state a position on a proposed course of action. In high school and college essays, they typically focus on something that should be done, or something that should no longer be done. Examples might include:

Depressed patients should always be offered talk therapy before they receive a prescription for antidepressants.
The United States should not accept refugees from Afghanistan.
First-time offenders should be given lighter sentences.

Claim vs. Counterclaim vs. Thesis Statement

If you've been told to make an essay claim, you may be confused about the differences between a claim, counterclaim, and thesis statement. That's understandable, because some people believe that there's no difference between a claim and a thesis statement.

There are important distinctions between these three concepts, however, and if you want to write a killer essay, it's important to be aware of them:

A thesis statement is the very foundation of your essay — everything else rests on it. The thesis statement should contain no more than one or two sentences, and summarize the heart of your argument. "Regular exercise has consistently been shown to increase productivity in the workplace. Therefore, employers should offer office workers, who would otherwise be largely sedentary, opportunities to work out."
A claim is a statement you can defend with arguments and evidence. A thesis statement is a type of claim, but you'll want to include other claims that fit neatly into the subject matter as well. For instance, "Employers should establish gyms for employees."
A counterclaim is a statement that contradicts, refutes, or opposes a claim. Why would you want to argue against yourself? You can do so to show that arguments that oppose the claim are weak. For instance, "Many employers would balk at the idea of facilitating costly exercise classes or providing a gym space — employees can work out in their own time, after all. Why should the boss pay for workers to engage in recreational activities at work? Recent studies have shown, however, that workplaces that have incorporated aerobics classes enjoy 120% increase in productivity, showing that this step serves the bottom line."

Together, a thesis statement, claims, and some well-placed counterclaims make up the threads of your story, leading to a coherent essay that is interesting to read.

How to Write an Effective Claim

Now that you've seen some examples, you are well on your way to writing an effective claim for your essay. Need some extra tips? We've got you covered.

First things first — how do you start a claim in an essay? Your claim sentence or sentences should be written in the active voice, starting with the subject, so that your readers can immediately understand what you are talking about.

They'll be formulated as an "[Subject] should be [proposed action], because [argument]. You can stay with this general structure while making different word choices, however, such as:

It is about time that
We have an obligation to
Is the only logical choice
It is imperative that

Once you have formulated a claim, you will want to see if you can hook your readers with an interesting or provocative statement that can really get them thinking. You will want to break your argument down into sections. This will lead you to sub-claims. If your claim is your main argument, your sub-claims are smaller arguments that work to support it. They will typically appear naturally once you contemplate the subject deeply — just brainstorm, and as you research, keep considering why your claim is true. The reasons you come up with will sprout sub-claims.

Still not sure what to write? Take a look at these examples of strong claim statements:

A lack of work experience has proven to be the main barrier to finding satisfying employment, so businesses should be incentivized to hire recent graduates.
The rise in uncertified "emotional support animals" directly causes suffering for people suffering from severe pet dander allergies. Such pets must be outlawed in public places to alleviate the very real harm allergy patients now experience on a daily basis.
Emerging private space exploration ventures may be exciting, but they greatly increase CO2 emissions. At a time when the planet is in crisis, private space exploration should be banned.

Additional Tips in Writing a Claim the Right Way

You now know what you need to include in a claim paragraph to leave a strong impression. Understanding what not to do is equally important, however.

Take a stand — if you're writing an argumentative essay, it is perfectly OK to take a controversial opinion, and no matter what you write, it is bound to have the potential to offend someone . Don't sit on the fence. Even when you're defending a position you disagree with, embrace it wholeheartedly.
Narrow your claim down. The more specific you can get, the more compelling your argument can be, and the more depth you can add to each aspect of your argument.
Have fun! You want your essay to be interesting to read, and any genuine passion you have will be apparent.
Choose the right subject — one about which you can find a lot of data and facts.

What should you avoid in writing a claim, you wonder? Don't:

Use any first-person statements. The claim is about your ideas, not about you.
Base your claim on emotional appeal. You can work some pathos in, but don't make feelings your center.
Clutter your claim with too many separate ideas, which will make the rest of your essay harder to read, less powerful, and unwieldy for you to develop.

How do you use a claim?

When you're writing your essay, you can think of the thesis statement as the spine. The claims you make are, then, your "ribs", so to speak. If you prefer a different analogy, the thesis is your trunk, and the claims branches. You use them to build a strong final product that shows you have considered all aspects of your argument, and can back them up with evidence and logic.

What is a good way to start a claim?

You can start with a shocking fact, objective data from a reliable source, or even an anecdote — or, if you prefer, you can simply offer your argument without bells and whistles.

Can a claim be in a paragraph or is it a single sentence only?

Claims are almost always limited to a single sentence. It can be a long compound sentence, though! The claim does not have to remain all alone in the paragraph. You can immediately surround it with rhetorical punches or further facts.

What are some examples of argumentative claims?

So, you want to learn to argue like a pro? Watching speeches politicians make is a great way to look out for claims, and court transcripts and academic debates are two other places you can look for great argumentative claims.

Is there a claim generator you can use?

Yes! Some claim generators are free to use, while others require a subscription. These tools can be interesting to play with, and can serve as inspiration. However, it's always best to tweak your final claim to fit your needs.

Bone of Contention - Meaning, Usage and Origin
I Beg to Differ - Meaning, Origin and Usage
Chewing the Fat - Meaning, Usage and Origin
All that Glitters is Not Gold - Meaning, Origin and Usage
Ginning Up - Meaning, Usage and Origin
Chime In - Meaning, Origin and Usage

How to Write an Effective Claim for an Essay

Often, people use claim statements and thesis statements interchangeably. And they are not wrong because a thesis statement is a type of a claim. In most cases, essays contain further claims other than the thesis statement, depending on the topic in question. Nevertheless, claims overlap the line between fact and opinion. A strong claim leads to a powerful essay that always scores the best marks.

A good claim is debatable either for or against and must be sufficiently specific so that you explore all the aspects and angles of a given topic.

Yet even with this knowledge, people find themselves confused when asked to formulate a claim for an essay. Failure to structure an argument the right way makes it difficult to persuade an audience. Claims help structure your argument using reasoning and evidence to support your stance.

Given the confusion that sometimes surrounds claims and claim statements, we have put together this guide to take you through the process of writing claims in five steps, using examples and illustrations where necessary for you to master the art of writing claims in an essay.

What is a claim in an essay?

A claim statement is the main point or a debatable statement in the essay that asserts your argument . When you write an essay, you do it to convince or inform the reader about something. What you are trying to convince the reader about is what is referred to as a claim.

The main point or argument in an essay is its most important part. This is because it quickly informs the reader about the objective of the essay, its direction, and its scope.

It is important to note that an opinion is not a claim and cannot be used as the main argument when writing an essay. The easiest way to know if your essay's main argument is a good claim is to ask yourself if it is specific, focused, detailed, relevant, and debatable. If your answer to these questions is yes, you most probably have a good claim.

A claim is usually substantiated with evidence, research, testimony, and academic reasoning. It addresses the -so what?- question the implications of why your audience should care anyway. Unlike a subjective opinion, a claim is always objective.

In a nutshell, a claim:

Refers to the main argument of an essay
Defines the goals, scope, and direction of a paper
It is supported by facts, evidence, argumentation, statistics, telling details, and quotations.
It is specific, nuanced, detailed, complex, and focused.
It is the starting point for your thesis and allows readers to think critically about the topic.
Persuades, argues, and proves a point to the reader.

Types of claims with examples

With the definition of claims in mind, let's explore the different types of claims you can use when writing a paper on any topic.

1. Factual claims

Factual claims are arguments or statements that state facts. Any statement that is a fact is a factual claim. Factual claims are usually easy to support with evidence.

When writing a research essay, a claim of fact or definition defines the fact as you see it and provides evidence to back the claim.

Examples of factual claims that are easy to support:

The United States is the world's biggest economy.
New York is the home of the United Nations.
Donald Trump was the 45 th President of the USA.
The invention of computing technology has transformed every sector of the global economy.

2. Value claims

Value claims or claims of value are arguments that include a judgment. They are primarily opinion-based. A typical value claim will judge something or someone using terms such as good/bad, right/wrong, moral/immoral, and fair/unfair. A value claim is usually followed by explaining the value claim or argument to provide context.

Examples of value claims:

Online dating is
It is right for the West to sanction private individuals for Russian government actions.
It is unfair for some businesses to be exempted from tax.
Emotional health is as important as physical and mental health.

3. Definitional claims

Definitional claims are arguments defining something as one thing or the other. For example, a good value claim will define or describe something or someone as a particular thing and then provide an explanation why.

An excellent example of a definitional claim:

Hunting is not a sport because it does not include regular competition.

4. Cause and effect claims

Cause and effect claims are arguments that are very logical in structure. A typical cause-and-effect claim argues that one thing causes something else. For a cause-and-effect claim to be successfully proven, you must show clearly how the cause leads to the effect.

An excellent example of a cause-and-effect claim:

Wars in the Middle East caused Europe's biggest refugee crisis.

5. Descriptive claims

Descriptive claims are arguments that describe or state things. The work of proving a descriptive claim is usually quite simple and straightforward.

Here are good examples of descriptive claims:

Peter weighs 220 pounds.
He is the world marathon record holder.
The house has three master en suite bedrooms.

6. Argumentative claims

All argumentative essays have an argumentative claim at the core. An argumentative claim is an argument that is clear, focused, specific, and debatable. The thing that makes argumentative claims argumentative is the fact that they are debatable. In other words, the claims usually have two clear sides. The side you have picked should be clear in the claim so the audience can read your essay to understand why you picked that side.

Here are good examples of argumentative claims:

In light of reduced and erratic rainfalls, farmers in East Africa are increasingly abandoning agriculture for city life.
Running provides both mental and physical health benefits.
Increasing cases of cyberbullying can be prevented by banning anonymous social media accounts.
Yoga improves physical, mental, and emotional strength.
School uniforms help promote inclusive environments where students can interact without barriers.
College students should learn new languages and skills to help them gain skills to take them through life.
Concrete is by far the best building material for commercial houses.
Owning a home is better compared to renting.
Children under 12 should not be posted on social media by their parents.
Generation Z should be taught about financial literacy.
Cooking at home is healthier and cheaper compared to fast food.

7. Exploratory claims

Exploratory claims are very different from argumentative claims. The reason why is that they are written to explore all the different opinions or sides of a debate. No exploratory claim will focus on one position.

A typical exploratory claim will include information about the subject to be written about, the different positions or debates about the subject, and the writer's thoughts about the subject.

Here is an example of an exploratory claim:

Marijuana was recently legalized for recreational use in New York, leading to a heated debate online on the benefits and drawbacks of the drug. It is essential to look at both sides of the debate to make a fair conclusion on the matter.

8. Assertive claims

Assertive claims are strong arguments or statements. The use of an assertive statement is to explain the thesis a bit or show the importance of the thesis. Without an assertive claim, it becomes challenging to hook the reader to try and read the rest of your essay.

Here is an excellent example of an assertive claim:

Online driving courses are not as good as physical ones because they minimize hands-on or one-on-one training experience.

9. Policy claims

Policy claims are also known as solution claims. A characteristic policy claim will state a problem and then its solution.

Examples of policy claims:

Western European countries are over-dependent on Russian oil and gas and, therefore, should try to be more energy-independent.
Non-violent drug users who are caught should be rehabilitated instead of being incarcerated.

