2. Have you ever been asked to share your opinion
on a topic?
Proposition (Claim) and Support
Should kids get paid
for doing chores?
Is wearing a bike helmet
really necessary?
How old is old enough
to date?
Is it right to share
gossip?
3. Did you just say what you thought, or did you
give reasons for your opinion?
Proposition and Support
If you did give reasons for your opinion, then you
presented a proposition as well as support.
4. A proposition or claim is an important idea or
opinion. To get people to agree with a proposition,
a writer must provide support—reasons the idea
is good or the opinion is right.
Proposition and Support
PROPOSITION
/ CLAIM
Kids should be
paid for chores.
SUPPORT
Kids
wouldn’t
bother
parents for
money.
SUPPORT
Kids would
learn to be
responsible.
5. There are four main kinds of support.
Proposition and Support
STATISTICS
EXAMPLES
ANECDOTES
QUOTATIONS
from EXPERTS
One in five families in Petitville
pays kids for chores.
Child psychologist Dr. Loya says
paying kids for chores fosters
maturity.
The Joneses pay for chores, and
their kids never ask for money.
Kids could be paid to take out
trash, wash dishes, cut grass.
6. Facts that support a claim are like the legs that
hold up a table. Which two sentences support the
claim on the tabletop?
Proposition and Support
Dogs should always be kept on leashes.
•Loose dogs can get hit
by cars.
•Dogs make good pets.
•Most dogs are friendly.
•Loose dogs can hurt
people.
7. Now check your answers.
Proposition and Support
Dogs should always be kept on leashes.
Loose
dogs
can
get
hit
by
cars.
•Loose dogs can get hit
by cars.
•Dogs make good pets.
•Most dogs are friendly.
•Loose dogs can hurt
people.
Loose
dogs
can
hurt
people.
8. In “Broken Chain,” Alfonso and his friends ride
their bikes without holding on to the handlebars.
They also balance friends on their handlebars.
Proposition and Support
What do you think
the author of “Road
Warriors: Listen Up”
would say to Alfonso
and his friends?
9. To analyze “Road Warriors, Listen Up: Some Rules for
Streetwise Biking,” first identify the claim in the opening
paragraph.
When you ride a bike on city streets, you share the
road with speeding fire engines, ambulances, and
police cars. You see—but can’t see around—giant-sized
trucks with eighteen wheels instead of your two.
Sports cars and SUVs zip in and out of lanes.
Everyone’s in a hurry, and there you are, with less
protection than anyone else in a moving vehicle. Your
best defense is your good sense. To ride a bike safely
—on highways or byways—you’ve got to know the
rules of the road.
Proposition and Support
10. Analyze the writer’s support for her proposition. Find
at least one supporting reason in each body paragraph.
Proposition and Support
PARAGRAPH 2
PARAGRAPH 3
PARAGRAPH 4
PARAGRAPH 5
PARAGRAPH 6