AP English Language · Lesson 1

Thesis and claims

Know Know it

A claim is a statement a reasonable person could question, so it needs support. A fact that nobody disputes (“The library closes at eight”) is not a claim to argue. Neither is a topic (“library hours”) or an announcement (“This essay is about library hours”).

A thesis is the main claim of a whole text. A strong thesis is defensible: it takes a position someone could disagree with, and the writer can support it. It often gives a reason, the “because” behind the position: “The library should stay open until ten on school nights, because students who work after school have no other quiet place to study.”

Claims come in kinds. A claim of fact says something is or was true. A claim of value says something is good, bad or better. A claim of policy says something should be done. Most arguments you will write are claims of policy or value, supported by claims of fact.

Precise claims are easier to defend. A qualifier such as “most,” “often,” “in small towns” or “for students who work” limits a claim to what the evidence can show. “Homework is useless” invites easy attack; “Homework that only repeats class drills does little for students who already understand the lesson” is a claim you can defend.

Trap Strong does not mean sweeping

Words like “all,” “never,” “always” and “everyone” make a claim sound bold but easy to knock down with one counterexample. A careful qualifier is not a weakness; it shows the writer knows the limits of the evidence.

Worked example Easy

Which sentence states a defensible claim?

  1. Many people in town use leaf blowers to clear their yards every fall.
  2. This essay will discuss the topic of leaf blowers.
  3. The town should ban leaf blowers before 9 a.m. on weekends.Answer
  4. A leaf blower is a machine that moves leaves with air.

How to solve it

  1. Ask of each sentence: could a reasonable person disagree?
  2. Only the proposed ban takes a side; the others report a fact, name a topic or define a term.

Why each choice is right or wrong

  • A. Incorrect. That many people use leaf blowers is a fact few would dispute, so there is nothing to argue.
  • B. Incorrect. Announcing what the essay will discuss names a topic but takes no position on leaf blowers.
  • C. Correct. It takes a position, a weekend morning ban, that a reasonable person could argue against.
  • D. Incorrect. Defining a leaf blower states a fact, not a position anyone would dispute.

Worked example Medium

A student’s draft thesis reads: “Video games are bad for teenagers.” Which revision makes the claim most precise and easiest to defend?

  1. Gaming past midnight on school nights can cost teenagers the sleep they need to focus in class.Answer
  2. Video games are the worst thing that has ever happened to teenagers in this country, and nobody can deny it.
  3. Everyone agrees that video games are bad for every teenager who plays them.
  4. Some teenagers play video games, and some teenagers do not play them.

How to solve it

  1. A precise claim narrows who, when or how much.
  2. The first revision names a specific behavior and a specific harm, so it can be supported and is hard to dismiss with one example.

Why each choice is right or wrong

  • A. Correct. It limits the claim to a specific habit, late play on school nights, and gives a reason that evidence could support.
  • B. Incorrect. Calling games the worst thing that ever happened makes the claim more sweeping, not more precise.
  • C. Incorrect. Saying everyone agrees is false on its face, and “every teenager” is a sweeping claim one counterexample would break.
  • D. Incorrect. That some teenagers play and some do not is a fact nobody disputes, so it no longer takes a position.

Explain Explain it

Task verbs: identify, explain

When you judge a claim, test it two ways. First, could a reasonable person disagree? If not, it is a fact or a topic. Second, is it as broad as the evidence can support? If one counterexample would break it, add a qualifier.

Explain Your turn

A student writes this as the thesis of an argument essay: “Many teenagers have part-time jobs.” Explain why this sentence does not work as a thesis for an argument, then rewrite it as a sentence that does.

Write it, then compare. Nothing you type here is saved or graded.

Compare with a model answer

A full answer does this

  • Explains that the sentence states a fact rather than a position someone could dispute
  • Writes a revised sentence about teenagers and part-time jobs that takes a position someone could dispute

Model answer

The sentence only reports a fact; few people would disagree that many teenagers have part-time jobs, so there is no position to argue. A thesis would be: “High schools should give students with part-time jobs flexible homework deadlines, because a long shift should not decide a student’s grade.”

Apply Apply it

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