Chapter 9: Persuasive Speaking
- Fact claim: Smoking marijuana is less harmful to one’s health than smoking cigarettes.
- Value claim: The prejudices about the social conditions that led to current marijuana legislation are outdated.
- Policy claim: Because the social conditions that gave rise to current marijuana legislation no longer exist and because of the potential medical and financial benefits of its decriminalization, lawmakers should reconsider the legal status of cannabis.
Examples from the right might include:
- Fact claim: Public school performance in the United States has plummeted over the past twenty years.
- Value claim: It is unfair to force taxpayers to contribute to a school system that does not serve them.
- Policy claim: Following the Canadian system, Congress should form a system for public funding of religious schools for families that opt out of the public school system.