Where to use Claims when writing

As we have already discussed, academic writing has different types of claims. You can use these claims when writing different kinds of papers. Here are some types of writing that use claims:

Argumentative essay. Claims in argumentative essays are used to support the central argument or the thesis. In this type of essay, you must focus on a controversial or debatable issue and present evidence to support your thesis statement. Your claims help to fortify the thesis in your argumentative essay.
Literary analysis essays. In a literary analysis essay, you can make a claim about the literary work in question and then offer evidence to support the claim.
Persuasive essays. Like the argumentative essay, you can use a claim in a persuasive essay. In this case, you will use evidence-based information to support your claim.
Research papers. You can use evidence to support or refute the hypothesis, a type of claim.
Persuasive speeches. Although presented orally, persuasive speeches entail providing claims and then using evidence to support the claims.
Persuasive memos. You can write a persuasive memo to convince the audience about a claim you support with evidence.
Compare and contrast essays . You can use claims when comparing two items or subjects.

You can also use claims when writing professional papers such as reports, letters, memos, or social media posts.

Related Article: Writing good analytical essays for better grades.

Features of a reasonable claim

Below are the features of a good claim:

1. A good claim is a statement and not a question

A good claim is usually a statement and not a question. The purpose of making a claim is to present a debate and the writer's position on the debate. Using a question, there is no way to present a debate and clarify your position.

2. A good claim challenges the status quo

The purpose of writing essays is to improve the existing body of knowledge. Simply writing another essay supporting the current beliefs, behaviors, rules, or policies does not enhance the body of knowledge. This is why it is vital to make your claim challenge the status quo so that you can write about something new that everyone doesn't already agree with.

An excellent example of a claim that challenges that status quo is that "The United States should shut down all its nuclear power plants in the next year to eliminate the chance of a disaster happening."

This statement challenges the status quo: nuclear power plants are needed in the USA for the foreseeable future to provide much-needed power.

3. A good claim is unbiased

Claims should always be put to provide an opportunity to defend or support either position. Phrasing a claim in a way that leaves no room for the audience to think that an alternative position can exist is not right. It removes objectivity and makes a claim look biased and unwise.

4. A good claim is particular

Broad claims do not provide any insight. This is because they are easy to agree with. They are also easy to prove. In contrast, specific claims narrow the focus and improve argumentation. So, to write a good essay, it is vital to make your claim specific and detailed so that whatever you write is focused and provides good insight.

5. A good claim promotes an argumentative essay

Make a claim that is easy to agree with. Your essay will not be engaging because it will be a description or a story. In contrast, you create an argumentative environment when you make a claim supporting one of two sides. In other words, you create a situation where you provide evidence to support or defend the side of the argument you have picked.

Claim vs. Claim Statement

A claim is an argument. When writing an academic paper (essay, speech, or research), you will have your main claim (main argument). In addition, you will have your sub-claims or supporting arguments throughout your paper or essay.

An essay's central claim or argument is the claim statement. It is also referred to as the thesis statement. In brief, the main difference between a claim and a claim statement is that the former is just an argument while the latter is the main argument.

The requirements for writing a claim and a claim statement are very similar. However, sub-claims or supporting arguments in the body paragraphs do not need to be debatable. In contrast, a good claim statement should always be detailed and debatable.

Claim vs. Thesis Statement vs. Counterclaim

Steps to writing the best claim in an essay.

A claim is an argument. It is pretty easy to write an argument in an essay. The most straightforward essay will include the main claim or argument in the introduction , a supporting argument beginning each body paragraph, and a conclusion.

The most important part when writing an essay is usually the main claim or argument. It is also referred to as the claim statement. A good claim statement will help you to write a good essay. A lousy claim statement will make it challenging to write a good essay.

Follow the steps below to learn how to write a good claim statement.

1. Pick a topic and find out more information about it

The first thing you need to do when writing a claim statement is to pick a topic. Even if you can choose any topic, select one that interests you and can research and write an entire essay.

Once you choose the topic, find out more information about it. This will help you narrow the topic, find something interesting to write about, and make arguments. You also develop many aspects of the topic and choose one to help you write your claim.

As an example, suppose you are writing about climate change. Then, you can focus on global warming as a subject and present why it is a top cause of climate change.

2. Phrase the exciting topic as a question

Once you find something interesting about a topic, you should frame the topic as a question. As you frame the question, ensure you answer it with your thesis.

The easiest way to write a question is to imagine you are a professor asking your students to write an easy essay on the topic. This will help you to phrase the topic as a question quickly. The question will help you to come up with the claim statement and to write a good essay.

For example, suppose your research on a topic leads you to want to write about the harmful effects of Instagram on teenage girls. In that case, you could phrase this topic as a question. For example, one way you can phrase this topic as a question is, "What are the harmful effects of Instagram on teenage girls?"

Phrasing the topic this way makes it easy to write the claim and thesis statements.

3. Define the objective of your essay

To write a good essay, you need to set the objective. The objective of your essay will determine what type of claim statement you write. For example, suppose your objective is to convince the audience that something is good or bad. In that case, you must decide after phrasing your essay topic as a question.

4. Take a position on the issue

After deciding your essay's objective, you need to take a position on the topic now. This position or claim will be your essay's main claim or claim statement. In addition, it will inform what your supporting arguments will be.

At this stage, you should rephrase your question into a claim statement (the question you constructed in step 2). Our example question was, "What are the harmful effects of Instagram on teenage girls?"

To rephrase this question into a claim statement, state how you would answer it in detail. For example, one way you could do this is, "This paper looks at the harmful effects of Instagram on girls under 18 years of age in the USA."

This statement makes it clear what your essay will be all about. It is focused, detailed, and debatable.

5. Develop sub-claims

After creating the claim statement, you need to write an outline to help you write your essay. Your claim statement will inform the outline.

And the most critical parts of the outline will be the sub-claims. The sub-claims are the supporting arguments you will use in your essay. They are the arguments that support your main argument.

If you are writing a typical 5-paragraph essay with an introduction, three body paragraphs, and a conclusion " the three body paragraphs will include a sub-claim at the beginning. The sub-claim will be an argument that supports your main position.

Following the five steps above, you can quickly develop a good essay with all the necessary claims and sub-claims. If, for any reason, you feel like it will be challenging for you to develop a good claim statement and sub-claims, contact us for help with your essay. We have professional essay tutors ready to help you write any essay before you hit the deadline.

Dos and don'ts when writing A claim in an Essay

You now know everything important about claims. You know all the major types of claims and how to write an eye-catching claim statement. In this section, you will learn all the critical dos and don'ts when writing any kind of claim.

Choose a good topic. It is important to choose a good topic if you are permitted to. A good topic is interesting, has lots of facts and data, and is easy to take a stand on.
Have fun. If essays are stressing you up, maybe you should re-evaluate your major or minor. Whatever topic you choose, you should have fun learning more about it and taking a stand. If you do this, your genuine passion will be evident to the reader.
Take a position. It is important to take a position when writing about a topic. Writing about something without supporting or defending a position will not help you. You need to embrace a position and stick to it.
Narrow your focus. It is crucial to narrow the focus of your writing to a particular thing or group. If your claim is too broad, it will not be compelling, and your essay won't be very informative.
Avoid using first-person when writing a claim statement. Using the first-person perspective will make your argument subjective and not very objective.
Avoid using emotional appeal. When writing, ensure that you appeal to facts and data. So don't appeal to emotions; that will water down your arguments.
Lose focus. Cluttering your claim with other ideas will make it challenging to support. It will also make your writing less understandable and less robust.

Final Remarks

Consider a claim as the branches and the thesis statement as the trunk that holds your paper together. It can be a compound or short sentence that asserts your position on an issue or topic.

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What Is a Claim in an Essay? Unpacking the Core Element with Writing Tips

Picture yourself as a captain steering your ship, a.k.a. your essay, across a wild ocean of ideas. Your secret weapon? The claim. It’s not just some fancy statement – it’s the backbone of your essay, the big point you’re itching to make and stand by.

Getting the hang of crafting a killer claim is like hitting the jackpot for any essay writer. It sets the mood, points the way, and basically makes or breaks your essay. So, let’s dive deep into what makes a claim tick.

What’s a Claim, Anyway?

Think of a claim as your essay’s thesis or main argument. It’s way more than an opinion. It’s a bold, assertive statement that lays down the foundation of your argument. Depending on your essay’s vibe, claims can come in different flavors:

Factual claims ─ The straight-up truths, like “The Earth does its dance around the Sun.”
Definitional claims ─ The “what’s what” of things, like “Genetically modified munchies can totally be called organic.”
Cause and effect claims ─ The “this led to that” stuff, like “Scrolling through Insta all day shoots up anxiety in teens.”
Value claims ─ Your judgment call, like “Free speech is the lifeblood of democracy, no question.”
Policy claims ─ The “let’s shake things up” kind, like “Making buses free could clear up city smog.”

Figuring out your type of claim is like choosing the right gear before setting off on an essay adventure.

Building a Rock-Solid Claim

A solid claim is like a good cup of coffee – clear, strong, specific, and just what you need:

Clear as day ─ It’s got to be easy to get, no beating around the bush.
Open for debate ─ A tasty claim gets people talking, not just nodding along.
Specific ─ It zeros in on your essay’s heart, with no wandering off.
Relevant ─ It’s got to jive with your essay’s main jam.

Cooking Up a Strong Claim

Crafting a top-notch claim? It’s like making a masterpiece. Start broad, then get down to the nitty-gritty:

Brainstorm central ─ Kick off by throwing ideas around. Ask questions, scribble thoughts, and play with different angles.
Idea filter ─ Sift through your thoughts, and pick the ones that have that zing of debate.
Wordplay ─ Your choice of words and tone is key. Be bold, but keep it in line with your essay’s style .
Learning by example ─ Check out strong and weak claims to see what makes or breaks them.

Rooting Your Claim with Evidence

Your claim needs roots, like a tree. That’s your evidence – the stuff that makes your claim stand up tall:

Back it up ─ Throw in facts, stats, expert say-so, and real-life tales to beef up your claim.
Keep It balanced ─ Your evidence should be like a good sidekick – supportive but not stealing the spotlight.
Counterpunch ─ Tackle the naysayers head-on. It shows you’ve done your homework and you’re not afraid of a little debate.

Claims in Different Essay Worlds

Your claim shifts gears depending on your essay type:

Analytical essays ─ Here, you’re dissecting stuff like books or historical events to dig out hidden treasures.
Argumentative essays ─ You’re taking a stand on a hot-button issue, backed by evidence that packs a punch.
Expository essays ─ You’re the explainer, shining a light on concepts, often with a “here’s the 411” vibe.

Watch Out for These Slip-Ups

Even seasoned essay sailors can hit rough waters:

Overgeneralizing ─ Steers clear of claims that are too broad. Specific is terrific.
Evidence MIA ─ Don’t leave your claims hanging without backup. That’s just asking for trouble.
Going in circles ─ Don’t use your claim to prove your claim. That’s like saying, “It’s true because I say so.”

Fine-tuning Your Claim Crafting a Claim Can Be a Trial-and-error Deal

Draft city ─ Play around with different versions. Mix and match perspectives and wording.
Revise for impact ─ Get feedback, then tweak and polish your claim until it shines.
Open ears ─ Good feedback can turn a decent claim into a showstopper. Embrace it.

