The most common classification names three types: fact, value, and policy. The test: does the speech ask the audience to believe a truth, a judgment, or an action? Some sources add a fourth type, but the three-question version above is the one this chapter follows.
. Regular sleep improves memory.
Value: judgment of worth. Public libraries are worth funding.
Policy: urges action, often with should. The city should extend library hours.
Fact: asks the audience to accept something that can, in principle, be verified or refuted. The clue is evidence rather than judgment, and the claim may involve existence, cause, or prediction. Smoking raises the risk of lung cancer rests on measurable evidence.
Value: asks the audience to share a judgment about worth, morality, or desirability. The clue is a standards word such as good, better, or worth. These claims are usually subjective, so the speaker must state the criteria behind the judgment. Year-round schooling is better for students rates an option, it does not report a fact.
Policy: asks the audience to accept or reject a rule, plan, or candidate. The clue is a call for action, often marked by should. This type is often described as the most common of the three. Our school should ban single-use plastics urges one specific step.
Refining the test: a fact claim can hide inside a value or policy statement, so check what the audience must ultimately accept. The city should extend library hours mentions budget facts, but the audience must agree to an action, so it is policy.
One category needs a finer test. Some sources describe four common claim types, adding definitional to fact, value, and policy. A definitional claim argues what something is or is not, so it can masquerade as a fact claim.
- Definitional: classifies an item by arguing it fits a category. The clue is a what is it question rather than a did it happen question. Therapeutic massage is not prostitution places an activity in a category, so it is definitional rather than fact.
Where fact and definitional claims blur, ask what the audience must accept. A fact claim settles whether something happened or holds. A definitional claim settles whether a thing deserves a label, usually by matching features. The argument formula runs: Y has features A, B, and C; X is or is not a Y because it has or lacks those features.