Paragraphs: Claims & Statements of Result

Each academic paragraph should contain a claim or statement of result. This is to say, there is a sentence that presents an idea or finding to the reader, which must be subsequently explained, explored or justified (in the support sentences that follow).

Within humanities and conceptual social science writing, you should find claims in every paragraph, whereas empirical subject areas mainly contain statements of result (specifically in the Results or Discussion chapters). In either case, it should be easy to identify this 'core' sentence within any given paragraph, because it presents the idea or finding that the writer wants the reader to accept. This idea/finding is then supported by the sentences that follow in the latter half of the paragraph.

Placement of Claims

While there is some flexibility in where a paragraph's claim could be located, it is important that it is 'high up' in the paragraph. This usually means that you find the claim/statement of result in the first or second sentence of a well-structured paragraph. Please see Extract A and Extract B below. 

A common problem in academic writing is when this traditional claim->support schema is inverted, and the claim is placed at the end of the paragraph, and the support sentences are found at the beginning. 

Disciplinary Differences:

As mentioned, claims should be found in every conceptual/theoretical paragraph in the Humanities and Social Sciences. While claims can certainly also be found in MPLS and Medical Science writings, many paragraphs - specifically ones discussing experimental findings - present a statement of result in the place of a claim.

In the Oxford example extracts below, please note the placement and construction of the claim/statement of result. An analysis of the samples is provided below.

Extract A: Humanities

Another form of abstract art, abstract film, relies on different visual elements to the static forms discussed above (i.e. painting and sculpture) . By focusing on discernible visual components, abstract film does not hold attention through emotional content, story line or narrative plot, but appeals to a more primal instinct. The focus placed on light, sound and motion subverts our need for typical stories (qua emplotment of events befalling characters), as we become transfixed by the production process itself - of light being captured on screen. This is exemplified by ‘Flicker film’, a unique genre of abstract film that consists of rapid alterations between blank and black frames. Not only does it reduce the narrative trajectory of the film to a simple set of visual cues, it holds the spectator spellbound by the repeated, dazzling motion.

Analysis:

The claim can be found in Sentences # 2. Firstly, it is an interpretative, rather than factual, assertion. Furthermore, the three support sentences that follow (in the latter half of the paragraph) all act to prove, or support, the veracity of the assertion. The placement of the claim, in the second sentence, is sufficiently 'high up' in the paragraph to be acceptable. While some may note that Sentence # 1 also appears interpretative, rather than factual, it does not represent the primary idea that is put forward - and proved - in this paragraph, and is thus acting to provide context for the claim that follows. 

Extract B: Medicine

The frequency of spontaneous mutations was higher in POLE mutants than POLD1 mutants [2]. It might be because the post-replicative DNA mismatch repair system effectively performs its function in the lagging strand [1,2]. Somatic POLE exonuclease domain mutations (EDMs) distinguish a group of the most hypermutated (>100 mutations per 106 bases), microsatellite stable (MSS) colorectal tumors [13]. In contrast to Pol δ variants, POLE mutations typically occur in tumors which do not have DNA mismatch repair (MMR) defects.

Analysis:

Unlike Extract B, here the claim is presented as a factual assertion, and is therefore a 'statement of result'. In all other respects, it replicates the functions of the claim; the support sentences that follow look to expand upon, or elucidate, this finding. Its placement, at the beginning of the paragraph, is both conventional and acceptable.

Originality of Claims

In academic writing, not all paragraph claims are original (i.e. representing an assertion/finding that is unique to this particular writer or study). Indeed, the function of many paragraphs within a given text is to summarise the findings or ideas of other scholars in the field. In these instances, the writer's claim is a summary or paraphrase of what another scholar has claimed. Often times, the writer then further summarises, in the support section of the paragraph, the argumentations or evidence that the scholar used to substantiate the borrowed claim. It is important to be clear - through citation - that the borrowed claim comes from the scholarship, and does not derive from the writer's own interpretation. Please see Extract C for an example of a 'borrowed claim'.

Extract C: MPLS

In the article "Rise of the machines: a functional perspective", Turner distinguishes among recent technological inventions, consumer good technologies intended for mass production and pieces of work designed as prototype for a specific application. The latter are thus called "one offs". Turner argues that "one offs" technologies are beneficial in broadening our scientific knowledge. The author explains that the Hubble Space Telescope was designed for a derisory sum in comparison to the notable and valuable amount of information it collected. Turner highlights therefore the significant impact it provided in astronomy as well as in natural science.37

Analysis:

In this example, the paragraph's claim is the third sentence: "Turner argues that...". The claim is not an idea stemming from the writer's own interpretation, but a paraphrase of an idea found in the literature. The support section of the paragraph further summarises the argumentations that the scholar, Turner, used to substantiate their claim. In this instance, the contribution of the writer is not found at the paragraph level. Rather than putting forward a new (i.e. novel) interpretation, this paragraph looks to use Turner's claim as a building block for a new line of reasoning that becomes evident over multiple paragraphs.