College Composition / Unit 17 CMP 0401 short lesson, about 20 seconds
Claims Need Support
Captions available
The idea
A claim says something is true or that some action should be taken, and every claim in an argument needs reasoning and evidence.
In practice
"The college should extend library hours" is a claim; survey results and usage data are the evidence that makes readers accept it.
Where people slip
An unsupported claim asks readers to take the writer's word, which skeptical readers will not do.
Your place on the trail
Every lesson rests on earlier ones and opens later ones. Tap any to jump.
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