3.1 Developing a Claim

In the beginning stage of the process of writing an argument， an important step to take is to develop the claim for the argument.Developing the claim provides the argument paper not only with a focus but also with a structure.Therefore， it is beneficial to take time to develop the claim carefully.This section will illustrate the process of developing the claim by looking into strategies used to formulate， position， and express the claim．

The claim often seems easy because it contains only one or two sentences， but formulating the claim has been proven much challenging and messy.Finding the claim demands that the writer do much reading， thinking， reflecting， and revising work.To demystify this process， we may take several baby steps that can be repeated over and again to help us settle on the claim．

1 .Discovering Dissonance. Arguments often start from dissonance.Dissonance is the discomfort， discontent， anger， anxiety， frustration， or conflicting ideas we have about a certain issue.Finding， articulating， or understanding this dissonance is the starting point of finding a claim.More specifically， we need to find what has caused this dissonance：Are you frustrated by other people’ s evaluation of a certain type of teacher or movie？ Are you feeling discomfort with the mainstream view on the causes of environmental pollution in China？ Are you unhappy about the school’ s solutions to the safety problem on campus？ Questions into your dissonance like these may lead you to pose issue questions， rather than information questions.Information questions tend to focus on providing information， but issue questions aim to change readers’ mind， reach agreement with audience， or narrow the gap between writers and audience.Issue questions are disputable and controversial and can be answered in different ways．Therefore， the first step to take to find a claim is to find the dissonance and then pose a good issue question．

2 ．.Locating Stance. A controversial issue can be approached from many angles．One way to further identify the kind of issue question we want to explore in our argument is to probe into the points of disagreement and then decide on the stance you want to take on one point of disagreement.Points of disagreement can be about factuality， definition， categorization， causes， effects， evaluations， comparisons， or solutions.These points of disagreement， actually， correspond to the types of claims discussed in Chapter 2.Therefore， identifying the point of disagreement and taking a stance on one point of disagreement can lead us further into developing a claim．

3 .Reading to Find a Claim. Finding a claim takes as much reading as thinking．Reading helps us explore ideas， increase our knowledge of the issue， and finally decide on what stance to take on one point of disagreement.The rhetorical analysis introduced at the end of Chapter 2 is a useful reading method.In addition， students may also try the following reading method as a way to explore ideas for their claim.To guide student writers in their process of exploring ideas for writing， Peter Elbow， a reputable American composition scholar， recommends a reading method of playing the believing and doubting game.By playing the game of believing and doubting， our reading would become a dialog with the original text， an interaction that helps us explore different sides of the issue.According to this method， we read first to believe and then to doubt.As believers of the arguments made in the original text， we suspend all of our beliefs，doubts， and resistance and try to listen carefully to what the text wants to say and how it supports its claims.As doubters， we read the arguments again to find fallacies，biases， limitations， inconsistencies， or counter-examples imbedded in the arguments．Through this way of reading， we explore multiple sides of arguments， find a site of disagreement， and take our stance on this issue．

4 .Developing a Tentative Claim. Claims do not arrive naturally nor do they stay fixed throughout the writing process.Therefore， in this early stage of the writing process， it is beneficial to conceive claims as tentative and flexible.When you are struggling with what to put in your claim， do not consider yourself too stupid； do not press yourself too hard；do not stare at a blank page or screen for too long to wait for a magic moment or for the muse to visit you.Instead， what you can do is to read and read， and meanwhile try to narrow down your topic.In formulating the statements for your tentative claim， we can typically use the because-clause， which provides the reason part of your claim．Furthermore， we can also use some typical features of each type of argument.Factual claims typically state in simple sentences.Definitional， categorical， evaluation， and resemblance claims use the criteria-match structure， which means the criteria are usually stated in the because-clause.Among them， evaluation claims typically use value-laden adjectives， such as moral ， effective ， persuasive ， inadequate ， etc．， to articulate evaluation.Causal claims make a list of causes and effects or state the causal chain in the because-clause.The causal relationship is often articulated with verbs or verb phrases， such as cause ， result in， be affected by ， contribute to ， etc． Proposal claims usually contain three important elements： the problem， the solution， and the benefits．With a tentative claim drafted， we can move on to outline and draft for the argument．

5 .Revising the Claim. The tentative claim we develop at the earlier stage of our writing process often serves as a framework， or a sense of direction， or a platform to start our drafting.Throughout the drafting process， keep the claim flexible and make modification， adjustment， or revision to it whenever necessary.Keeping the claim flexible is necessary and natural because as we read， think， explore， and write around it， we often discover new ideas， new evidence， or new focus.Writing itself is a process of discovery， a process of learning and growing， a process of finding one’s voice， and a process of change.Therefore， the advice to anxious writers is that you make good use of the tentative claim and keep yourself open to discoveries， new ideas， new evidence，new position， and new focus.Oftentimes the truth is that we find what we really want to say only after finishing the rough draft because our ideas are brewing， mixing，growing， and maturing during the drafting process． mpJGk9PxSCqAyM7qYGFz/3rYqJCMaqPebmIWBIh+/SWAyNaqaUnO3O8qN79UYDEA