Page 172 - Smart Thinking: Skills for Critical Understanding and Writing, 2nd Ed

ANSWERS, DISCUSSION, AND FURTHER ADVICE 15 9

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Y

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J
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Claim 1
The subject is: 'The current Australian government is'
The predicate is: 'challenging the role of the United Nations as a body that
promotes action by member nations to maintain and extend human rights within
those nations' own jurisdiction'
Note the limitation on scope, 'in many ways .
Claim 2
The phrase in parentheses could be included in the claim; my answer excludes it
because the words 'quite apart from...' imply that there are other issues here that
are not being discussed. Therefore it is not part of the overall logical structure.
However, one could also read it as a limitation, of sorts, on the scope of claim 2,
within this argument.
The subject is: 'This challenge' (note 'this, linking back to the predicate of
claim 1)
The predicate is: 'has a distinct and dangerous consequence for Australia'
Claim 3
The subject is: 'the challenge puts'
The predicate is: Australia in conflict with most other nations of the world over
human rights'
Claim 4
This claim is a 'contracted' claim. What it really says is 'if Australia is in conflict with
most other nations of the world over human rights, then Australian trade and foreign
relations are likely to suffer in the long run'. One can see how the predicate of claim
3 is positioned as the first part of the 'if/then' claim, allowing the consequence of the
challenge (the damage to trade and foreign relations) to be established.
The subject is: 'if Australia is in conflict with most other nations of the world
over human rights'
The predicate is: 'then Australian trade and foreign relations are likely to suffer
in the long run'
Claim 5
'By definition could be included in this claim or not: it is, in some ways, a certainty