What exactly is a "claim"?

[seychelles1718]

I believe Strengthen/Weaken questions usually ask us to address the gap between the premise and the conclusion.
On the other hand, there are some questions that specifically require us to strengthen/weaken the conclusion only.

But I am confused when an LR Q stem asks us to strengthen/weaken the "claim." In this case, does the question want us to address the conclusion only or the argument (premise + conclusion)? e.g. PT 68 S3 Q17

[ohthatpatrick]

Great question!

Yes, a "claim" means "a sentence".

It could be fact, it could be opinion, it could be support/conclusion/opposition.

It's not very informative.

The terms "argument" and "reasoning" imply a minimum of two ingredients:
at least one conclusion (a supported claim)
and
at least one premise (a supporting claim)

When you see those atypical Strengthen/Weaken questions that say we're strengthening/weakening the author's
claim
hypothesis
conclusion
prediction

it can mean a few things:
1. There WAS no evidence presented.
(Sometimes author's offer a hypothesis without a reason why we should believe it)

2. There was some evidence, but the correct answer is not involved with the reasoning move from premise to conclusion .. it just offers independent reason to believe/doubt the truth of the conclusion

3. Nothing (i.e. it just feels like a normal Str/Weak question that said argument/reasoning)

Most of the time it's #1. We don't really have an Argument Core, we just have some context and then the author gives us an unsupported claim/hypothesis/conclusion.