1. SLIP OR TRIP? Slip or Trip? At five-feet-six and a hundred and ten pounds, Queenie was a sight to behold and to clasp. When she tore out of the house after a tiff with her husband, Arthur, she went to the country club where there was a party going on. She left the club shortly before one in the morning and invited a few friends to follow her home and have one more drink. They got to the house about ten minutes after Queenie, who met them at the door and said, “Something terrible happened. Arthur slipped and fell on the stairs. He was coming down for another drink—he still had the glass in his hand---and I think he’s dead. Oh, my God---what shall I do? The autopsy conducted later concluded that Arthur died from a wound on the head and confirmed that he’d been drunk. Do we believe Queenie? Or was Arthur murdered? —come up with as many reasons for your answer as possible (but at least 3

2. WHAT IS A CLAIM? A claim is the main argument of an essay. The effectiveness and quality of the entire paper hinges on the claim. If your claim is boring or obvious, the rest of the paper probably will be too. A claim defines your paper’s goals, direction, purpose, etc. is supported by evidence, quotations, argumentation, expert opinion, statistics, and details. A claim must be argumentative. When you make a claim, you are arguing that what you believe is the truth. A good claim is specific. It makes a focused argument rather than a general one. Ex. Dogs are the best pets. (general) Dogs make better pets than cats because dogs can actually make humans healthier—both mentally and physically. (focused)

3. CLAIM QUIZ ENGLISH 9

4. WHAT IS THE CLAIM? Lebron Vs. Jordan

5. WHAT IS THE CLAIM? The Victory Within

6. WHAT IS THE CLAIM? “On Women’s Right to Vote” Friends and fellow citizens: I stand before you tonight under indictment for the alleged crime of having voted at the last presidential election, without having a lawful right to vote. It shall be my work this evening to prove to you that in thus voting, I not only committed no crime, but, instead, simply exercised my citizen’s rights, guaranteed to me and all United States citizens by the National Constitution, beyond the power of any state to deny.

7. WHAT IS THE CLAIM? The Time for Justice

8. WHAT IS THE CLAIM? “A Latina Judge’s Voice” America has a deeply confused image of itself that is in perpetual tension. We are a nation that takes pride in our ethnic diversity, recognizing its importance in shaping our society and in adding richness to its existence. Yet, we simultaneously insist that we can and must function and live in a race and color-blind way that ignore these very differences that in other contexts we laud. That tension between "the melting pot and the salad bowl" -- a recently popular metaphor used to described New York's diversity - is being hotly debated today in national discussions about affirmative action. Many of us struggle with this tension and attempt to maintain and promote our cultural and ethnic identities in a society that is often ambivalent about how to deal with its differences. In this time of great debate we must remember that it is not political struggles that create a Latino or Latina identity. I became a Latina by the way I love and the way I live my life.

9. WHAT IS THE CLAIM? The Black Bruins

10. TYPES OF EVIDENCE Personal (anecdotal)—your own life experiences, observations, stories, and/or examples. Statistics—numbers and percentages used to support your point. Testimony—quoting someone other than yourself (someone who might know more about the topic than you; believable

11. PRACTICE Claim: Marijuana should be legalized throughout the U.S. because it would help boost our economy and create jobs. 1). If marijuana was legal it would become a 1.53 billion dollar industry. -statistic 2). According to Michael Elliott, the Executive Director of the Marijuana Industry Group, since marijuana was made legal in Colorado, 10,000 jobs have been created. -testimony 3). My cousin opened a marijuana shop in Denver, Colorado and created a profitable business. -personal

12. REVIEW A claim can be supported with research, evidence, testimony, and academic reasoning/logic. A claim is something more than statement and support: an arguable claim also goes on to address the “so what?” question. Basically tell me WHY should I care about what you have to say (reasoning)

13. CLOSURE Do you think Queenie is telling the truth? Make a Claim. Choose 3 pieces of evidence to support your claim. Evidence includes: observable information; personal testimony; written documents; and material objects and their condition or appearance. Next explain how each piece of evidence supports your claim that Queenie is (or is not) telling the truth. At five-feet-six and a hundred and ten pounds, Queenie was a sight to behold and to clasp. When she tore out of the house after a tiff with her husband, Arthur, she went to the country club where there was a party going on. She left the club shortly before one in the morning and invited a few friends to follow her home and have one more drink. They got to the house about ten minutes after Queenie, who met them at the door and said, “Something terrible happened. Arthur slipped and fell on the stairs. He was coming down for another drink—he still had the glass in his hand---and I think he’s dead. Oh, my God---what shall I do? The autopsy conducted later concluded that Arthur died from a wound on the head and confirmed that he’d been drunk.