1. Making and supporting a claim Avoiding logical fallacies

2.  Claims of Fact  Claims of Value  Claims of Policy

3.  State or claim that something is true or not true ◦ Super Ferry service to the outer islands will result in increased crime rates. ◦ Super Ferry service to the outer islands will not cause an increase in crime rates.

4.  State that something has or does not have value or worth. ◦ An environmental impact statement is a valuable tool in evaluating whether the Super Ferry should be allowed to operate. ◦ An environmental impact statement for the Super Ferry’s operation is an unnecessary expense.

5.  Assert that something ought to be done or not done. ◦ The Super Ferry must complete an environmental statement before operating. ◦ The Super Ferry should be allowed to operate while an environmental impact statement is being completed.

6.  Because proposals involve meeting needs and/or advocating for specific policies, their primary claim will be a claim of policy.  Depending on your audience, you may also need to argue facts and values, but your primary claim and focus for your proposal will be a claim of policy.

7.  Show that your claim addresses a specific need or problem.  State that claim as a clear, concise, thesis statement.  Outline what the main points of your claim are.  Determine the specific facts, statistics, and other researched information necessary to convince your audience that your claim has merit.

8.  Anticipate and answer objections or questions to your claim, supporting your answers with solid research.  For each research element you present to support your claim, explain how that element supports your claim.

9.  Be careful about the logic of your argument in making your claim and characterizing the arguments of others, especially those who hold views opposite of yours.  Avoid circular reasoning in making your claim. Don’t present the absence of your solution as the actual problem.

10.  Bandwagon – implying that because many people hold a view that it must be correct.  Appeals to ignorance –assuming something is true/false because it hasn’t been proven to be true/false, unfairly shifting the burden of proof to someone else.  Oversimplification –reduces complex situations to overly simple ones.  Either-or thinking –reducing a solution to two possible extremes.

11.  Slanted language –insults the person or position instead of arguing against it.  Stacking the deck –focusing on only one side of an issue.  Straw-man – changing the main focus of an argument to a minor point, misrepresenting the opposition’s argument by focusing on a side issue.  Circular thinking – assuming, in an argument, the very thing you are trying to prove.

12.  Broad generalization –A broad generalization takes in everyone and everything at once allowing no exceptions.  Half –truths –Misleading arguments that leave out “the rest of the story”.  Testimonial –a testimony or statement from a person famous in an unrelated field.

13.  Bachman, Laura, Diane Barnhart and Lois Krenzke. Write for College. Wilmington, Massachusetts: Great Source Education Group, Inc., 1997. Print.  Kemper, Dave, Patrick Sebranek, and Verne Meyer. Write Source, 12. Wilmigntom, Massachusetts: Great Source Education Group, Inc., 2007. Print.  "Proposal Writing Short Course." Proposal Writing Short Course. 2009. Foundation Center. 6 May 2009.  Rottenberg, Annete T. Elements of Argument. New York: St, Martin's Press, 1988. Print.