BEGIN THE ONE-HOUR EXERCISE

By this point, you might be wondering, and possibly feeling guilty about wondering, why Brannan doesn’t just get divorced. And she would tell you openly that she’s thought about it. “Everyone has thought about it,” she says. And a lot of Kateri’s eight-year-old son now counts the exits in new spaces he enters, and points them out to his loved ones until war or fire fails to break out, and everyone is safely back home. 

• This entire section is part of an Evaluative claim as it implies a judgment or rather evaluation about the reader’s possible feelings of guilt for questioning why Brannan does not get a divorce, which implies a sense of curiosity and possible guilt about her choices.

In the wake of Vietnam, 38 percent of marriages failed within the first six months of a veteran’s return stateside; the divorce rate was twice as high for vets with PTSD as for those without. Vietnam vets with severe PTSD are 69 percent more likely to have their marriages fail than other vets. Army records also show that 65 percent of active-duty suicides, which now outpace combat deaths, are precipitated by broken relationships. And veterans, well, one of them dies by suicide every 80 minutes. But even ignoring that though vets make up 7 percent of the United States, they account for 20 percent of its suicides —or that children and teenagers of a parent who’s committed suicide are three times more likely to kill themselves, too—or a whole bunch of equally grim statistics, Brannan’s got her reasons for sticking it out with Caleb.

• This section contains a combination of several types of claims. It makes a Factual claim by presenting statistics and data on divorce rates among veterans, the correlation between post-traumatic stress disorder and divorce, and the relationship between broken relationships and suicides among veterans. It also has a Quantitative or Numerical claim since, as mentioned above, it includes numerical data such as percentages to support its statements. It also has a Comparative claim, as it compares the divorce rates of veterans with and without PTSD, highlighting the difference. And finally, it also includes a claim of Credibility as it relies on data from army records to support its claims, which implies credibility and trustworthiness.

Brannan fully supports any wife—who feels that she or her children are in danger, or in an untenable mental-health environment, or for whatever reason—who decides to leave. She’s here, through Family of a Vet, to help those people. But she’s also there for those FOV users who, like her, have decided to stay. “I have enormous respect for Caleb,” she explains if you ask her why. “He has never stopped fighting for this family. Now, we’ve had little breaks from therapy, but he never stopped going to therapy. I love him,” she repeats, defensively at times.

• This section has a combination of categorical, and ethical or moral claims. It is a categorical claim as Brannan mentions and shows her support for wives who feel their safety or mental health is at risk and decide to leave, as well as those who decide to stay by listing different scenarios and individuals. This section also has an Ethical or Moral claim by showing Brannan’s support for wives who leave dangerous situations and her admiration for Caleb’s dedication. This is based on Brena’s morals in addition to analyzing a larger issue in society such as domestic abuse.

He is her friend, and her first love, and her rock, and her lifeline, her blossoming young daughter’s father, her ally, and her hero, she tells Caleb when he asks. Because the person who most often asks Brannan why she stays with her husband is her husband.

• The sentence is an Evaluative Claim since it expresses Brannan’s evaluation or opinion about her husband, Caleb, highlighting various roles and qualities he holds in her life. It is also a Categorical Claim since it categorizes all the qualities she loves about her husband.