Aurora
New member
- Joined
- Feb 24, 2026
- Messages
- 11
I have written probably thirty papers at this point and I am just now realizing that I have been winging it the entire time and nobody ever actually explained what is a claim in writing in a way that made sense to me. I've been getting B's and B-minuses on everything and I always thought it was just because I'm not a "natural writer" but now I'm wondering if it's because my claims have been weak this whole time???
My problem is that every time I try to write a claim it comes out either obviously true or impossible to prove. There's no middle ground. For my political science paper I tried "democracy requires an informed electorate" and my TA wrote "this is a premise not a claim" in the margins. Then I tried "the electoral college should be abolished because it undermines popular sovereignty" and she said it was too broad and needed qualification. LIKE WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME
I think my issue is that I don't understand how to make something arguable without making it extreme. If I say "climate change is bad" that's not arguable because everyone agrees. If I say "climate change will end civilization by 2050" that's arguable but also I can't really prove that with my four sources. How do you find that sweet spot?? How do you make a claim that's specific enough to be meaningful but broad enough to actually write a whole paper about??
If anyone has a formula or a checklist or literally anything that can help my struggling junior self please drop it below. I'm desperate and my GPA is crying
My problem is that every time I try to write a claim it comes out either obviously true or impossible to prove. There's no middle ground. For my political science paper I tried "democracy requires an informed electorate" and my TA wrote "this is a premise not a claim" in the margins. Then I tried "the electoral college should be abolished because it undermines popular sovereignty" and she said it was too broad and needed qualification. LIKE WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME
I think my issue is that I don't understand how to make something arguable without making it extreme. If I say "climate change is bad" that's not arguable because everyone agrees. If I say "climate change will end civilization by 2050" that's arguable but also I can't really prove that with my four sources. How do you find that sweet spot?? How do you make a claim that's specific enough to be meaningful but broad enough to actually write a whole paper about??
If anyone has a formula or a checklist or literally anything that can help my struggling junior self please drop it below. I'm desperate and my GPA is crying