Claim, Evidence, and Reasoning

Where should the claim or thesis normally go?

• At the end of the essay

• At the beginning of the essay

• In the middle of the essay

• At the end of the introduction paragraph

What should a claim sound like?

• A statement of fact

• A rhetorical question

• A personal belief

• An open-ended question

What should evidence be filled with?

• Philosophical questions

• Hypothetical scenarios

• Personal anecdotes

• Facts and data

What is reasoning in argumentative writing?

• Restating the claim

• Listing the data collected during an experiment

• Explaining how the evidence supports the claim

• Asking a question

Why is evidence important in supporting a claim?

• It provides a personal opinion to persuade others

• It offers a prediction of future events

• It provides facts, quotes or data that backs up the claim

• It restates the claim in different words

What role does evidence play in rewriting a claim?

• Evidence can lead to the claim being adjusted or changed

• Evidence has no role in revising a claim

• Evidence should be ignored if it contradicts the claim

• Evidence only confirms the claim, never changes it

Why is it important to know the difference between claim, evidence, and reasoning in argumentative writing?

• To make the writing more complex

• To clearly communicate the your argument

• To increase the length of your paragraph

• To use more words

What is a claim in argumentative writing?

• A question that the scientist wants to answer

• A statement that can be tested or proven with evidence

• A detailed explanation of why something happens

• A summary of the results of an experiment

Which of the following best defines evidence?

• A personal belief or opinion

• Providing facts, quotes and data

• A detailed description of an experiment

• A prediction about the outcome of an experiment

Identify the claim in the following paragraph: "After conducting several experiments, it was observed that plants grow faster when they are exposed to more sunlight. Therefore, sunlight has a positive effect on plant growth."

• Plants grow faster when exposed to more sunlight

• Sunlight has a positive effect on plant growth

• Several experiments were conducted

• Observing plant growth