College Composition / Unit 31 CMP 0752 short lesson, about 20 seconds
Identifying the Main Claim
Captions available
The idea
The main claim is the central statement the argument asks readers to accept, that something is true or that some action should be taken.
In practice
Look in the opening and closing paragraphs, and test a candidate by asking whether the rest of the text supports it.
Where people slip
A vivid example or statistic is support, not the claim.
Your place on the trail
Every lesson rests on earlier ones and opens later ones. Tap any to jump.
Builds on
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