jabhatta@umail.iu.edu wrote:
Mike - what is the difference between a claim (or position) vs. a conclusion ?
Dear
jabhatta@umail.iu.edu,
I'm happy to respond.
As above, in terms of the GMAT, there's not a big difference. Any argument, anything that is not factual evidence, can be called a "
claim." Any statement in the prompt that is not evidence is a claim. We always call the author's most important claim his "
conclusion"; most typically, this most important claim comes at the end of the prompt passage, although sometimes it can come in other places in the prompt passage. Sometimes, if there's claim #1 in the middle of the argument, and then claim #2, the most important claim, comes at the end, we might call claim #1 something such as a "
preliminary conclusion" or a "
secondary conclusion that supports the main conclusion," whereas claim #2 would be the "
main conclusion;" thus, it's possible to have two conclusion in a GMAT argument.
Both words have a verb form. The verb "
to conclude" means that decide something, I come to a judgment about something. For example, I see A, B, and C, so I conclude P. In real life, that can be a private action: I could conclude something inside my own head and not tell anyone. By contrast, the verb "
claim" explicitly means for me to tell other people about what I think. I see A, B, and C, and then I claim to my friend that P is true. If the idea is never spoken, then I have never claimed it. The two verbs differ as descriptions of real human action. Nevertheless, in the GMAT prompt passage, the passage is telling us everything, so that negates any real difference between a claim and a conclusion.
Does this make sense?
Mike