Claim vs Argument

Comments

• 3 Likes

  JustDoIt Alum Member ⭐

  July 2018 3112 karma

  From what I understand, a claim is more synonymous with the conclusion. An argument is both the premises and the conclusion. But when you are strengthening the claim, you are necessarily strengthening the argument because the argument is denied to help support some conclusion (and vice versa). Thus, it is more likely than not that the claim and argument are the same thing on the LSAT.
• 4 Likes

  jhbm_nyc Alum Member

  July 2018 568 karma

  A claim is a statement that's not necessarily supported by a premise. For example, a stimulus can say, "Psychologists claim X. But they're wrong because Y." Here, the author's argument is disputing a claim. If you have say, "Psychologists claim X because Y. But they're wrong because Z," the author is presenting a counter-argument to other people's argument. I think the only time knowing the difference could matter is in argument part questions, some of which can get pretty technical with labeling parts of the stimulus.
• TheLSATer Alum Member

  August 2018 137 karma

  Thank you!
• studyingandrestudying Core Member

  August 2018 5254 karma

  Yes, I think they're very similar and might have small differences in certain questions--a small number of them, probably, but the information in those questions would help provide direction.
• 1 Like

  jhbm_nyc Alum Member

  December 2018 568 karma

  In reviewing LR, I found one of the few questions that does test the difference between claim and argument: PT81.S3.Q21.