Lesson 11 of 12 · About 5 minutes
Name the kind of claim
A descriptive claim concerns what is or happened. A causal claim concerns what produces an effect. A value judgment supplies a standard, and a proposal recommends an action. Identify the work each sentence is doing. A fact about popularity does not by itself establish justice, and a desirable aim does not establish that a proposed means will achieve it.
Attribute enough to be accountable
When relying on a source, identify it in language a listener can follow and state what it actually supports. Keep complete references in your notes for later questions. Distinguish a quotation from a paraphrase and a remembered impression from a checked fact. If a numerical or historical claim is not verified, do not improvise specificity to make it sound authoritative.
Make limits part of the argument
Explain the strongest limitation that affects the inference, not every imaginable qualification. Acknowledging that a small trial may not generalize can make your proposal more defensible if it includes a plan to learn. Treat counterevidence as a reason to reconsider the claim rather than a personal attack on your speaking ability.
Worked example · fictional
From an intention to a usable choice
The trial proved that everyone wants longer hours, so the policy must be permanent.
The trial recorded greater use during the extra hour. That supports continuing the experiment, but it does not yet show whether the benefit justifies year-round staffing costs.
The revision distinguishes the observation from the larger causal and policy conclusions it cannot establish alone.
Try it aloud
A focused drill
Mark your outline F for sourced fact, I for inference, V for value judgment, and H for hypothetical example. Find the transition from fact to recommendation and supply the missing reason aloud.
Listen for this: Would a listener be able to distinguish what your evidence established from what you recommend on its basis?
Open the timer and outline