Week 8 — Evaluating Arguments: Claims, Reasons, and Evidence

MCAP ELA 10 practice · Evaluating arguments: claims, reasons, and evidence · Download .docx

Objectives

Identify the claim in an argument and the reasons the author gives to support it.
Evaluate whether an author's evidence is relevant, sufficient, and drawn from reliable sources.
Identify faulty reasoning and false statements, and evaluate how an author responds to counterclaims.

Key terms

Claim: The position the author wants readers to accept.
Reason: Why the claim should be accepted.
Evidence: The proof behind each reason.
Relevance: Whether evidence actually connects to the claim.
Sufficiency: Whether there is enough strong evidence for the size of the claim.
Counterclaim and rebuttal: The other side's position and the author's answer to it.
Fallacy: A pattern of faulty reasoning that weakens an argument.

The concept

The parts of an argument

Every argument rests on a claim, the position the author wants you to accept. Reasons explain why the claim is true, and evidence backs up each reason. In a strong argument, you could draw a line from each piece of evidence to a reason and from each reason to the claim. If a line breaks anywhere, the argument is weaker.

Finding the claim

The claim is debatable; someone could reasonably disagree. Watch for words like should, must, needs to, or is the best. Facts such as dates, counts, and events are often evidence, not claims. The claim is usually near the beginning or end of the passage, but test it by asking: is this what everything else is trying to prove?

Relevant and sufficient evidence

Relevant evidence connects directly to the claim. A sentence about a favorite tree from childhood is moving, but it does not prove that street trees lower temperatures. Sufficient evidence is enough evidence to support the size of the claim. One student's good quarter cannot prove a schedule works for every school in a county. A survey of twelve cabinet members cannot speak for a student body of two thousand. The bigger the claim, the more evidence it needs.

Reliable sources

Ask who collected the evidence, when, and from whom. A 2009 survey of adults without smartphones tells you little about teens and phones today. A study comparing schools with and without a program is stronger than a single opinion.

Faulty reasoning to watch for

Personal attack: criticizing the person instead of the idea. Bandwagon: claiming something is right because many people do it. False cause: assuming that because one event came first, it caused the second. Either-or: offering only two choices when more exist. Overgeneralization: drawing a broad conclusion from a few examples.

Counterclaims and rebuttals

Strong writers state the other side fairly and then answer it. A good rebuttal uses reasons or evidence, such as pointing out that classroom phones already handle emergencies. A weak rebuttal simply dismisses the other side. On MCAP, you may be asked how an author responds to a counterclaim; look for the turn word, such as however or but, and read what follows.

How to answer evaluation questions

Name the part of the argument the question is about, then judge it with precise words: relevant, sufficient, reliable, or flawed. Wrong answer choices often describe a real detail but misjudge its role.

Worked examples

Example 1: Passage: 'The new four-day schedule at our school is clearly working. My friend Jalen said he feels less stressed, and his grades went up. The schedule should be adopted by every school in the county.' Question: What is the main weakness of the evidence? Step 1: Identify the claim: every school in the county should adopt the schedule. Step 2: Identify the evidence: one friend's stress level and grades. Step 3: Compare the size of the claim with the amount of evidence. A countywide claim needs data from many students and schools. Answer: The evidence is insufficient, because one student's experience cannot support a claim about every school.

Example 2: Passage: 'Some parents argue phones should be allowed in class for emergencies. That concern is understandable. However, every classroom already has a phone that connects to the main office.' Question: How does the author respond to the counterclaim? Step 1: Find the counterclaim: phones are needed for emergencies. Step 2: Find the turn word: However. Step 3: Read the rebuttal: classroom phones already meet that need. Answer: The author concedes the concern is reasonable and then rebuts it by showing that an existing system already handles emergencies.

Common mistakes

Mistaking a fact for the claim. Fix: ask whether someone could reasonably disagree; if not, the sentence is probably evidence.
Calling evidence strong because it is emotional or vivid. Fix: check relevance and sufficiency separately: does it connect to the claim, and is there enough of it for a claim that size?
Labeling any disagreement as a fallacy. Fix: name the specific flaw, such as false cause or personal attack, and point to the exact words that commit it.

Self-check

Try each one before you look. A miss here costs nothing and tells you exactly what to reread.

1. Which sentence is a claim rather than a fact?

2. A writer argues that the city should ban scooters because two scooters she tried had dead batteries. What is the main flaw?

3. What makes evidence sufficient?

4. Which response to a counterclaim is strongest?

5. Attendance rose the semester a school painted its halls blue, so the writer says the paint caused it. What flaw is this?

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