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Split a claim from its support

What this lesson is about

Underline what is being claimed. Then underline what is offered as proof. They are often not the same thing.

A shopkeeper hands you a printed page about a new fertiliser and asks if he should buy it. What do you do first?

Why this matters

Confident writing hides the gap between what it says and what it shows. A listing that asks you to judge an answer is asking you to find that gap.

You can split an answer into its claims and its support, and mark the claims standing alone.

Confident writing hides the gap between what it says and what it shows. A listing that asks you to judge an answer is asking you to find that gap.

Split any answer into two lists: what it asserts, and what it offers as proof.
Saying a claim again in new words is not support, and nor is a famous name.
Say which support belongs to which claim, or the check is not a check.

Task

An assistant writes a paragraph on why a village should move to drip irrigation.

Weak approach Listing the four claims, checking each sentence is true, and marking the paragraph good. The list of claims is never set against what the paragraph proves.

Stronger approach Two columns on one page: four claims, one support, and a note that three claims stand alone.

Why the stronger approach works The strong answer matched each support to its claim, so the three with nothing under them became visible.

Try a changed situation A neighbour says a new flour mill is a safe place to put your money. His proof: the owner's brother works at a large bank. What is missing?

Make something yourself Take one AI answer of about a paragraph. Write it out as two columns, claims and support. Then mark every claim that has nothing standing under it.

Lesson 4 of 9 on Reasoning and maths for AI worknextCommon traps in a confident answerPart 2 ends in a work sample you can send

Read the primary or official source: UNESCO AI Competency Framework for Students