GED RLA Extended Response Practice:

Claims, Grounds, Warrants, Counterclaims & Rebuttals

We use arguments all the time to convince people to believe and act the way we want. For the Extended Response on the GED, you will read one or two passages that are making an argument. Then you will have to write a response that argues which of the two passages or ideas is stronger. Knowing the parts of an effective argument will help.

Part / Definition
1) Claim / What is being argued or shown
Three types of claims:
  • Claims of fact: Assert something is true or not true
(Jim attended class today.)
  • Claims of value: Assert something is right or wrong, better or worse (McDonald’s is better than Taco Bell.)
  • Claims of policy: Assert that one course of action, often a law, is better than another
(Schools should offer more elective classes.)
2) Grounds / The reasons and evidence/support for the claim
How does the speaker or author try to prove his or her claim?
3) Warrant / The logic why the evidence supports the claim (connects the claim to the grounds); the assumption on which the claim and grounds depend
As the listener or the reader, you need to decide if these warrants are valid or fallacious (bad logic). As the writer, you need to make valid warrants and avoid fallacies.
Types of warrants / ways of warranting claims:
  • Analogy: Compares the grounds to something familiar
(Capitalists are like vampires. They try to get all they can from everything they touch—even if it kills what they touch.)
  • Example: Uses a specific example
(Our healthcare system is destroying families. Mr. Smith, for example, couldn’t afford surgery and died from a simple complication.)
  • Authority (ethos): Uses expert testimony
(“Michael Vick stays cool in Nike Pro.” –commercial in Time)
  • Logos: Uses reason & logic
(In20 years of driving the same route, I haven’t seen a single deer.)
  • Pathos: Uses emotional or motivational appeals
(There’s no price that can be placed on peace of mind. Our advanced security system will protect the well-being of your family so that you can sleep soundly.)
  • Shared values: References a common value (free speech, freedom, human rights, right to know, etc.)
(Everyone deserves the right to freedom. End immigration restrictions now.)
  • Statistics: Uses carefully-controlled data
(Over 32% of Americans are looking for work.)
  • Evidence: Uses hard evidence
(something tangible, such as a bank account statement or phone record)
  • Generalization: Assumes that what is true of a sample is likely to also be true for a larger group or population
(That dog is probably friendly. It is a Golden Retriever.)
4) Counterclaim / The arguments against the claim
What does the opposing side say about the issue?
5) Rebuttal / The response to the counterclaim (includes acknowledgment of the counterclaim and evidence that the counterclaim is not significant, is not true, or is weak or it concedes it is true but stresses the importance of the claim)
How does the author or speaker respond to what the opposite side says?
Everyday Example / Reading Passage Example
(From pg. 8 of Scoreboost, “What is College Really Worth?”)
Claim: Sam has an ear infection.
Grounds: Sam has ear pain and a high fever.
Warrant: Ear pain and a fever are usually evidence of an ear infection. (logos)
Counterclaim: No, Sam just has the flu.
Rebuttal: It might seem like the flu because of the fever, but his acute ear pain proves that it is more than the flu. / Claim: We must stop forcing students into a mold that says they have to go to college and instead look at all the possibilities.
Grounds: Many people believe that youth learn workforce skills by 10th grade. There has been a 10% increase of vocational courses for students in public high schools. Most parents and students feel the schools pressure them into going to college. College is expensive. Many graduate with debt. Many also graduate without the experience needed for an entry-level job.
Warrant: Cites U.S. Dept. of Education (authority).Provides statistics.
Counterclaim: Not stated directly inarticle. Some of the counterclaim includes facts about how much more people on average earn when they have a college education and the types of jobs now being offered in the U.S.
Rebuttal: Not provided but attempted by discussing instead the negatives of a college education related to money (such as a lot of debt).

Now you are ready to practice. Use the handout “GED RLA Extended Response Practice: Understanding an Argument” to analyze the parts of a reading passage.