The Bottom Line

A well-crafted claim is like the heart of your essay, pumping life and direction into your arguments. Getting good at building strong claims is a game-changer for essay writing. Practice, pay attention to the details, and you’ll be churning out claims that grip your readers and don’t let go. And hey, if you hit a wall, remember there’s help out there – like custom essay writing services – ready to give you a leg up. Keep at it, and you’ll be the master of claims in no time!

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What Is a Claim in Writing?

A claim is the core argument defining an essay’s goal and direction. (1) It’s assertive, debatable, and supported by evidence. Also, it is complex, specific, and detailed.

Also known as a thesis, a claim is a little different from statements and opinions. Keep reading to reveal the nuances.

Claims vs. statements vs. opinions

Where to use claims.

To answer the “What is claim in writing?”, it’s critical to understand that this definition isn’t only for high school or college essays. Below are the types of writing with claims:

Argumentative articles. Consider a controversial issue, proving it with evidence throughout your paper.
Literary analysis. Build a claim about a book , and use evidence from it to support your claim.
Research papers. Present a hypothesis and provide evidence to confirm or refute it.
Speeches. State a claim and persuade the audience that you’re right.
Persuasive essays and memos. State a thesis and use fact-based evidence to back it up..

What can you use as evidence in essays?

Facts and other data from relevant and respectful resources (no Wikipedia or other sources like this)
Primary research
Secondary research (science magazines’ articles, literature reviews, etc.)
Personal observation
Expert quotes (opinions)
Info from expert interviews

How to Write a Claim in Essays

Two points to consider when making a claim in a college paper:

First, remember that a claim may have counterarguments. You’ll need to respond to them to make your argument stronger. Use transition words like “despite,” “yet,” “although,” and others to show those counterclaims.

Second, good claims are more complex than simple “I’m right” statements. Be ready to explain your claim, answering the “So what?” question.

And now, to details:

Types of claims in an essay (2)

Writing a claim: details to consider.

What makes a good claim? Three characteristics (3):

It’s assertive. (You have a strong position about a topic.)
It’s specific. (Your assertion is as precise as possible.)
It’s provable. (You can prove your position with evidence.)

When writing a claim, avoid generalizations, questions, and cliches. Also, don’t state the obvious.

Poor claim: Pollution is bad for the environment.
Good claim: At least 25% of the federal budget should be spent upgrading businesses to clean technologies and researching renewable energy sources to control or cut pollution.

How to start a claim in an essay?

Answer the essay prompt. Use an active voice when writing a claim for readers to understand your point. Here is the basic formula:

When writing, avoid:

First-person statements
Emotional appeal
Cluttering your claim with several ideas; focus on one instead

How long should a claim be in an essay?

1-2 sentences. A claim is your essay’s thesis: Write it in the first paragraph (intro), presenting a topic and your position about it.

Examples of Claims

Below are a few claim examples depending on the type. I asked our expert writers to provide some for you to better understand how to write it.

Feel free to use them for inspiration, or don’t hesitate to “steal” if they appear relevant to your essay topic. Also, remember that you can always ask our writers to assist with a claim for your papers.

Final Words

Now that you know what is a claim in an essay, I hope you don’t find it super challenging to write anymore. It’s like writing a thesis statement; make it assertive, specific, and provable.

If you still have questions or doubts, ask Writing-Help writers for support. They’ll help you build an A-worthy claim for an essay.

References:

https://www.pvcc.edu/files/making_a_claim.pdf
https://lsa.umich.edu/content/dam/sweetland-assets/sweetland-documents/teachingresources/TeachingArgumentation/Supplement2_%20SixCommonTypesofClaim.pdf
https://students.tippie.uiowa.edu/sites/students.tippie.uiowa.edu/files/2022-05/effective_claims.pdf
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What Is a Claim in Writing? Definition, Types, & Examples

February 20, 2024
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What is a claim in writing, claim of fact, claim of value, claim of policy, types of writing with claims, examples of claims in writing, what is the difference between claims, opinions and facts, why do we use claims in writing, what is a counterclaim in writing, faqs on claim in writing, we also recommend.

When it comes to writing, making a claim is a crucial aspect of building a strong argument. But what exactly is a claim? Essentially, a claim is a statement that asserts a particular point or position on a specific topic. Claims serve as the foundation for persuasive writing and are essential for effectively making your case to your audience.

Understanding the different types of claims and how to effectively use them can greatly enhance the persuasiveness of your writing. Whether you are writing an essay, a research paper, or a persuasive speech, knowing how to craft strong claims is key to convincing your audience of your point of view.

In this article, we will explore the definition of a claim in writing, the various types of claims you can make, and provide examples to help you better understand how claims function in different contexts. By mastering the art of making compelling claims, you can elevate the quality of your writing and make a more convincing argument every time.

A claim in writing is the core argument defining an essay’s goal and direction. It’s assertive, debatable, and supported by evidence. Also, it is complex, specific, and detailed.

Think of a claim as a specific, debatable statement you, the writer, intend to prove or support. It’s the central argument in your essay, the core message of your blog post , and the foundation of your persuasive pitch. Unlike opinions, which are subjective beliefs without the burden of proof, claims demand justification. They’re the battle cry, the call to action, inviting your reader to join you on a quest for understanding and agreement.

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What Are The Types Of Claims In Writing?

There are three types of claims: claims of fact, claims of value, and claims of policy . Each type of claim focuses on a different aspect of a topic. To best participate in an argument, it is beneficial to understand the type of claim that is being argued.

A claim of fact declares the existence, current presence, or future occurrence of something measurable. The core issue within a factual claim revolves around the reasonableness of the stated fact. To put it differently, a claim of fact engages in a discussion about the accuracy or inaccuracy, validity or invalidity, truth or falsehood of the statement. When making such assertions, our reasoning typically progresses from the known to the unknown. Claims of fact also center on examining cause-and-effect relationships.

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A claim of value makes qualitative assessments of people, things, and events in one’s surroundings on a good-to-bad continuum. You have made a valuable claim if you formulate an opinion that says something is good, terrible, or superior to another. Claims of worth include things like “Indian food is the best food of all,” “The Wizard of Oz is the greatest movie of all time,” and “Snowboarding is the greatest way to spend a vacation.”

A claim of policy makes the assertion that someone should or shouldn’t do a certain action. It suggests that a certain course of action ought to be followed, however, it’s not a given that it will. The conditional verb “should,” which indicates that a certain action ought to be taken but not that it must or will be taken, is crucial when making a claim about policy. For example, “Students should read the assigned text material before the instructor lectures on it,” or “The United States should send a manned expedition to Mars.”

Here’s a list of the types of writing with claims:

Argumentative articles. Consider a controversial issue, proving it with evidence throughout your paper.
Literary analysis. Build a claim about a book, and use evidence from it to support your claim.
Research papers. Present a hypothesis and provide evidence to confirm or refute it.
Speeches. State a claim and persuade the audience that you’re right.
Persuasive essays and memos. State a thesis and use fact-based evidence to back it up..

What can you use as evidence in essays?

Facts and other data from relevant and respectful resources (no Wikipedia or other sources like this)
Primary research
Secondary research (science magazines’ articles, literature reviews, etc.)
Personal observation
Expert quotes (opinions)
Info from expert interviews

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Here’s a rundown of examples of claims based on types:

Here’s how claims differentiate themselves from their close cousins:

Opinions: These are personal beliefs, unsupported by evidence. Saying “Pizza is the best food ever” is an opinion, not a claim.
Facts: These are verifiable truths, independent of interpretation. “The Earth revolves around the Sun” is a fact, not a claim.
Claims: These are debatable propositions that require evidence to be convincing. “Eating spicy food boosts metabolism” is a claim, as it needs proof to be accepted.

All forms of writing rely on claims to maintain the interest of the reader, give characters more nuance and depth, and convey the author’s own viewpoint on the issues covered.

The objective of a claim in writing is to persuade the reader of anything. Claims drive the reader towards a specific solution, even when they may not agree with the author’s statement at first or may need more information to come to their own opinion. If a reader already concurs with an author’s assertion, the material offered just strengthens and validates the reader’s position.

Have you signed up on WritersGig? Check out How to Register as a Buyer or Writer on WritersGig

When someone presents an alternative argument to your claim, that is a counterclaim. Another word for a counterclaim is a rebuttal. When someone presents a counterclaim, they are making a claim of their own. It will be up to them to state their counterclaim, and then seek to back it up with evidence (just as you did when making the initial claim).

A claim is a statement that asserts a particular stance or viewpoint, while an opinion is a subjective expression of personal beliefs or preferences.

Make your claims more persuasive by providing clear evidence, avoiding overgeneralization, and addressing potential counterarguments.

Writers should be cautious when making claims without sufficient evidence or in areas where the topic is highly subjective and lacks objectivity.

It depends on the nature of the evidence and the claims. In some cases, a well-supported piece of evidence may contribute to multiple related claims.

Claims in writing showcase the diverse ways in which writers express their perspectives and influence their audience. Whether rooted in facts, values, or policies, claims form the bedrock of effective communication. Crafting and evaluating claims require a thoughtful approach, ensuring that writers engage their readers with clarity, evidence, and nuance.

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162 Creating Evidence-Based Claims

When we think about boiling down argumentation in composition to its most essential form, two key elements will usually pop up: claims and evidence. Your claim is similar to your thesis in that it can be your central argument and position, it can be the main idea/s present within your writing, it can reveal why you think your topic is interesting or important, what you think your topic reveals about something, and why you think your topic matters not only to yourself but to your audience. Your claim taps into what you are attempting to argue and/or what you’re going to be analyzing and exploring.

Evidence is naturally connected to a claim because your evidence is used to support, flesh out, and uphold that stance. Now most students might see this as quite obvious, but there are so many different layers to why and how evidence can be helpful and needed in what you create in a composition course.

Evidence establishes your credibility, it shows that you are not alone in having these thoughts about the topic you’re discussing or writing about, and thus lends credibility and legitimacy to the thing you are trying to prove/explore. Taking examples from a variety of sources helps to highlight the research and observations you engaged in showing off your newfound expertise, showing an academic approach, and showing that you spent time with your topic. Within that space, evidence usually isn’t just an off-the-cuff research response. Rather it comes from you learning and thinking about your topic and gaining information through different avenues, so that you have some authority to discuss what you’re talking about. It helps show an engagement with the ongoing conversation surrounding your topic; the other voices who have come before you to say something important about what you are discussing.

Evidence helps you move from having a casual opinion on something to a more actualized and layered consideration and understanding of a topic. That layering ties into the fact that evidence helps support more fully what you’re discussing, it can provide pertinent examples, provide specific and contextual details, and shows your audience exactly what you mean and why. It helps curb generalization and vagueness. When we think about avoiding generalization and adding detail and examples to our writing, evidence can help out with that. If you say “This is a widespread issue that needs to be fixed,” evidence can provide examples of what you mean when you say it’s a problem, and why is it an issue that should be stopped. You can give your readers tangible examples of what you mean, and give specific and contextual details to help flesh out what you are talking about. Evidence can help to answer for both you and your audience:

What has made your topic become what it is?
What was it like in the past as compared to what it is now? What led to that point?
The big So What Question: Why is it interesting? Why should anyone care? Why is this information important? Why does it matter?
What do the data, the facts, the statistics, and the information reveal or imply about the topic? What are the consequences of these implications?
How is this idea related to my thesis? What connections exist between them? Does it support my thesis? If so, how does it do that?
What examples do I have that illustrate this point?
What are the conversations that others have about my topic, about my claim, about my point of view?

