ASSERTIONS

Read Between the

Riddles
 A man was found dead with a cassette recorder in one hand and
a gun in the other. When the police came in, they immediately pressed
the play button on the cassette. He said "I have nothing else to live for. I
can't go on," then the sound of a gunshot. After listening to the
cassette tape, the police knew that it was not a suicide, but a homicide.
How did they know?
 A detective who was mere days away from cracking an
international oil smuggling ring has suddenly gone missing. While
inspecting his last-known location, officers find a note: 710 57735 34
5508 51 7718. Currently there are 3 suspects: Bill, John, and Todd. Can
you break the detective’s code and find the criminal's name?
 A man murders his wife with a knife in their car. Nobody is
around to see this. He throws her out of the car being careful not to
leave any fingerprints on her body. Next he throws the knife off of a
cliff into a gorge where it will never be found and he goes home. An
hour later the police call him and tell him that his wife has been
murdered and he needs to come to the scene of the crime
immediately. As soon as he arrives, he is arrested. How did they know
he did it?
An argument has two essential parts: a claim and
a support
The claim asserts a conclusion- an idea, opinion or a judgment.
The support includes reasons and evidences
The claim is what the writer tries to prove in the text by providing
details, explanations and other types of evidences. It is also the most
important part of the text. The quality and complexity of the reading
depend on the claim because the claim defines the paper’s direction
and scope.
• The following are the characteristics of good claims:

• 1.A claim should be argumentative

• 2.A claim should be specific and focused
• 3.A claim should be interesting and engaging
• A claim should be logical
• CLAIM OF FACTS- state a quantifiable assertion or a measurable topic.
They assert that something has existed, exists, or will exist based on
data. They rely on reliable sources or systematic procedures to be
validated.
• Claims of Facts answers the following questions:
• Did it happen?
• Does it exist?
• Is it true?
• Is it a fact?
• Ex: The ozone layer is becoming depleted.
• Ex: Increasing population threathens the environment.
• Ex: In our male -dominated worlds, females are frequently
discriminated against.
• When you make a claim of fact, you must show arguments or pieces
of evidence which will support your claim. Your goal is to show that
the claim is probably true or atleast more likely true than false.
• CLAIMS OF VALUE- consists of arguments about moral, philosophical
or aesthetic topics. These types of topics try to prove that some
values are more or less desirable compared to others. They make
judgments, based on certain standards, on whether something is
right or wrong, good or bad, or something similar.

• Asserts that something can be qualified

• A writer places value on someone or something as “the best” or
“superior”
• CLAIMS OF POLICY- posit that specific actions should be chosen as
solutions to a particular problem.
• Often describes a problem and then suggests ways to solve it
• You can easily identify a claim of policy because they begin with
“should”, “must” and “ought”.
• Claims of Policy answers the following questions:
• What should we do about it?
• How should we act?
• What should our future policy be?
• How can we solve this problem?
• What concrete course of action should we pursue to solve the
problem?
• Ex: Every person in the Philippines should have access to health care.
• Ex: Social security should be distributed on the basis of need rather
than an entitlement.
• Ex: For you to be a good writer, enroll in writing workshops handled
by seasoned writers.
• How then will you defend a policy claim?
• A.You must accept that people and organizations may not be certain
about what is the best way to act, or to do things, but still, they must
act.
• You have to state that if we have the knowledge or data at the
present time, it is best to act in the manner which you propose or
claim, rather than in some other way.