9.2 Argument Claims, Evidence, and Purpose
Key Takeaways
- GED RLA argument questions ask you to identify claims, reasons, evidence, assumptions, counterclaims, and the author's purpose.
- A strong argument uses relevant and sufficient evidence, not just confident wording or repeated opinion.
- Evidence is relevant when it directly supports the claim and sufficient when there is enough of it to justify the conclusion.
- Purpose questions ask why the author included a detail, paragraph, example, or response to an opposing view.
- The strongest answer explains the relationship between claim and evidence rather than choosing the side that feels familiar.
What Counts as an Argument
An argument is a set of connected statements meant to persuade a reader that a claim is reasonable. GED RLA does not ask whether you personally agree with the writer. It asks whether you can identify the claim, follow the steps of the reasoning, find the evidence, judge whether that evidence is relevant and sufficient, and notice how the author handles opposing views.
The official RLA assessment guide includes argument skills such as delineating the steps of an argument, identifying evidence used to support claims, evaluating relevance and sufficiency, distinguishing supported claims from unsupported claims, assessing reasoning, and identifying assumptions. Those skills also matter for the extended response because the essay asks you to evaluate arguments from source texts.
Argument Parts
| Part | Meaning | Quick test |
|---|---|---|
| Claim | The position the author wants readers to accept | Can I state it as the author's main point? |
| Reason | Why the author says the claim is true | Does it answer because? |
| Evidence | Facts, examples, data, or observations offered as support | Could it be checked in the text? |
| Assumption | An unstated idea the argument depends on | Must this be true for the reasoning to work? |
| Counterclaim | A different or opposing position | Is another view being answered or limited? |
| Purpose | Why the author wrote or included a part | Is the author persuading, explaining, warning, qualifying, or contrasting? |
Passage-Analysis Process
Use a claim ladder for argument passages:
- Find the main claim. Look near the beginning or end, but check the whole passage.
- List the reasons. Ask why the author thinks the claim should be accepted.
- Attach evidence to each reason. Do not treat a reason as evidence unless it contains support.
- Rate relevance. The evidence must point to the specific claim, not just the topic.
- Rate sufficiency. One small example may not support a broad conclusion.
- Check purpose. Decide what the author is trying to accomplish with each example or paragraph.
Mini-Argument Walkthrough
Original mini-argument: A neighborhood association argues that the city should add a crosswalk near the recreation center. The association says children and older adults often cross there after evening programs. It cites a two-week volunteer count showing more than 180 crossings at that location and notes that the nearest marked crosswalk is three blocks away. It also acknowledges that paint and signs cost money, but says the project is smaller than rebuilding the whole corner.
The claim is that the city should add a crosswalk near the recreation center. The reasons are safety and access for people already crossing there. The evidence is specific: a volunteer count, the number of crossings, and the distance to the nearest crosswalk. The acknowledgement about cost serves a purpose too. It responds to a likely objection and limits the proposal by comparing a small crosswalk project with a larger construction project.
A weak evaluation would say the argument is strong because safety is important. That may be true, but it does not analyze the evidence. A stronger evaluation says the argument uses relevant evidence because the count and distance directly show need at the proposed location. You could still ask whether two weeks is enough data, which is a sufficiency question.
Common Argument Traps
A claim is not evidence. The sentence this plan will make everyone safer is a claim unless the passage gives facts showing how. A personal story may be relevant, but one story may not be sufficient for a broad policy conclusion. A statistic may look impressive, but it must match the claim. If a passage argues for a crosswalk near a recreation center, citywide traffic numbers may be less relevant than crossing data at that corner.
Purpose questions often focus on why a sentence is included. If the author mentions a counterargument, the purpose may be to acknowledge a concern before answering it. If the author uses a list of examples, the purpose may be to show a pattern. If the author defines a term, the purpose may be to prevent confusion before the argument continues.
For GED RLA, your job is to judge the support. Strong answers connect each claim to the exact evidence that makes it more believable.
Mini-scenario: A letter argues that the town should keep the weekend bus route. It says 230 riders used the route last month, most trips were between work sites and the grocery district, and a survey found that 68 percent of riders do not own cars. Which evaluation is strongest?
Mini-scenario: An editorial says the community pool should reduce weekday hours because attendance is low before 3:00 p.m. The writer adds that swim instructors oppose the change because lessons meet in the morning, then suggests keeping two morning lesson blocks. What is the purpose of mentioning the instructors?