Evidence is also related to the three rhetorical appeals of ethos, logos, and pathos. If you’ll recall, ethos is based on character and authority, pathos is based on emotion, belief, and values, and logos is based on making a clear and reasonable case. You can utilize all these appeals in your writing and one of the best ways to do so is by finding research that taps into those descriptions.

But don’t forget about feelings in your evidence, both your own and your audience’s. What type of bodily reaction will your research elicit? Do you want your audience to feel and see your credibility or the credibility of your evidence? Do you want your audience to see and recognize and follow your line of thinking by providing them with content and evidence that is rational, sensible, and logically based? Do you want them to feel a certain emotion…sadness, anger, frustration, joy, or amusement? Do you want to call your audience into action? Do you want them to feel like they learned something?

Connectedly, How do you feel about your own engagement with evidence? What thoughts or feelings did you have when reading or listening to or watching your pieces of research? It can sometimes be highly effective for yourself and your audience to identify and understand the situation, feelings, or activities being described and depicted. Our senses (sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch, and intuition can be sources of information and evidence and help us to convince, connect with, and inform our audiences.

Contextualizing your Evidence:

After you introduce evidence into your writing, you must say why and how this evidence supports your argument. In other words, you have to explain the significance of the evidence and its function in your paper. What turns “a fact or piece of information into evidence is the connection it has with a larger claim or argument: evidence is always evidence for or against something, and you have to make that link clear” (“Evidence”).

Try incorporating analytical, “writerly” cue words such as reveals, implies, highlights, shows, symbolizes, proves, illustrates, signifies, epitomizes, illuminates, etc. For example:

The arguments presented in this article reveal that…
This research study proves that…
This example illustrates the problem with…

Moreover, utilize terminology such as interesting, significant, controversial, strange, revealing, imperative, vital, enlightening, curious, thought-provoking, etc. This will help you analyze your articles beyond just summarizing them. This will also help you in trying to explain why your evidence matters and/or help to prove your claim/s. For example:

These statistics and arguments are imperative in understanding this topic because…
This point is interesting because it reveals how…
This stance might be considered controversial because…
This story helps to illuminate the reality of…

Practice Activity

Let’s dive into a more specific example by looking at three sections of a student’s Profile of a Place essay (the bolded sections help highlight the claim and the piece of evidence that supports/proves that claim)

The Old Main Building at Texas Woman’s University (TWU), originally called The Girls Industrial College, was the first building constructed on the campus. It was built in 1903, and for many years, it was the only building that was used for educational purposes (Smith). It was founded in order for women to access a variety of programs that were not offered before the building was built, s o the Old Main Building played an important role in the availability of higher education for women in the North Texas area. As claimed by the Denton County Historical Markers, the first classes on campus began on September 23, 1903, including 186 students and 14 faculty members (“The First Building of Texas Woman’s University”). Although in the present there are other buildings meeting the educational programs and needs previously provided in the Old Main Building, it feels great to look back at how so many students have been successful learning within the walls of this very old building.

Upon entering the building, the next aspect I noticed was the Women’s Leadership Hall, which is located on the first floor and truly shows the significance of women earning their access to higher education. There is a poster of Minnie Fisher Cunningham present when you enter through the main entrance. She was one of the women who fought for women’s right to vote. She first worked as a pharmacist but realized that the men were getting paid twice as much as she was. Cunningham knew she had to fight for the rights of women (“Texas Originals”). It is so inspirational to see a poster of her as a reminder that we need to be doing our best to help ourselves as well as for the good of others surrounding us.

I feel proud to be a part of TWU, especially after going into this first building on campus. As pioneers, it helps us to be more confident and to believe that someday we might be pioneers in the fields we decide to work in. I walked around the building, to ask how the students who utilize this building on a daily basis interact with this space and to see how they felt about studying here. One of the students whom I spoke with, who is majoring in fashion design, described them being here as feeling “empowered” (Tammy). Another student I interviewed said that “coming here makes me feel more proud” (Mirali). Being a part of this community and being able to learn at the first building at TWU provides a “strong” connection (Tammy) to our roots and the history of women earning rights for equality.

Observations to Consider:

Notice how when the student makes a claim, for example: How the “Women’s Leadership Hall…truly shows the significance of women earning their access to higher education. They then prove and explore that claim with evidence: the presentation of the poster and story of Minnie Fisher.
Notice how when the student needs to provide contextual, helpful background information they do so with evidence. For example, setting up how the Old Main Building was the first building constructed on the campus and providing specific dates, “1903,” specific details how many students and faculty members there were, and context: “for many years, it was the only building that was used for educational purposes,”
Notice how the student calls forth how the building makes them and others feel, which helps to prove their overall claim of how important and integral the Old Main Building is for TWU and learning. For example, the claim is that the building helps pioneers “be more confident and to believe that someday we might be pioneers in the fields we decide to work in.” They then prove that claim with student interviews showing how the building makes them feel “empowered” and “proud.”

Questions to Consider:

How does the student use outside sources, observations, and interviews to help enhance and support their claims?
Do you think these pieces of evidence help flesh out and prove the points on display? Why or why not?

Helpful Video to Watch:

How To Write An Essay: Evidence and Citation

A Note on Sources as Evidence:

For the most part, evidence is usually acquired through research and acquiring and consuming the writings, creations, words, data, and information of others to

Professional, academic sources are those that have been deemed to have authority on the subject that they are talking about. You need to make sure your outside sources are credible and that the person who authored/created them is credible as well. That the person or persons or organization that created the source is a professional in the subject that they are writing about, has done the research themselves, uses and quote and properly cite other outside sources, relies on logic and facts and statistics and analysis and critical thinking, and carries a professional and open-minded tone. That tone includes acknowledging one’s bias, or even admitting that their position isn’t the end all be all and that uncertainty and grey areas can exist. Library databases are usually seen as the most valid way of finding credible information due to the fact that in order to be published in academic journals you have to have proper credentials and the information that is being presented has been through a rigorous screening and revision process. Many instructors only want their students to use database sources because they deem it the only way to really find valid sources. However, there are many different ways to find authoritative sources that move beyond using library databases (though it is always a nice place to start or come back to). These include accredited newspapers, magazines, professional organizations, some TedTalks, some podcasts, interviewing people who are either an expert on your topic or are directly impacted and involved in it, some YouTube or video resources, some documentaries, academics, and experts blogging, etc. But again, you should never take anything you read (even from legitimate news sources) at face value and must always be willing to look at your sources analytically and investigative-ally.

Here is a breakdown of scholarly vs popular sources:

Popular and Scholarly Sources: The Information Cycle

You usually want to avoid invalid or “unprofessional” sources. Those are sources that are written or presented by unprofessional, reactionary, untrained, unaccredited people/organizations. Sources that are clearly biased, simply provide speculation, are delivered via clickbait, etc. This can come in the form of biased news media companies, opinion-based only news media companies, blogs, dodgy, random list-like websites, random Facebook pop-ups, hyperbolic or salacious headline-grabbing articles, Tumblr or Reddit posts or Twitter threads that come from amateurs, influencers, etc.

Here is a breakdown of primary and secondary sources:

Quoting vs. paraphrasing.

You have to remember that every time you use outside information (your evidence), or an idea/fact/anecdote that you found on the internet or your other sources, you need to cite that in some way whether it be an in-text citation, integrating authorial information in the sentence, or embedding hyperlinks or footnotes.

That means that even if you are not directly quoting and you just use the spirit or the wording or the idea of the source, you still have to cite it.

Paraphrasing means that you are not directly quoting something you are putting a source in your own words. This does not mean that you simply change a few words of a sentence and put a synonym in its place. It means you are analyzing and interpreting and reporting what the author/outside source is saying in a completely different way that is unique to your style of writing and thought processes. It is you being able to understand what you have read and communicate that knowledge to a reader or audience or person.

It is also important to remember that it is not appropriate to quote an entire paragraph. If you quote, say, 8 sentences in a row of a source, you are taking authority away from your writing and relying too heavily on other authors to do the talking for you. This is your essay, not the authors of your research essay. Therefore, you have to do most of the writing. You have to be the one that constructs your essay and you have to be the one to prove your points. Quotes are meant to enhance your argument/essay, not do it for you. Quotes are meant to either serve as a means for you to bounce off the ideas of the people you are citing and/or serve as eloquent examples to do what you are trying to say and prove or even refute. This is important to keep in mind when you paraphrase as well. Your essay should not be just one long paraphrase of another source.

Here are 6 Steps to Effective Paraphrasing as suggested by Purdue Owl:

Reread the original passage until you understand its full meaning.
Set the original aside, and write your paraphrase on a notecard.
Jot down a few words below your paraphrase to remind you later how you envision using this material. At the top of the note card, write a key word or phrase to indicate the subject of your paraphrase.
Check your rendition with the original to make sure that your version accurately expresses all the essential information in a new form.
Use quotation marks to identify any unique term or phraseology you have borrowed exactly from the source.
Record the source (including the page) on your note card so that you can credit it easily if you decide to incorporate the material into your paper.

To Conclude:

Using evidence and research within your writing helps establish your credibility and build support and fleshed-out reasoning for your claims
You need to make sure that this evidence is well-researched and from professional and authoritative sources
You will integrate and contextualize your evidence in both a citational and analytical way.

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Organizing Your Argument

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How can I effectively present my argument?

In order for your argument to be persuasive, it must use an organizational structure that the audience perceives as both logical and easy to parse. Three argumentative methods —the Toulmin Method , Classical Method , and Rogerian Method — give guidance for how to organize the points in an argument.

Note that these are only three of the most popular models for organizing an argument. Alternatives exist. Be sure to consult your instructor and/or defer to your assignment’s directions if you’re unsure which to use (if any).

Toulmin Method

The Toulmin Method is a formula that allows writers to build a sturdy logical foundation for their arguments. First proposed by author Stephen Toulmin in The Uses of Argument (1958), the Toulmin Method emphasizes building a thorough support structure for each of an argument's key claims.

The basic format for the Toulmin Method is as follows:

Claim: In this section, you explain your overall thesis on the subject. In other words, you make your main argument.

Data (Grounds): You should use evidence to support the claim. In other words, provide the reader with facts that prove your argument is strong.

Warrant (Bridge): In this section, you explain why or how your data supports the claim. As a result, the underlying assumption that you build your argument on is grounded in reason.

Backing (Foundation): Here, you provide any additional logic or reasoning that may be necessary to support the warrant.

Counterclaim: You should anticipate a counterclaim that negates the main points in your argument. Don't avoid arguments that oppose your own. Instead, become familiar with the opposing perspective. If you respond to counterclaims, you appear unbiased (and, therefore, you earn the respect of your readers). You may even want to include several counterclaims to show that you have thoroughly researched the topic.

Rebuttal: In this section, you incorporate your own evidence that disagrees with the counterclaim. It is essential to include a thorough warrant or bridge to strengthen your essay’s argument. If you present data to your audience without explaining how it supports your thesis, your readers may not make a connection between the two, or they may draw different conclusions.

Example of the Toulmin Method:

Claim: Hybrid cars are an effective strategy to fight pollution.

Data1: Driving a private car is a typical citizen's most air-polluting activity.

Warrant 1: Due to the fact that cars are the largest source of private (as opposed to industrial) air pollution, switching to hybrid cars should have an impact on fighting pollution.

Data 2: Each vehicle produced is going to stay on the road for roughly 12 to 15 years.

