4.11: The Focus of This Chapter

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Jim Marteney
Los Angeles Valley College via ASCCC Open Educational Resources Initiative (OERI)

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Good critical thinkers, those who desire constructive conflict resolution, need to focus their argument around a clear, correctly worded claim. In this chapter, we focused on:

A claim is an unbiased statement, worded against the status quo.
There are only two sides to the argument. You are either for the claim or against the claim.
The side of the claim you support directs the burdens or obligations you have in the argument.
If you allow the burdens to be switched, you can easily be manipulated.