I talked about a good way to support a claim in the previous outcome. Now, for Outcome 3, I want to talk about what a claim is. A piece of writing without a claim is like an automobile without a handle; a claim directs the writing where to proceed. A claim also known as an argument or a thesis statement is the writer’s main idea backed up with evidence that supports the idea. A good claim must be persuasive, taking into consideration of counterargument. Also, a writer should also let the readers know what is at stake in your paper. The writer should be able to show what she is arguing for and why the readers should care about her claim. Through analyzing Major paper 2, particularly its claim, I’d like to show how I achieved the goals displayed in Outcome 3 in my writing.  

My claim in this paper was that Margaret Atwood provided a number of examples that showed how the men with power can use media as a tool to oppress women in The Handmaids Tale. Because this is a college level academic writing, if I just had stopped here, my claim would have been too simple. So, I made my claim more complex by adding the idea that women at the behest of men can also use media to oppress other women.  

A close examination of The Handmaid’s Tale also helped me complicate my argument in productive and interesting ways. Here are the three analyses of the novel that I used in order to make my claim more interesting. In my first body paragraph, I talked about the "why media" part of the claim. I explained why the powerful people choose media as a method to spread their ideas using Serena Joy as an example. I said that the reason Serena Joy chooses to appear on TV or magazines is because it is an efficient way to advertise her antifeminist ideas and gives her the credit, so more people listen to what she says. In the second body paragraph, I talked about how Aunt Lydia uses the old movie of a feminist movement to teach the Handmaids antifeminist ideology. With this example, I illustrated that the power of media also comes from the context of its presentation. Lastly, I used the analysis of the relationship between the Commander and Offred to show how men can use their ability to access to media to oppress women in a world where no equal distribution of media access exists.  

One of the goals of Outcome 3 is coming up with a persuasive argument that takes into consideration counterargument. For this, I want to use Short Paper 1.3 because it’s an excellent demonstration of this particular goal. I actually started S.P. 1.3 with a counterargument to my claim (which was Weiss’s argument that Offred is not a victim of Gilead regime). By presenting the counterargument in the introduction, I can spend the rest of my paper as a response to that counterargument. If I successfully had managed to make the paper an adequate response, it would help my argument become more persuasive. Moreover, I wanted to give my writing an organizational strategy that I had never tried before which was starting a writing with a counter argument.   

A clear organizational skill with effective transitions helps connect the presented ideas to the main argument. In my introduction, I explained the powerfulness of media by saying, “even though Offred has been kept away from media for a long time, we see that Offred still follows what she learns from the books and movies and limits herself and Nick to typical male and female characters portrayed in media” (Lee 1). This is a great demonstration of my strategic summary and analysis to build toward my argument (as you complemented in your feedback). Also, good transitions improved my organization by giving my writing a smooth flow. For example, the whole purpose of the third paragraph is to introduce Susan Faludi’s idea that men intentionally give women power and use media to oppress women. This paragraph functions as a bridge between idea. The transitions disguised as a concluding sentence for each body paragraph also tie the presented ideas back to my main argument. For instance, the last sentence of the Backlash paragraph connects the topic back to the main claim by explaining that men also control the film industry, Hollywood, in order to implant antifeminist ideas in women.  

I have explained so far that I have a good complex claim which is supported well by close examinations of the novel and a clear organization with transitions. But, why does my argument matter? I provided an answer to this question in my conclusion where I talked about the stakes of my argument. Men’s use of media to oppress women does not just happen in Gilead world. In fact, in our current society where more variety of types of media is available, men have more ways to use media to control women. Therefore, I wanted to show some examples of the ways they can use media through the novel, so that we are more aware of their tactics and can continue to fight for our freedom.