A claim

• is a statement or assertion
• is in the form of a declarative sentence
• can be said to be a fact or judgment

A claim is not

• a question (although a question can conceal a claim)]
• an exclamation ("Damn!")
• a phrase or incomplete sentence ("because it rained.")
• a prayer or wish ("If only I were a princess.")
• an objective definition ("A princess is the daughter of royal parents.")

CONCEALED CLAIMS

Claims can be overt or covert
Covert claims are sometimes called concealed claims

Examples:

 "How can you buy or sell the sky, the warmth of the land?" (You cannot buy or sell the sky or the warmth of the land.)

 "The sight of your cities pains the eyes of the red man. But perhaps it is because the red man is a savage and does not understand." (I am not a savage; somethingís wrong with your cities.)

NOTE: Concealed claims, literary language are not necessarily bad things! Well-reasoned arguments often use emotionally charged or "literary" language.