Warrant 2: Cars generally have a long lifespan, meaning that the decision to switch to a hybrid car will make a long-term impact on pollution levels.

Data 3: Hybrid cars combine a gasoline engine with a battery-powered electric motor.

Warrant 3: The combination of these technologies produces less pollution.

Counterclaim: Instead of focusing on cars, which still encourages an inefficient culture of driving even as it cuts down on pollution, the nation should focus on building and encouraging the use of mass transit systems.

Rebuttal: While mass transit is an idea that should be encouraged, it is not feasible in many rural and suburban areas, or for people who must commute to work. Thus, hybrid cars are a better solution for much of the nation's population.

Rogerian Method

The Rogerian Method (named for, but not developed by, influential American psychotherapist Carl R. Rogers) is a popular method for controversial issues. This strategy seeks to find a common ground between parties by making the audience understand perspectives that stretch beyond (or even run counter to) the writer’s position. Moreso than other methods, it places an emphasis on reiterating an opponent's argument to his or her satisfaction. The persuasive power of the Rogerian Method lies in its ability to define the terms of the argument in such a way that:

your position seems like a reasonable compromise.
you seem compassionate and empathetic.

The basic format of the Rogerian Method is as follows:

Introduction: Introduce the issue to the audience, striving to remain as objective as possible.

Opposing View : Explain the other side’s position in an unbiased way. When you discuss the counterargument without judgement, the opposing side can see how you do not directly dismiss perspectives which conflict with your stance.

Statement of Validity (Understanding): This section discusses how you acknowledge how the other side’s points can be valid under certain circumstances. You identify how and why their perspective makes sense in a specific context, but still present your own argument.

Statement of Your Position: By this point, you have demonstrated that you understand the other side’s viewpoint. In this section, you explain your own stance.

Statement of Contexts : Explore scenarios in which your position has merit. When you explain how your argument is most appropriate for certain contexts, the reader can recognize that you acknowledge the multiple ways to view the complex issue.

Statement of Benefits: You should conclude by explaining to the opposing side why they would benefit from accepting your position. By explaining the advantages of your argument, you close on a positive note without completely dismissing the other side’s perspective.

Example of the Rogerian Method:

Introduction: The issue of whether children should wear school uniforms is subject to some debate.

Opposing View: Some parents think that requiring children to wear uniforms is best.

Statement of Validity (Understanding): Those parents who support uniforms argue that, when all students wear the same uniform, the students can develop a unified sense of school pride and inclusiveness.

Statement of Your Position : Students should not be required to wear school uniforms. Mandatory uniforms would forbid choices that allow students to be creative and express themselves through clothing.

Statement of Contexts: However, even if uniforms might hypothetically promote inclusivity, in most real-life contexts, administrators can use uniform policies to enforce conformity. Students should have the option to explore their identity through clothing without the fear of being ostracized.

Statement of Benefits: Though both sides seek to promote students' best interests, students should not be required to wear school uniforms. By giving students freedom over their choice, students can explore their self-identity by choosing how to present themselves to their peers.

Classical Method

The Classical Method of structuring an argument is another common way to organize your points. Originally devised by the Greek philosopher Aristotle (and then later developed by Roman thinkers like Cicero and Quintilian), classical arguments tend to focus on issues of definition and the careful application of evidence. Thus, the underlying assumption of classical argumentation is that, when all parties understand the issue perfectly, the correct course of action will be clear.

The basic format of the Classical Method is as follows:

Introduction (Exordium): Introduce the issue and explain its significance. You should also establish your credibility and the topic’s legitimacy.

Statement of Background (Narratio): Present vital contextual or historical information to the audience to further their understanding of the issue. By doing so, you provide the reader with a working knowledge about the topic independent of your own stance.

Proposition (Propositio): After you provide the reader with contextual knowledge, you are ready to state your claims which relate to the information you have provided previously. This section outlines your major points for the reader.

Proof (Confirmatio): You should explain your reasons and evidence to the reader. Be sure to thoroughly justify your reasons. In this section, if necessary, you can provide supplementary evidence and subpoints.

Refutation (Refuatio): In this section, you address anticipated counterarguments that disagree with your thesis. Though you acknowledge the other side’s perspective, it is important to prove why your stance is more logical.

Conclusion (Peroratio): You should summarize your main points. The conclusion also caters to the reader’s emotions and values. The use of pathos here makes the reader more inclined to consider your argument.

Example of the Classical Method:

Introduction (Exordium): Millions of workers are paid a set hourly wage nationwide. The federal minimum wage is standardized to protect workers from being paid too little. Research points to many viewpoints on how much to pay these workers. Some families cannot afford to support their households on the current wages provided for performing a minimum wage job .

Statement of Background (Narratio): Currently, millions of American workers struggle to make ends meet on a minimum wage. This puts a strain on workers’ personal and professional lives. Some work multiple jobs to provide for their families.

Proposition (Propositio): The current federal minimum wage should be increased to better accommodate millions of overworked Americans. By raising the minimum wage, workers can spend more time cultivating their livelihoods.

Proof (Confirmatio): According to the United States Department of Labor, 80.4 million Americans work for an hourly wage, but nearly 1.3 million receive wages less than the federal minimum. The pay raise will alleviate the stress of these workers. Their lives would benefit from this raise because it affects multiple areas of their lives.

Refutation (Refuatio): There is some evidence that raising the federal wage might increase the cost of living. However, other evidence contradicts this or suggests that the increase would not be great. Additionally, worries about a cost of living increase must be balanced with the benefits of providing necessary funds to millions of hardworking Americans.

Conclusion (Peroratio): If the federal minimum wage was raised, many workers could alleviate some of their financial burdens. As a result, their emotional wellbeing would improve overall. Though some argue that the cost of living could increase, the benefits outweigh the potential drawbacks.

Developing Strong Claims

After having analyzed evidence, a writer can produce a strong claim about the evidence for his or her readers. In other words, the point of analysis is to produce strong claims . But what makes a claim strong?

A strong claim is:

debatable: is not a fact but can be right or wrong; potential counterarguments exist.
derived from and supported by analysis of relevant evidence.
specific: uses key terms and strong verbs to offer a viewpoint on narrowly defined subjects.
insightful: offers new, unexpected, or not-obvious ways of seeing or understanding a subject; it goes beyond obvious or common interpretations.

Using the criteria for a strong claim, review the following and identify which of the sentences you think makes a strong claim and why.

Which of the two following claims are stronger? Why do you think that is a strong claim and that the other is a weak claim?

Claim 1: I don’t get why people like this movie; it’s bad.
Claim 2: Although the movie is memorable because of its unique plot, it does not succeed as a horror film because there are too few moments that produce terror in viewers.

Of these sentences, which do you think is the strongest claim? Why? Why are the other sentences not strong claims?

Claim 1: Crime rates have increased in recent years.
Claim 2: Violence on television is responsible for increased crime.
Claim 3: Increased crime rates in recent years are a serious cause for alarm.
Claim 4: Although many have argued that the argument is oversimplified, new data suggests that violence on television is responsible for increased crime.
Claim 1: World War II was an extremely violent war and may have been the most violent war in history.
Claim 2: It was my study of World War II that led me to reevaluate my conception of violence.
Claim 3: Despite its violence, World War II was a just war.
Claim 4: Violence can be justified only by a callous balancing of violence against violence—I can murder you, only if you planned to murder others.
Claim 5: Violence can be justified.

Of these sentences, which do you think is the strongest claim? Are any of the sentences claims?

Claim 1: I combated the stereotypes in part by trying to disprove them.
Claim 2: I was keenly aware of the unflattering mythologies that attach to Asian Americans: the we are indelibly foreign, exotic, math and science geeks, numbers people rather than people, followers and not leaders, physically frail, but devious and sneaky, unknowable and potentially treacherous.
Claim 3: The irony is that in working so duteously to defy stereotype, I became a slave to it. For to act self-consciously against Asian “tendencies” is not to break loose from the cage of myth and legend; it is to turn the very key that locks you inside.
Claim 4: There was a time when assimilation did not quite strictly mean whitening.
Claim 5: To be sure, something is lost in any migration, whether from place to place or from class to class. But something is gained as well.

Writing About Literature Copyright © by Rachael Benavidez and Kimberley Garcia is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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April 28, 2024

What Is a Claim in Writing? Craft Compelling Arguments

Julia mccoy.

Creator and Co-founder

What is a claim in writing?

A claim is the core of your argument, the main point you’re trying to make in your written piece. It’s not just a statement of fact but a debatable position that requires evidence to back it up.

And here’s the key: a strong claim is specific, focused, and relevant to your audience.

Let’s dive in and explore what makes a powerful claim in writing. You’ll get a crash course on what makes up good content, peek at successful cases out there, and pick up tips that make your writing stick with whoever reads it.

By the end, you’ll have the tools you need to make your arguments more compelling than ever before.

Finally, we have policy claims . These are claims that argue for a specific course of action, like “The government should provide free healthcare for all citizens.” Policy claims often involve weighing the pros and cons of different options and making a case for why one choice is better than the others.

Types of Claims in Writing

Alright, let’s dive a little deeper into the different types of claims you might encounter in your writing.

Factual claims are claims that can be proven or disproven with evidence. These claims are often used in scientific or historical writing.

An example of a factual claim might be “The Great Wall of China is over 13,000 miles long.” This claim can be fact-checked using reliable sources like history books or official measurements.

It’s important to note that even factual claims can be debated if there is conflicting evidence or differing interpretations of the facts. That’s why it’s crucial to always back up your claims with credible sources and data.

Value claims are all about making a judgment or evaluation about something. These claims often involve words like “good,” “bad,” “better,” or “worse.”

For example, let’s say you’re writing an essay about the best pizza toppings. A value claim might be something like “Pineapple is the worst pizza topping because it’s too sweet and ruins the savory flavor of the cheese and sauce.”

Notice how this claim is making a judgment about pineapple as a pizza topping. It’s not just stating a fact, but rather arguing that pineapple is inferior to other toppings based on the writer’s taste preferences.

Policy claims, on the other hand, argue for a specific course of action or solution to a problem. These claims often propose a change to the current way of doing things.

For instance, a policy claim might be “Schools should start later in the day to allow students to get more sleep and improve their academic performance.”

This claim advocates for a change in school start times based on the idea that more sleep will lead to better grades. The writer would need to provide evidence to support this claim, such as studies showing the link between sleep and academic success.

So when you’re writing your next essay or research paper, take a moment to think about what type of claim you’re making. Is it a value claim, arguing for the superiority of one thing over another? A policy claim, proposing a solution to a problem? Or a factual claim, stating a verifiable truth?

Identifying the type of claim you’re making can help you structure your argument and find the most relevant evidence to support it. And who knows – maybe you’ll even come up with an original claim that changes the way people think about your topic.

How to Make a Strong Claim in Your Writing

Now that we’ve covered the different types of claims, let’s talk about how to actually craft a strong claim in your writing.

The first step to making a strong claim is to develop a clear thesis statement. Your thesis is essentially your main claim – the overarching argument you’re trying to make in your essay.

Your thesis should be specific, debatable, and supported by evidence. It should also be concise and to the point.

Avoid vague or overly broad statements like “Social media is bad.” Instead, try something more specific like “Social media use can lead to increased feelings of loneliness and depression in teenagers.”

Once you have your main claim or thesis, you’ll want to use topic sentences to introduce and support your sub-claims throughout your essay.

A topic sentence is like a mini-thesis for each paragraph. It states the main point you’ll be discussing in that paragraph and ties it back to your overall claim.

