Claim or Statement?

Which one is a claim?

• Yellow sweaters are the best in the world!

• Ancient artifacts are from the past.

• Limes are green.

• Apples come in two colors.

Answer explanation

A claim is an opinion or feelings about a topic.

Which one is a statement?

• Chocolate ice cream is hands down the best, and every restaurant should serve it.

• A red Camaro is the fastest car, and it is the only car that should be on the road.

• The month of January has 31 days.

• The school day should be shorter.

Write your own claim below including the word best in the sentence.

Answer explanation

An example:

Dogs are the best pets!

Which one is a claim?

• I believe that tacos are amazing.

• The Statue of Liberty is in New York.

• Skunks put out a stinky smell to scare away predators.

• Dogs are four legged animals.

Answer explanation

A claim is an opinion.

A claim is an.....

• fact

• statement

• opinion

• paper

Reasons are used to

• support your statement.

• make a thesis statement.

• support your evidence.

• support your claim with the why when you are writing an argumentative essay.

Answer explanation

Reasons are your why to support your claim.

What is a counterclaim?

• A counterclaim is something I can purchase.

• It is my thought's on a topic.

• It is the opposite view of my claim.

• It is the reasoning to support my claim.

Answer explanation

A counterclaim is the opposing view point of your claim. It is the opposite side of the arguement.

Evidence is used to support my claim and rebute a

• claim.

• statement.

• counterclaim.

• sentence.

Answer explanation

Evidence is used to show that the counterclaim is not correct and persuade your reader that your claim is the side to take!

•Everywhere in the U.S., there is water available from a faucet. Yet, we spend more than $12 billion a year on bottled water, water filtration systems, and we throw away 2.5 million plastic water bottles every hour. Bottled water is more expensive than “sink” water, and it isn’t any better for you. And even if we recycle all that plastic, which we don’t, that is a lot of waste.

What sentece is the best conclusion for this argument?

• Clearly, the time has come for Americans to break their bottled-water habit and switch to reusable water containers.

• There are many brands of bottled water, but most of them just use the same city water that flows into homes.

• Several soft drink companies started bottling and selling water when they realized people were drinking less cola.

• Bottled water saves money.

A student is writing an essay for the student newspaper to argue that professional athletes make too much money.  The student wants to revise the draft to remove any details that do not support her claim.  Read the draft of the essay and complete the task that follows.

There are other people who make much more important contributions to society than pro athletes.  Yet, they earn much less.  A baseball player can make millions in just one year.  A doctor, on the other hand, may earn about half a million in the same amount of time.  Someone who saves lives should be paid more than someone who is good at catching and throwing.  A NASA astronaut makes even less than a doctor.  These scientists help us learn about outer space.  Their work could be described as priceless, but their salaries do not even come close to those of pro athletes.  It is interesting to note that some people who run large businesses and banks can earn as much as a pro athlete does.

Choose the sentence that should be deleted because it does not support the claim in the paragraph.

• It is interesting to note that some people who run large businesses and banks can earn as much as a pro athlete does.

• 
  A NASA astronaut makes even less than a doctor.

• A doctor, on the other hand, may earn about half a million in the same amount of time.

• Someone who saves lives should be paid more than someone who is good at catching and throwing.