What is a claim, and how do you recognize the different kinds of claims an argument makes?
Topic 1.2 Identifying Claims: identify and explain the claims an argument makes, and distinguish claims of fact, value, and policy.
A focused answer to AP English Language Topic 1.2, covering what a claim is, the difference between claims of fact, value, and policy, how to tell a claim from evidence, and how to locate the main and supporting claims in an argument.
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What this topic is asking
Topic 1.2 (skill CLE-1.A) asks you to find and explain the claims in an argument. A claim is the basic unit of argument: everything else - evidence, reasoning, organization - exists to support claims. You must be able to spot a claim, tell it apart from the evidence beneath it, and recognize what kind of claim it is.
What makes a statement a claim
The test is defensibility. "Water boils at 100 degrees Celsius at sea level" is a verifiable fact, not a claim. "Schools should teach swimming as a survival skill" is a claim - reasonable people could disagree, so it needs defending.
The three types of claim
- Claim of fact. Asserts that something is true or false, exists or does not, caused something or did not. Example: "Standardized tests do not predict college success." It is still arguable because it can be contested with evidence.
- Claim of value. Judges whether something is good, bad, moral, just, or beautiful. Example: "Loyalty matters more than honesty." Value claims rest on shared standards the writer must invoke.
- Claim of policy. Argues that something should or should not be done. Example: "The city should ban cars from the center." Policy claims usually rest on underlying claims of fact and value.
Main claims and sub-claims
A full argument is a hierarchy. The main claim (or thesis) is the overall position; sub-claims are the smaller points that, taken together, support it. Each sub-claim is usually the topic sentence of a paragraph, and each is backed by evidence.
Why this matters for the exam
Multiple choice questions ask you to classify claims and to separate them from evidence. The rhetorical analysis essay asks you to trace how a writer's claims build an argument. The argument essay (Free Response Question 3) asks you to make your own defensible claim - and you cannot do that if you cannot tell a claim from a fact.
Try this
Q1. Name the three types of claim and give the question each one answers. [Recall]
- Cue. Claim of fact (is it true?), claim of value (is it good or bad?), claim of policy (should we do it?).
Q2. Classify this statement and identify any claim it rests on: "Because air pollution shortens lives, the council should expand the bus network." [Short explanation]
- Cue. It is a claim of policy ("the council should expand the bus network") resting on a claim of fact ("air pollution shortens lives") used as its reason.
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of College Board exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
AP 2022 (multiple choice, style)1 marksConsider the sentence: 'Because the bridge has failed two safety inspections, the city should close it until repairs are complete.' This sentence is best described as a (A) claim of fact only (B) claim of value (C) claim of policy supported by a claim of fact (D) piece of statistical evidence (E) rhetorical question.Show worked answer →
Answer: (C). The skill is classifying claims and separating a claim from its supporting evidence.
"The city should close it" is a claim of policy: it asserts what should be done. It rests on a claim of fact ("the bridge has failed two safety inspections") used as the reason.
Why not the others: (A) ignores the prescriptive "should close"; (B) a value claim judges good or bad, not what to do; (D) the inspection record is offered as a reason, but the whole sentence is an argument, not raw data; (E) there is no question.
Markers reward recognizing both the type of claim and how a sub-claim supports it.
AP 2024 (argument, style)6 marksSome commentators argue that public institutions should prioritize tradition; others argue they should prioritize reinvention. Write an essay that argues your position on the relationship between tradition and reinvention in public institutions, using evidence to support your claim.Show worked answer →
The argument essay (Free Response Question 3) is scored on the 6-point rubric (1 thesis, 4 evidence and commentary, 1 sophistication). It tests whether you can make and defend your own claim.
Thesis (1 point): a defensible claim of value or policy, e.g. "Public institutions endure precisely because they reinvent the traditions they claim to preserve." Note the verb - a claim must be arguable, not a statement of fact.
Evidence and commentary (4 points): support the claim with specific examples (historical, literary, personal) and explain in commentary how each example proves the claim.
Sophistication (1 point): qualify the claim or acknowledge the strongest counter-position and show why your claim still holds.
The whole essay stands or falls on a clear, defensible main claim, which is why identifying what makes a sentence a claim matters.
Related dot points
- Topic 1.2 Evidence and Relevance: identify the types of evidence a writer uses and explain how relevant, sufficient evidence supports a claim.
A focused answer to AP English Language Topic 1.2, covering types of evidence (facts, statistics, anecdotes, expert testimony, analogies, examples), what makes evidence relevant and sufficient, and how writers select evidence to fit purpose and audience.
- Topic 1.2 Commentary: explain how reasoning (commentary) connects evidence to the claim it supports, and why evidence cannot stand alone.
A focused answer to AP English Language Topic 1.2, covering what commentary is, how reasoning links evidence to a claim, the difference between summarizing evidence and analyzing it, and why commentary earns most of the marks on the AP essays.
- Topic 1.3 Developing a Defensible Claim: develop a paragraph-level claim that is arguable and defensible, drawn from patterns in your evidence.
A focused answer to AP English Language Topic 1.3, covering how to move from observations to a defensible, arguable claim, what makes a claim defensible rather than obvious or merely true, and how to phrase a claim that you can support with evidence.
- Topic 2.2 The Overarching Thesis: identify and describe the overarching thesis of an argument and any indication it gives of the argument's structure.
A focused answer to AP English Language Topic 2.2, covering what an overarching thesis is, how it differs from a sub-claim, how to locate it in a text, and how a thesis can preview the structure of the argument that follows.
- Topic 2.3 Writing a Defensible Thesis Statement: write a thesis statement that requires proof or defense and that may preview the structure of the argument.
A focused answer to AP English Language Topic 2.3, covering how to write a thesis that requires defense, how to preview the structure of an argument, the claim-plus-reasoning formula, and how the thesis earns the first rubric point on every AP essay.
Sources & how we know this
- AP English Language and Composition Course and Exam Description — College Board (2020)