For example, if your thesis is about the negative effects of social media on teenagers, one of your topic sentences might be “Social media can cause teenagers to feel isolated from their peers, leading to increased feelings of loneliness.”

Of course, a claim is only as strong as the evidence that backs it up. That’s why it’s crucial to provide plenty of supporting details and examples to prove your point.

This evidence can come in many forms such as statistics, expert opinions, anecdotes, or real-life examples. The key is to choose evidence that is relevant, credible, and persuasive.

For instance, to support the claim that social media can lead to loneliness in teenagers, you might cite a study showing a correlation between social media use and feelings of isolation. Or you might share a personal story about a friend who became depressed after spending too much time on Instagram.

Finally, to make your claim even stronger, it’s a good idea to address potential counterarguments. This shows that you’ve considered other perspectives and have a well-rounded understanding of the issue.

To address counterarguments, you might acknowledge them briefly and then refute them with evidence.

For example, “Some people might argue that social media helps teenagers connect with friends, but studies have shown that excessive use can actually lead to feelings of disconnection.”

By addressing counterarguments, you show that your claim is nuanced and well-supported, rather than one-sided or simplistic.

Examples of Effective Claims in Writing

Sometimes the best way to understand how to write a strong claim is to see some examples in action. Let’s take a look at a few effective claims from different types of writing.

When you’re writing a literary analysis, your claim will typically be about the deeper meaning or themes of the work.

For example, a claim about The Great Gatsby might be “The novel critiques the hollowness and superficiality of the American Dream.” This claim goes beyond just summarizing the plot and instead makes an argument about the book’s underlying message.

To support this claim, you might point to examples of characters who pursue wealth and status at the expense of genuine happiness, or the way the novel portrays the emptiness of the upper-class lifestyle.

In a persuasive essay, your claim will be the main argument you’re trying to convince your reader to agree with.

For instance, a claim in a persuasive essay about school uniforms might be “School uniforms can help reduce bullying and promote a sense of unity among students.” This claim takes a clear stance on the issue and aims to persuade the reader to support school uniforms.

To back up this claim, you might cite studies showing a decrease in bullying incidents at schools with uniform policies, or anecdotes from students who feel more included and less judged based on their clothing choices.

In a research paper, your claim will typically be your thesis statement – the main argument or hypothesis you’re setting out to prove with your research.

For example, a claim in a psychology research paper might be “Mindfulness meditation can be an effective treatment for anxiety disorders.” This claim sets up the expectation that the rest of the paper will present evidence and arguments to support the effectiveness of mindfulness meditation.

To support this claim, you might cite studies showing the benefits of mindfulness for anxiety symptoms, or compare the effectiveness of mindfulness to other common anxiety treatments like medication or therapy.

Don’t be afraid to take a strong stance and make an argument, but always be prepared to back it up with facts and examples.

So, what is a claim in writing? It’s the backbone of your argument, the central point you’re trying to prove.

A strong claim is clear, specific, and supported by solid evidence. It engages your audience and persuades them to see things from your perspective.

We’ve broken down the nuts and bolts of how to make a strong claim in your writing – pinpointing a laser-focused thesis while bravely confronting those contrary opinions along the way. You’ve seen real-world examples of claims in action, from literary analysis to persuasive essays.

Armed with this knowledge, you’re ready to craft claims that pack a punch. Remember, a compelling claim is just the beginning. It’s up to you to build a case that’s impossible to ignore.

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Sat / act prep online guides and tips, 50 great argumentative essay topics for any assignment.

General Education

At some point, you’re going to be asked to write an argumentative essay. An argumentative essay is exactly what it sounds like—an essay in which you’ll be making an argument, using examples and research to back up your point.

But not all argumentative essay topics are created equal. Not only do you have to structure your essay right to have a good impact on the reader, but even your choice of subject can impact how readers feel about your work.

In this article, we’ll cover the basics of writing argumentative essays, including what argumentative essays are, how to write a good one, and how to pick a topic that works for you. Then check out a list of argumentative essay ideas to help you get started.

What Is an Argumentative Essay?

An argumentative essay is one that makes an argument through research. These essays take a position and support it through evidence, but, unlike many other kinds of essays, they are interested in expressing a specific argument supported by research and evidence.

A good argumentative essay will be based on established or new research rather than only on your thoughts and feelings. Imagine that you’re trying to get your parents to raise your allowance, and you can offer one of two arguments in your favor:

You should raise my allowance because I want you to.

You should raise my allowance because I’ve been taking on more chores without complaining.

The first argument is based entirely in feelings without any factual backup, whereas the second is based on evidence that can be proven. Your parents are more likely to respond positively to the second argument because it demonstrates that you have done something to earn the increased allowance. Similarly, a well-researched and reasoned argument will show readers that your point has a basis in fact, not just feelings.

The standard five-paragraph essay is common in writing argumentative essays, but it’s not the only way to write one. An argumentative essay is typically written in one of two formats, the Toulmin model or the Rogerian model.

The Toulmin model is the most common, comprised of an introduction with a claim (otherwise known as a thesis), with data to support it. This style of essay will also include rebuttals, helping to strengthen your argument by anticipating counterarguments.

The Rogerian model analyzes two sides of an argument and reaches a conclusion after weighing the strengths and weaknesses of each.

Both essay styles rely on well-reasoned logic and supporting evidence to prove a point, just in two different ways.

The important thing to note about argumentative essays as opposed to other kinds of essays is that they aim to argue a specific point rather than to explain something or to tell a story. While they may have some things in common with analytical essays, the primary difference is in their objective—an argumentative essay aims to convince someone of something, whereas an analytical essay contextualizes a topic with research.

What Makes a Good Argumentative Essay?

To write an effective argumentative essay, you need to know what a good one looks like. In addition to a solid structure, you’ll need an argument, a strong thesis, and solid research.

An Argument

Unlike other forms of essays, you are trying to convince your reader of something. You’re not just teaching them a concept or demonstrating an idea—you’re constructing an argument to change the readers’ thinking.

You’ll need to develop a good argument, which encompasses not just your main point, but also all the pieces that make it up.

Think beyond what you are saying and include how you’re saying it. How will you take an idea and turn it into a complex and well thought out argument that is capable of changing somebody’s mind?

A Strong Thesis

The thesis is the core of your argument. What specific message are you trying to get across? State that message in one sentence, and that will be your thesis.

This is the foundation on which your essay is built, so it needs to be strong and well-reasoned. You need to be able to expand on it with facts and sources, not just feelings.

A good argumentative essay isn’t just based on your individual thoughts, but research. That can be citing sources and other arguments or it can mean direct research in the field, depending on what your argument is and the context in which you are arguing it.

Be prepared to back your thesis up with reporting from scientific journals, newspapers, or other forms of research. Having well-researched sources will help support your argument better than hearsay or assumptions. If you can’t find enough research to back up your point, it’s worth reconsidering your thesis or conducting original research, if possible.

How to Come Up With an Argumentative Essay Topic

Sometimes you may find yourself arguing things you don’t necessarily believe. That’s totally fine—you don’t actually have to wholeheartedly believe in what you’re arguing in order to construct a compelling argument.

However, if you have free choice of topic, it’s a good idea to pick something you feel strongly about. There are two key components to a good argumentative essay: a strong stance, and an assortment of evidence. If you’re interested and feel passionate about the topic you choose, you'll have an easier time finding evidence to support it, but it's the evidence that's most important.

So, to choose a topic, think about things you feel strongly about, whether positively or negatively. You can make a list of ideas and narrow those down to a handful of things, then expand on those ideas with a few potential points you want to hit on.

For example, say you’re trying to decide whether you should write about how your neighborhood should ban weed killer, that your school’s lunch should be free for all students, or that the school day should be cut by one hour. To decide between these ideas, you can make a list of three to five points for each that cover the different evidence you could use to support each point.

For the weed killer ban, you could say that weed killer has been proven to have adverse impacts on bees, that there are simple, natural alternatives, and that weeds aren’t actually bad to have around. For the free lunch idea, you could suggest that some students have to go hungry because they can’t afford lunch, that funds could be diverted from other places to support free lunch, and that other items, like chips or pizza, could be sold to help make up lost revenue. And for the school day length example, you could argue that teenagers generally don’t get enough sleep, that you have too much homework and not enough time to do it, and that teenagers don’t spend enough time with their families.

You might find as you make these lists that some of them are stronger than others. The more evidence you have and the stronger you feel that that evidence is, the better the topic. Of course, if you feel that one topic may have more evidence but you’d rather not write about it, it’s okay to pick another topic instead. When you’re making arguments, it can be much easier to find strong points and evidence if you feel passionate about our topic than if you don't.

50 Argumentative Essay Topic Ideas

If you’re struggling to come up with topics on your own, read through this list of argumentative essay topics to help get you started!

Should fracking be legal?
Should parents be able to modify their unborn children?
Do GMOs help or harm people?
Should vaccinations be required for students to attend public school?
Should world governments get involved in addressing climate change?
Should Facebook be allowed to collect data from its users?
Should self-driving cars be legal?
Is it ethical to replace human workers with automation?
Should there be laws against using cell phones while driving?
Has the internet positively or negatively impacted human society?

Should college athletes be paid for being on sports teams?
Should coaches and players make the same amount of money?
Should sports be segregated by gender?
Should the concept of designated hitters in baseball be abolished?
Should US sports take soccer more seriously?
Should religious organizations have to pay taxes?
Should religious clubs be allowed in schools?
Should “one nation under God” be in the pledge of allegiance?
Should religion be taught in schools?
Should clergy be allowed to marry?
Should minors be able to purchase birth control without parental consent?
Should the US switch to single-payer healthcare?
Should assisted suicide be legal?
Should dietary supplements and weight loss items like teas be allowed to advertise through influencers?
Should doctors be allowed to promote medicines?

Government/Politics

Is the electoral college an effective system for modern America?
Should Puerto Rico become a state?
Should voter registration be automatic?
Should people in prison be allowed to vote?
Should Supreme Court justices be elected?
Should sex work be legalized?
Should Columbus Day be replaced with Indigenous Peoples’ Day?
Should the death penalty be legal?
Should animal testing be allowed?
Should drug possession be decriminalized?

Should unpaid internships be legal?
Should minimum wage be increased?
Should monopolies be allowed?
Is universal basic income a good idea?
Should corporations have a higher or lower tax rate?
Are school uniforms a good idea?
Should PE affect a student’s grades?
Should college be free?
Should Greek life in colleges be abolished?
Should students be taught comprehensive sex ed?

Arts/Culture

Should graffiti be considered art or vandalism?
Should books with objectionable words be banned?
Should content on YouTube be better regulated?
Is art education important?
Should art and music sharing online be allowed?

How to Argue Effectively

A strong argument isn’t just about having a good point. If you can’t support that point well, your argument falls apart.

One of the most important things you can do in writing a strong argumentative essay is organizing well. Your essay should have a distinct beginning, middle, and end, better known as the introduction, body and opposition, and conclusion.

This example follows the Toulmin model—if your essay follows the Rogerian model, the same basic premise is true, but your thesis will instead propose two conflicting viewpoints that will be resolved through evidence in the body, with your conclusion choosing the stronger of the two arguments.

Introduction

Your hook should draw the reader’s interest immediately. Questions are a common way of getting interest, as well as evocative language or a strong statistic

Don’t assume that your audience is already familiar with your topic. Give them some background information, such as a brief history of the issue or some additional context.

