Any writer presenting an argument or an assertion will have to write a claim. As an integral part of your essay writing, we seek to help you ace it well. This guide explains how to write a good claim paragraph and how to format your sentences and assertions in an essay to a claim.
The claims you provide in the essay should be arguable and provable with evidence. Claims must be presented as facts. It is these facts that need the backup of evidence to make them strong and prove a point.
What is a Claim Paragraph?
A claim paragraph explains the main focus of a paper. Claim paragraphs should always support the main arguments of your essay. This argument in your essay is usually the thesis.
Claim paragraphs should appear on the beginning paragraphs of your essay. They provide a unifying theme for the rest of your essay. They should be interpretive and analytic.
Claims need the support of credible evidence because not everyone will agree to the facts that they present. Evidence is all the information that supports your idea.
The evidence in place should be accessed first before coming up with a claim statement. A claim statement flops when there is not enough evidence to back it up.
No reader will assume that the claim you put across is true or even slightly believe it without going through the evidence provided for the claim. The evidence won’t entirely convince everyone that your claim is true but it will help every reader conclude.
Can a Claim Be in a Paragraph or Is It a Sentence Only?
A claim can be in a full paragraph or a sentence. When in a sentence only, it is referred to as a thesis statement. The thesis statement is then defended in the whole essay. Every paragraph in the essay supports the evidence.
All the paragraphs provide the reason why the reader should believe your thesis statement. Each paragraph should have different evidence that makes your thesis statement more sensible.
Steps How to craft a Claim Statement
Choose a Topic of your Interest and Explore it
Efforts put in place in coming up with a claim statement are more effective when the topic chosen is your area of interest.
When you are given the freedom to choose a topic, always chose a topic that you enjoy.
Pick a narrow subject of that topic and focus on it to make a claim.
Set a Question for the Thesis to Answer
The answers to the main question that your essay poses as the center points of your thesis. Always use the shortest and the best answer possible to your question regardless of the topic.
Define the Goal of your Paper
The goal of your paper determines the type of claim statement you are going to write. For argumentative essays, for example, you will have to write something that can change the opinion of your readers.
You must set up an opinion and claim it with supporting points. Also remember, you will have to rebut these points in an argumentative essay. read on how to write a counterclaim to know how to present the rebuttals for full grading.
Take a Stand for a Single Issue
Even if you will be discussing many issues and aspects of a point, you will need to address a single issue with more attention. It is the point that your whole paper will be evolving at.
That single issue is what you will be following throughout the paper. However, the issue has to be supported by different points in line with the thesis you are arguing.
Use a different Approach to the Topic
Make arguments with a different approach to make your claim interesting and sustainable. It is important to use fresh ways to convey ideas and facts.
Claims can also be in paragraphs. Every paragraph with its claim. The claim starts as the topic sentence and then it is backed up by evidence. Starting the sentence with a claim helps the reader know what to expect in that paragraph.
Claim topic sentences of claim paragraphs should help the reader follow the developments of the essay. The next claim is then presented in another paragraph. Therefore, claim paragraphs are used in essays with more than one claim to put across.
Every claim paragraph should support the main idea of your essay. Descriptions of events cannot be used as claims. They cannot form a basis that your arguments need to prove in the essay.
How to Write a Claim Paragraph?
1. Start with a Hook
This is an open sentence of a paragraph. Its main aim is to grab the attention of the reader so that they want to read on.
The hook has to be related to the overall topic of the paper. A hook can be a question, statistic, or quotation.
2. State the Topic
Stating the topic of the paragraph helps guide the reader through your argument. It also helps you keep the focus on your writing. Stating the topic of your paragraph clarifies to you and your reader what the paragraph is all about.
You can read more about choosing a topic in our lesson on writing good essays from the introduction to the last paragraph.
3. Write the Claim
Introduce the claim. This is what the paragraph or the essay is all about. It is your idea or opinion on a certain topic. It guides the reader on what the arguments that will follow will be all about.
The claim is not your final fact. You just have to take a strong stand for the main idea that you will support using effective arguments. An affirmative tone is needed when writing down your claim. This makes it identifiable.
Words like “though” and “because” play a part I making your claims firm and definitive. The claim should not be placed far in your essay. The reader should not read much before getting to the claim.
4. Present the Argument
Claims should be formulated about things that you can prove. It is unnecessary coming up with a claim without strong evidence and arguments that can support the claim.
The arguments should be true and well capable of backing up your claim. Statistics can form an argument that supports your claim. They convey information in numerical form and are most convincing when used sparingly combining them with an explanation of why the numbers are significant.
Regardless of statistics being considered factual, they can be presented in different ways to suggest different conclusions. Even conflicting information can be presented using statistical data.
Arguments can also be presented using expert opinions. Although they differ from facts because they are interpretations, expert opinions are based on actual evidence. Different experts can use the same information to draw different conclusions.
This shows that the opinions may not be accurate. This does not affect the ability and the usefulness of the opinions to support an argument. The opinion of experts in your field is important in determining how to support your claim using your perspective.
5. Include some Visuals
Chats, tables, and figures can be used to translate important information to provide visual impact and enhance readability.
They help present data that is too much to be effectively presented by text form. The purpose and the needs of your readers should dictate whether you need words, tables, words, or figures.
6. Seek an Example
Examples can support your contention on whether a statement is true or not. The details and specifics they provide help in supporting the claim. They include vivid descriptions that help catch the attention of readers. Conclusions can easily be drawn from examples. Examples can be common or personal.
7. Be Brief
Remember your paragraph should not be too long. Write what is important briefly and move to the next paragraph.
An example of a Claim
Joseph is a freelance journalist and a part-time writer with a particular interest in the gig economy. He writes about schooling, college life, and changing trends in education. When not writing, Joseph is hiking or playing chess.