The last stage of your analysis (and the first stage of
writing a response to the essay) is to formulate a claim of your own, based on
your analytical reading of the argument. In the case of our sample argument,
our claim might read as follows: "Although this writer's argument has elements
that might be slightly better qualified, supported, or documented, overall her
argument for alternative landscaping is compelling and effective." (Of course,
if as a reader you were inclined to disagree with her argument or to be critical
of some of the reasons or evidence she offers, your claim would look quite
different from this one.)