Your thesis is the crux of your argument. In an argumentative essay, your thesis should be clearly outlined so that readers know exactly what point you’ll be making. Don’t explain all your evidence in the opening, but do take a strong stance and make it clear what you’ll be discussing.

Your claims are the ideas you’ll use to support your thesis. For example, if you’re writing about how your neighborhood shouldn’t use weed killer, your claim might be that it’s bad for the environment. But you can’t just say that on its own—you need evidence to support it.

Evidence is the backbone of your argument. This can be things you glean from scientific studies, newspaper articles, or your own research. You might cite a study that says that weed killer has an adverse effect on bees, or a newspaper article that discusses how one town eliminated weed killer and saw an increase in water quality. These kinds of hard evidence support your point with demonstrable facts, strengthening your argument.

In your essay, you want to think about how the opposition would respond to your claims and respond to them. Don’t pick the weakest arguments, either— figure out what other people are saying and respond to those arguments with clearly reasoned arguments.

Demonstrating that you not only understand the opposition’s point, but that your argument is strong enough to withstand it, is one of the key pieces to a successful argumentative essay.

Conclusions are a place to clearly restate your original point, because doing so will remind readers exactly what you’re arguing and show them how well you’ve argued that point.

Summarize your main claims by restating them, though you don’t need to bring up the evidence again. This helps remind readers of everything you’ve said throughout the essay.

End by suggesting a picture of a world in which your argument and action are ignored. This increases the impact of your argument and leaves a lasting impression on the reader.

A strong argumentative essay is one with good structure and a strong argument , but there are a few other things you can keep in mind to further strengthen your point.

When you’re crafting an argument, it can be easy to get distracted by all the information and complications in your argument. It’s important to stay focused—be clear in your thesis and home in on claims that directly support that thesis.

Be Rational

It’s important that your claims and evidence be based in facts, not just opinion. That’s why it’s important to use reliable sources based in science and reporting—otherwise, it’s easy for people to debunk your arguments.

Don’t rely solely on your feelings about the topic. If you can’t back a claim up with real evidence, it leaves room for counterarguments you may not anticipate. Make sure that you can support everything you say with clear and concrete evidence, and your claims will be a lot stronger!

What’s Next?

No matter what kind of essay you're writing, a strong plan will help you have a bigger impact. This guide to writing a college essay is a great way to get started on your essay organizing journey!

Brushing up on your essay format knowledge to prep for the SAT? Check out this list of SAT essay prompts to help you kickstart your studying!

A bunch of great essay examples can help you aspire to greatness, but bad essays can also be a warning for what not to do. This guide to bad college essays will help you better understand common mistakes to avoid in essay writing!

Melissa Brinks graduated from the University of Washington in 2014 with a Bachelor's in English with a creative writing emphasis. She has spent several years tutoring K-12 students in many subjects, including in SAT prep, to help them prepare for their college education.

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Vince Perez claims victory in Texas House District 77 primary runoff

Former El Paso County Commissioner Vince Perez has claimed an apparent victory in the Democratic primary runoff election for the Texas House District 77 seat.

In a low turnout race, Perez garnered 4,853 votes (64%) compared to 2,742 (36%) for his opponent, former state Rep. Norma Chavez, according to the third round of election night results from the El Paso County Elections Department. With no Republican standing in the way on the Nov. 5 General Election ballot, Perez has essentially claimed the seat.

"I'm just immensely grateful to the voters," he said during an election night watch party at Old Sheepdog Brewery in Central El Paso. "This was really quite the campaign ... people were receptive and heard our message."

Super Tuesday saw the two candidates topple former El Paso city Rep. Alexsandra Annello and businessman Homer Reza to advance to the May runoff.

Perez's election caps off a somewhat contentious campaign between he and Chavez, who pulled no punches in campaign mailers that filled local mailboxes over the last few weeks — where Chavez's camp targeted Perez's five votes to raise Commissioners Court salaries, Perez's team took aim at Chavez's tarnished legislative record.

With no race left to run, Perez is focused on the start of the next Texas legislative session, which kicks off in January.

"This is an opportunity for us to prepare for the legislative session, which starts in January," he said. "We're lucky we don't have a November General Election, so it's time to really dig into the issues that really face El Paso. We really want to dive into those state issues."

Top on that list is addressing education, Perez said, and that means better pay for teachers, higher per-pupil spending and a focus on college-ready standards.

"The things that we're talking about, the solutions we're talking about, are not unachievable goals," he said. "We just need to give our school districts, our teachers, our students, the tools they need."

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Everyone Wants a Piece of Kafka, a Writer Who Refused to Be Claimed

A hundred years after Kafka’s death, people and nations are still fighting over his legacy.

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This illustration features a black-and-white photo of Franz Kafka from the waist up, in a heavy wool blazer, high-collared shirt and tie. The space where his face should be is cut out like a missing puzzle piece, with a partial portrait of Kafka himself peering out through the hole and the rest of the space filled by a swath of vivid green.

By Benjamin Balint

Benjamin Balint is the author of “Kafka’s Last Trial” and, most recently, “Bruno Schulz: An Artist, a Murder, and the Hijacking of History,” winner of the National Jewish Book Award in biography.

In his novella “The Prague Orgy,” Philip Roth has a Czech writer say: “When I studied Kafka, the fate of his books in the hands of the Kafkologists seemed to me to be more grotesque than the fate of Josef K.” Just as Franz Kafka’s prose both demands and evades interpretation, something about his legacy has both solicited and resisted claims of ownership.

Despite his astonishing clairvoyance about the impersonal cruelty of the bureaucratic state and the profound alienation of contemporary life, Kafka could not have foreseen how many admirers would read and misread his enigmatic fictions after his death, nor how many would-be heirs would seek to appropriate him as their own in the century since.

Competing claims began to swirl almost as soon as Kafka died of tuberculosis, 100 years ago this June, a month short of his 41st birthday. Max Brod — close friend, betrayer of Kafka’s last instruction to burn his manuscripts, heavy-handed editor of his diaries and unfinished novels, and author of the first Kafka biography — depicted him as a modern-day “saint” whose stories and parables “are among the most typically Jewish documents of our time.”

Among other religious readers of the novels Brod published (“The Trial” in 1925, “The Castle” in 1926 and “Amerika” in 1927), Kafka’s first English translators, Edwin and Willa Muir, presented him as an allegorist of Christian grace. (In German, “Die Verwandlung,” the title of Kafka’s tale of Gregor Samsa’s metamorphosis into an insect, also connotes “transfiguration.”)

As early as 1947, Edmund Wilson warned that all this deification threatened to “oversaturate and stupefy” Kafka’s readers. Still, the Kafka craze continued to swell. In the 1960s, existentialists interpreted Kafka as an angst-ridden precursor who stared into the abyss of absurdity and asked — as Josef K. does in the penultimate paragraph of “The Trial” — “Where was the Judge whom he had never seen?” Simone de Beauvoir said that Kafka “revealed to us our own problems, confronted by a world without God and where nonetheless our salvation was at stake.”

Psychoanalysts claimed the author of stories like “In the Penal Colony” and “A Hunger Artist” as a neurotic herald of the uncanny or a self-tortured “poet of shame and guilt” (as the subtitle of Saul Friedländer’s biography has it). Modernists adopted Kafka not as a patient to be diagnosed but as the writer who most acutely perceived the bewildering breakdown of received ideas in our society. “Had one to name the artist who comes nearest to bearing the same kind of relation to our age that Dante, Shakespeare and Goethe bore to theirs,” W.H. Auden said, “Kafka is the first one would think of.”

Others pulled Kafka into this or that political cause, most bizarrely when he was fashioned into a weapon of the Cold War. In a speech in Moscow in 1962, Jean-Paul Sartre cautioned against the “militarization” of culture, likening Kafka to a “grenade in the library” or a cartload of dynamite shunted between East and West. “A true cultural competition,” Sartre said, “raises the following pacifist challenge: To whom, us or you, does Kafka belong; that is to say, who understands him best?”

Soviet critics enlisted Kafka as an ally of the dignified individual bravely clashing with the capitalist system, while anti-communist dissidents turned him into an adversary of the bureaucratic terror practiced by authoritarian regimes. In 1954, long before the writer’s name became a ubiquitous adjectival cliché, Arthur Koestler disparaged the Moscow show trials as “Kafka-esque.” Two years later, as Soviet tanks crushed the Hungarian uprising, the Marxist literary critic György Lukács was arrested in Budapest, held in a Romanian castle and deprived of the right to know the charges, much less to rebut them. “So Kafka was a realist after all!” he declared.

A more recent chapter in the story of Kafka’s contentious afterlife involves those who attempted to connect a national “we” to his name. Beginning in 2007, a nine-year custody battle was waged in Israeli courts over the manuscripts by Kafka that Brod had narrowly rescued from the Nazi occupation of Prague. The case could be read as a commentary on a single question: Does this writer — a member of a Jewish minority within a German-speaking minority within a Czech minority within a heterogeneous Austro-Hungarian Empire — belong to German literature or to the state that regards itself as the representative of Jews everywhere?

On one side was the National Library of Israel, which recruited Kafka as a Jewish writer, despite his ambivalence toward Zionism. Israel saw itself as the rightful home to the cultural products of diaspora, the appropriate ending place for a story begun elsewhere. On the other side, lawyers for the German Literature Archive in Marbach argued that Kafka’s manuscripts belonged in Germany because his language was German — “the purest German prose of the century,” Hannah Arendt said.

When I attended the Israeli Supreme Court hearing on the case in the summer of 2016, one thing seemed beyond doubt: Germany’s claim on a writer whose family was decimated in the Shoah had become entangled with the country’s attempt to overcome its shame. Perhaps some Germans hoped that the act of claiming Kafka — as a Jewish guardian of German prose, and as a Jew fortunate enough to die before he could fall victim to the Nazis — would serve that overcoming. Here lay a potent irony: The writer who raised self-condemnation to an art would be used as an instrument of self-exculpation, of effacing, rather than facing up to, the past. (The Supreme Court ruled in favor of the National Library .)

The Palestinian undergraduates with whom I read Kafka were not preoccupied with questions of cultural ownership. When we read “The Trial” in a course I taught at a Bard College program in East Jerusalem, the students were riveted from the opening line: “Someone must have slandered Josef K., for one morning, without having done anything wrong, he was arrested.”

One student compared the book to Mustafa Khalifa’s “ The Shell ,” a novel (published here in 2023) based on the author’s 13-year imprisonment without trial in Syria. Another found in Josef K.’s futile pursuit of justice a new vocabulary with which to express her family’s decades-long legal efforts to stave off eviction from the home they had lived in since the early 1950s, a two-bedroom apartment in the Muslim Quarter of Jerusalem’s Old City. Since the property had belonged to a Jewish charitable trust before Israel’s creation in 1948, the state argued that ownership should revert to the charity’s trustees.

Like the trial over Kafka’s manuscripts, the family’s appeals would eventually be heard by the Supreme Court. “In ‘The Trial,’” my student said, “you can never obtain an acquittal. So also with us: We can only hope to postpone the eviction, to postpone, to postpone, to postpone.” For these young readers, Kafka conjured a world not surreal but superreal .

