The Vineses’ wedding album is gorgeous, leather-bound, older and dustier than you might expect given their youth.
- The Vineses weeding album is a evaluation claim.
- It is a definition claim because it justifies the quality of the album.
- Gorgeous means that the album was very pretty.
- But due to passage of time, the album became old and covered with dust as her husband was serving in the army and didn’t have any time for going through it and recollecting the memories back again.
- And it was binded by leather.
But she’s got a warrior’s skills: hyperawareness, hyper vigilance, adrenaline-sharp quick-scanning for danger, for triggers.
- It is a categorical claim.
- Because it explains brannan’s qualities and defines them as she had developed warrior skill during the time.
- Brannan Vines had all the abilities of an experienced soldier or warrior.
- She never went to a war.
- “Hyperawareness” means acute awareness or alertness.
- “Hyper vigilance” is that, extremely sensitive to stimuli.
- She had the expertise in identifying danger quickly and sharply.
She has not, unlike military wives she advises, ever been beat up. Nor jumped out of her own bed when she got touched in the middle of the night for fear of being raped, again.
- This is a comparative claim. Because she compares herself with the other military housewife’s.
- it is also a categorical claim, it identifies or defines characteristics which is common among military wives.
- She says that she has not been beaten up by his husband anytime.
- She even felt safe sleeping beside him, as she wouldn’t get scared if she got touched in the middle of the night. Also this is a causal claim.
- And she had been raped before.
Brannan Vines has never been to war.
- This is a definition claim
- Brannan Vine’s name in the sentence is a definition claim.
- The word “never” tells us that Brannan Vines did not go to any war.
Counterintuitive 
The Vineses’ wedding album is gorgeous, leather-bound, older and dustier than you might expect given their youth.
—This is more of an evaluation claim than a definition, Baahubali. Assessing the quality of anything is an evaluation. Gorgeous refers to the album, not to Brannan. You say “she was serving” in the Army, but it was Caleb, her husband, who served.
But she’s got a warrior’s skills: hyperawareness, hyper vigilance, adrenaline-sharp quick-scanning for danger, for triggers.
—They’re closely related, but this is more of a categorical claim than a definition, Baahu. It names several characteristics that all belong to the category: “warrior’s skills.” If you were to evaluate this claim’s effectiveness, what do you think is the point of claiming that Brannan, who we understand did not go to war, has somehow developed warrior skills?
She has not, unlike military wives she advises, ever been beat up. Nor jumped out of her own bed when she got touched in the middle of the night for fear of being raped, again.
—I agree this is a comparative claim. It’s also categorical in the way it identifies characteristics common among military wives. You’re also correct to point out its causal nature. As we discussed in class, a single sentence can contain claims of many types.
Brannan Vines has never been to war.
—I don’t see how using Brannan Vines’ name is definitional.
There’s some good work here, Baahu, but you’re welcome to revise it in Edit mode and Update it if you want to make improvements.
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