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AP English Language AMSCO Guided Notes

1.2: Claims and Evidence

AP English Language
AMSCO Guided Notes
1.1 The Rhetorical Situation
1.2 Claims and Evidence

AP English Language Guided Notes

AMSCO 1.2 - Claims and Evidence

Essential Questions

  1. As a reader, how can you identify a writer's position and the way that position is supported?
  2. As a writer, how can you develop and support your own position?
I. Claims

1. What is a claim and how does it differ from a statement of fact?

2. Why must writers develop a position before formulating a specific claim about a subject?

A. Stating Positions

1. How do writers convey their positions through claims, and why must claims be defended?

2. What process do writers follow to narrow a broad subject into a defensible claim?

3. Why are the most effective claims interesting and somewhat provocative rather than obvious?

II. Developing and Explaining Proof

1. How do evidence and reasoning work together to defend a claim?

2. Why is the argumentation process cyclical rather than linear?

III. Types of Evidence

A. Evaluating Evidence

1. What are the different types of evidence writers can use to support an argument?

2. What are the strengths and weaknesses of using personal experiences and anecdotes as evidence?

3. How should writers choose types of evidence based on their rhetorical situation?

IV. Defensible and Interesting Claims

A. Sharpening the Edge

1. What makes a claim defensible, and how does a defensible claim differ from a fact or generally accepted truth?

2. How can writers refine a claim to make it more complex and interesting rather than trite or oversimplified?

3. Why should writers anticipate possible points of view and objections when developing their claims?

V. Source Materials

1. What is the difference between quoting, paraphrasing, and summarizing source material?

A. Weaving in Others' Ideas

1. How do writers synthesize source information with their own ideas to strengthen an argument?

2. What is an inference and how do writers use inferences to connect evidence to their claims?

B. Quoting, Paraphrasing, and Summarizing

1. When should writers choose to quote source material directly rather than paraphrase or summarize?

2. How do paraphrasing and summarizing differ in their purpose and when each should be used?

3. How should writers embed quoted, paraphrased, or summarized information to blend it seamlessly with their own writing?

Key Terms

analogies

expert opinions

quote

anecdotes

facts

reasoning

claims

illustrations

statistics

evidence

paraphrase

summarize

examples

personal observations

testimonies

experiments

position