It struck me then that the readers who come closest to the essence of Kafka’s singular vision are those who recognize the irony of taking a proprietary attitude toward a writer so faithful to his own non-belonging, and so careful to set his characters — antagonists against authorities divine, political and paternal — in no particular time or place. In a letter to his fiancée Felice Bauer, Kafka writes of his “infinite yearning for independence and freedom in all things.” Despite his deep feeling for Yiddish theater and for the Hebrew language, that yearning unmoored him from any kind of collective belonging and untethered his imagination to sail beyond any national canon, “obedient,” in his words, “to its own laws of motion.”

We can only wonder whether the spectacle of a century’s warring over his artistic legacy would have amused this least possessive of writers. “Everything I possess is directed against me,” Kafka confessed to Brod, “and what is directed against me is no longer in my possession.”

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John S. Jacobs was a fugitive, an abolitionist — and the brother of the canonical author Harriet Jacobs. Now, his own fierce autobiography has re-emerged .

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Jenny Erpenbeck’s “ Kairos ,” a novel about a torrid love affair in the final years of East Germany, won the International Booker Prize , the renowned award for fiction translated into English.

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Each week, top authors and critics join the Book Review’s podcast to talk about the latest news in the literary world. Listen here .

Montana parents who lost custody of daughter after opposing gender transition claim 14-year-old was taken without warrant

A Montana couple who claim they lost custody of their daughter after opposing a gender transition now allege the 14-year-old was taken from them by the state’s child protective services without a warrant, according to a new lawsuit.

The teen’s father, Todd Kolstad, and stepmother, Krista, slapped the agency with a federal suit earlier this week, claiming that social workers allegedly took their child without due process by not having a judge sign off on the warrant, the Daily Montanan reported.

The couple also allege their religious freedoms were ignored and their civil rights violated when CPS opted to put the teen in a psychiatric facility in Wyoming instead of Montana — and then banned them from communicating with the child.

The legal saga first erupted when the Kolstads said the teen, who is only identified as “H.K.” in court papers, told them last year that he identifies as transgender and wanted to transition to a male.

The couple, however, said they refused the teen’s request because of their strong religious beliefs.

State officials were alerted last summer when H.K. expressed suicidal thoughts at school and was admitted to a hospital for inpatient psychiatric care after claiming to have ingested a mix of ibuprofen and toilet bowl cleaner.

Concerned about the risk of suicide and imminent harm, state officials argued at the time that they were justified in taking custody of H.K.

But the couple claim the social workers lied in an affidavit that H.K. faced “an imminent risk of physical harm” and left out any mention of their religious beliefs.

“Seizing a child without a warrant is excusable only when officials have reasonable cause to believe that the child is likely to experience serious bodily harm in the time that would be required to obtain a warrant,” the court filing states.

“(CPS) knew that H.K. was not facing an imminent substantial risk of serious harm when they seized her on Aug. 22,” the suit continued. “Defendants’ deceit of the state court made the court’s proceedings against the Kolstads a sham from start to finish.”

When it took custody of the teen, the state said it was trying to find a permanent bed in a psychiatric hospital for H.K., the lawsuit notes.

The Kolstads argue they too were supportive of finding a psychiatric bed for the teen — as long as it was in Montana, because they feared that out-of-state medical professionals might start the transition process.

The couple believed Montana banned medical support for teens looking to transition given that the issue is still being litigated in state courts, according to the suit.

They claim state officials switched the plans at the last minute and moved H.K. to a psychiatric treatment center in neighboring Wyoming against their wishes and banned them from contacting the teen.

The state agency didn’t immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment about the litigation.

The lawsuit comes after the case spilled into the public realm earlier this year when Gov. Greg Gianforte ordered Lt. Gov. Kristen Juras to carry out a review of the case.

Gianforte, a Republican, later backed the social workers after Juras’ probe found “the court have followed state policy and law in their handling of this tragic case.”

In a statement to The Post, Gianforte’s office stressed the state doesn’t remove minors from homes to provide gender transition services or use public funds to pay for those services while a minor is in the state’s custody.

“As outlined in its statement of purpose, Child Protective Services protects children who have been or are at substantial risk of abuse, neglect or abandonment,” a spokesperson said at the time.

H.K. currently resides with his biological mother in her native Canada.

Montana parents who lost custody of daughter after opposing gender transition claim 14-year-old was taken without warrant

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How to Write an Effective Claim (with Examples)
Essays can contain further claims that orbit the topic of the thesis statement, however. Claims straddle the line between opinion and fact. If you're hoping to make a strong claim that seamlessly fits into a powerful essay, you will need to make sure that your claim ticks the right boxes: Your claim can debated — solid arguments can be made ...
Claim Statements: Guide, examples, and tips to write effectively
Steps to writing the best claim in an essay. A claim is an argument. It is pretty easy to write an argument in an essay. The most straightforward essay will include the main claim or argument in the introduction, a supporting argument beginning each body paragraph, and a conclusion.. The most important part when writing an essay is usually the main claim or argument.
PDF Strategies for Essay Writing
Your thesis is the central claim in your essay—your main insight or idea about your source or topic. Your thesis should appear early in an academic essay, followed by a logically constructed argument that supports this central claim. A strong thesis is arguable, which means a thoughtful reader could disagree with it and therefore needs ...
Strong Thesis Statements
Claims about solutions or policies: These are claims that argue for or against a certain solution or policy approach to a problem. Example: Example: Rather than encouraging all students to attend four-year colleges, we should instead emphasize the validity of two-year colleges, technical schools, and trade schools as well.
What Is a Claim in an Essay? Unpacking the Core Element with Writing
A well-crafted claim is like the heart of your essay, pumping life and direction into your arguments. Getting good at building strong claims is a game-changer for essay writing.
Thesis
Thesis. Your thesis is the central claim in your essay—your main insight or idea about your source or topic. Your thesis should appear early in an academic essay, followed by a logically constructed argument that supports this central claim. A strong thesis is arguable, which means a thoughtful reader could disagree with it and therefore ...
Understanding Claims in Writing and How to Craft Effective Ones
It is the backbone of an essay or any piece of writing, providing a clear focus and direction for the reader. Crafting a strong claim requires careful thought, analysis, and supporting evidence. In this article, we will delve into the concept of claims in writing and explore effective strategies for constructing compelling and persuasive claims.
What Is a Claim in an Essay? Definition and Examples
A claim is the core argument defining an essay's goal and direction. (1) It's assertive, debatable, and supported by evidence. Also, it is complex, specific, and detailed. Also known as a thesis, a claim is a little different from statements and opinions. Keep reading to reveal the nuances.
How to Write an Argumentative Essay
Make a claim. Provide the grounds (evidence) for the claim. Explain the warrant (how the grounds support the claim) Discuss possible rebuttals to the claim, identifying the limits of the argument and showing that you have considered alternative perspectives. The Toulmin model is a common approach in academic essays.
Claim & Counterclaim in Argumentative Writing
Writers should state claims as fact and be as straightforward and concise as possible. In an essay or any other form of argumentative writing, the claim is usually found at the end of the first ...
What Is a Claim in Writing? Examples of Argumentative Statements
Just what is a claim in writing? It's not all that far off from a claim you might make out loud. Learn more about when you're making a claim right here.
What Is a Claim in Writing? Definition, Types, & Examples
A claim in writing is the core argument defining an essay's goal and direction. It's assertive, debatable, and supported by evidence. Also, it is complex, specific, and detailed. Think of a claim as a specific, debatable statement you, the writer, intend to prove or support. It's the central argument in your essay, the core message of ...
Claim Statements in Arguments
An argument breaks down into three primary categories: a strong claim (also referred to as a strong statement), reasons or justifications for the claim, and evidence supporting those reasons. For ...
Creating Evidence-Based Claims
162 Creating Evidence-Based Claims . When we think about boiling down argumentation in composition to its most essential form, two key elements will usually pop up: claims and evidence. Your claim is similar to your thesis in that it can be your central argument and position, it can be the main idea/s present within your writing, it can reveal why you think your topic is interesting or ...
What Is a Claim in an Essay, and How Can You Make Yours Good?
Here are the five major ones: 1. Fact. A claim of fact argues whether something is true. A claim in this category must be debatable. "The earth is actually flat" is not a valid claim. If you're going to challenge something that has long been considered fact, you must be able to back it up with research.
How to Write a Thesis Statement
Step 1: Start with a question. You should come up with an initial thesis, sometimes called a working thesis, early in the writing process. As soon as you've decided on your essay topic, you need to work out what you want to say about it—a clear thesis will give your essay direction and structure.
3 Strong Argumentative Essay Examples, Analyzed
These essays typically follow one of two formats: the Toulmin model or the Rogerian model. The Toulmin model is the most common. It begins with an introduction, follows with a thesis/claim, and gives data and evidence to support that claim. This style of essay also includes rebuttals of counterarguments.
Organizing Your Argument
Claim: In this section, you explain your overall thesis on the subject. In other words, you make your main argument. Data (Grounds): You should use evidence to support the claim. In other words, provide the reader with facts that prove your argument is strong. Warrant (Bridge): In this section, you explain why or how your data supports the ...
PDF Page Claims, Claims, Claims
claim with subclaims, specific quotes, telling details, examples, and evidence. Myth #3: A claim should never be longer than a sentence. Correction: While your claim will tell you where you need to go, don‟t feel trapped inside the five-paragraph essay. Do present the information in a reasonable manner and place
Developing Strong Claims
Claim 1: Crime rates have increased in recent years. Claim 2: Violence on television is responsible for increased crime. Claim 3: Increased crime rates in recent years are a serious cause for alarm. Claim 4: Although many have argued that the argument is oversimplified, new data suggests that violence on television is responsible for increased ...
What Is a Claim in Writing? Craft Compelling Arguments
Claims in Persuasive Essays. In a persuasive essay, your claim will be the main argument you're trying to convince your reader to agree with. For instance, a claim in a persuasive essay about school uniforms might be "School uniforms can help reduce bullying and promote a sense of unity among students."
50 Great Argumentative Essay Topics for Any Assignment
The Toulmin model is the most common, comprised of an introduction with a claim (otherwise known as a thesis), with data to support it. This style of essay will also include rebuttals, helping to strengthen your argument by anticipating counterarguments. ... There are two key components to a good argumentative essay: a strong stance, and an ...
Parts of an Argumentative Essay
The 4 parts of an argumentative essay are the claim, counterclaim, reasoning, and evidence. ... below is an example of strong evidence and weak evidence to support the claim and reason. Strong ...
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Will My Employer Retaliate if I File a Workers' Compensation Claim?
Filing a workers' compensation claim is a legally protected right. In fact, many employers are insured for this very thing. However, that doesn't mean corrupt business owners won't break the law. In that case, simply contact Morgan & Morgan, America's largest personal injury law firm. There's no business too big for us to handle, and we can stand by your side to fight for the workers ...
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Former El Paso County Commissioner Vince Perez has claimed an apparent victory in the Democratic primary runoff election for the Texas House District 77 seat.. In a low turnout race, Perez ...
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Overall, this represents a compelling write-up for the strengths of the Snapdragon X Elite, underlining that Qualcomm wasn't exaggerating with its earlier claims in pre-release press material.
100 Years After Kafka's Death, People and Nations Are Still Fighting
Essay. Everyone Wants a Piece of Kafka, a Writer Who Refused to Be Claimed ... Competing claims began to swirl almost as soon as Kafka died of tuberculosis, 100 years ago this June, a month short ...
Montana parents who lost custody of daughter after opposing ...
A Montana couple who claim they lost custody of their daughter after opposing a gender transition now allege the 14-year-old was taken from them by the state's child protective services without ...