Make a focused claim
State a position narrow enough to defend in the available space.
ModelThe library should extend weekend study hours.
Use it well: An opinion is clearer when the subject is specific.
How to make a point and support it: focused claims, relevant evidence, the reasoning that connects them, fair counterpoints and a clear structure. Thirty-six cards with model sentences.
The Academic Discussion task and the opinion questions in the interview both ask you to argue, briefly and in real time. What makes an argument convincing is not vocabulary but structure: a claim that is narrow enough to defend, a reason or example that actually supports it, and a sentence that explains why.
The same structure is what academic passages and lectures use, so recognizing it helps you find the main point and see how evidence is being used. These cards break reasoning into small moves you can practice one at a time.
Most useful for: Read an Academic Passage · Listen to an Academic Talk · Academic Discussion · Take an Interview
State a position narrow enough to defend in the available space.
Use it well: An opinion is clearer when the subject is specific.
Choose a claim that responds to the prompt's requested decision.
Use it well: A strong sentence about another topic misses the task.
Name the people, time, or setting to which your claim applies.
Use it well: Avoid turning a local observation into a universal rule.
Identify whether a sentence reports information or evaluates it.
Use it well: A value judgment may still need reasons.
A careful claim can state a possible benefit without promising certainty.
Use it well: Qualification should reflect real uncertainty, not hide a weak point.
Let one central point guide the supporting sentences.
Use it well: Multiple unrelated claims make a short response hard to follow.
Give a relevant observation, result, or source for a claim.
Use it well: An unsupported assertion is not evidence by itself.
Tell the reader why the evidence supports the claim.
Use it well: A statistic alone may be interpreted several ways.
Choose evidence about the same population and outcome as the claim.
Use it well: Related information can still be insufficient support.
Mark where a reported result ends and your interpretation begins.
Use it well: Do not present your interpretation as the source's direct finding.
A specific detail can make an abstract reason easier to judge.
Use it well: Details should support the main point rather than decorate it.
Mention a limitation when it affects the strength of a conclusion.
Use it well: A small group cannot represent every student automatically.
Explain a term when readers may understand it in different ways.
Use it well: A definition should fit the present argument.
Use a case that shows how the proposed idea would work.
Use it well: Label an imagined scenario as an example.
Compare alternatives using the same relevant measure.
Use it well: A comparison is unfair if each option uses a different standard.
Name what changes between two cases and why it matters.
Use it well: A difference without a consequence may be irrelevant.
Treat one case as an illustration, not proof of all cases.
Use it well: Look for more evidence before generalizing.
After giving an example, state what it demonstrates about the claim.
Use it well: Readers should not have to guess the connection.
State the factor you think may have produced an outcome.
Use it well: Sequence alone does not establish a causal link.
Name the outcome separately from its possible explanation.
Use it well: A cause and an effect should not be reversed.
Ask whether another factor could produce the same observation.
Use it well: A plausible alternative limits confidence in the first explanation.
Explain how a proposed cause would lead to its effect.
Use it well: A missing step can weaken an otherwise plausible claim.
A planned benefit is different from an observed result.
Use it well: Do not claim success before measuring the outcome.
Suggest what information would help compare explanations.
Use it well: The test should target the uncertainty you identified.
Describe a reasonable concern someone else might raise.
Use it well: A weak caricature does not strengthen your position.
Recognize the part of an opposing point that has merit.
Use it well: Agreement on one issue need not end the discussion.
Answer a counterpoint with a relevant reason and explain how it addresses the concern.
Use it well: Simply repeating your first claim is not a rebuttal.
Adjust a proposal to address a genuine constraint.
Use it well: A narrower proposal can still advance the original goal.
Use wording that matches what the available evidence can show.
Use it well: Confidence should come from evidence, not tone.
Show what a decision gains and what it may cost.
Use it well: Readers need both sides when resources are limited.
Place a reason close to the claim it supports.
Use it well: An unexplained list of facts is hard to assess.
Move from a clear position to support and then a conclusion.
Use it well: A short response still needs a readable sequence.
Signal when the next sentence changes direction.
Use it well: The transition should match the actual relationship.
Signal when a conclusion follows from prior reasons.
Use it well: Make sure the conclusion is proportionate to the evidence.
Connect your contribution to a point made by another participant.
Use it well: Respond to the point rather than merely naming its author.
Close by showing what the argument recommends or predicts.
Use it well: Avoid introducing an unrelated new claim at the end.