Lesson · Grade 7 · English Language Arts
Building an Argument: Claim, Reasons, Evidence
- Grade 7
- English Language Arts
- 1 min 13 s
- British Columbia
- BC7-EN-12
A student's first try, "Our lunch break should be longer. Everyone agrees it is too short.", is shown on a card and the second line is struck out because it proves nothing, then three boxes on the right introduce the parts of an argument: a claim (what you think), reasons (why you think it, found by asking why) and evidence (facts that show it is true, found by asking how do you know). The same idea is then rewritten as a full argument and each part is lit in its own colour, with "In a survey, 24 of 30 students said they rush their food" as the evidence, ending on the recap that a reader can now see why and check the facts: claim, reasons, evidence.
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In one sentence
The question this lesson answers
How do you build an argument that will convince a reader?
Here is a student's first try: an opinion about the lunch break.
Transcript
What the lesson says
How do you build an argument that will convince a reader?
Here is a student's first try: an opinion about the lunch break.
Saying that everyone agrees is not proof, so nothing here backs up the opinion.
A strong argument has three parts: a claim, reasons and evidence.
The claim is what you think, stated clearly in one sentence.
Reasons answer the question why: why do you think that?
Evidence answers the question how do you know, with facts, numbers or examples that back up each reason.
Here is the same idea, built as a full argument.
The claim: our lunch break should be longer.
The reason: students need time to eat and then play.
The evidence: in a survey, 24 of 30 students said they rush their food.
Now a reader can see why you think it, and can check the facts.
To build an argument, make a claim, give reasons, and back each reason with evidence.
Curriculum
Where this fits
- British Columbia, Grade 7
English Language Arts, Story/text: argumentBC7-EN-12
The outcomes and strands follow the British Columbia curriculum.
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