China Debate Education Network: Structure of Argument

Elements of Arguments Claim: the main point or conclusion of an argument. Evidence: any information on which the claim rests. Evidence is information that supports the claim. Link: a link is a statement that creates a bridge between the evidence and the claim. Reservation: not present in all arguments, a reservation explains special circumstances when the claim should be set aside.

Structure of a Simple Argument a single piece of evidence leads to a single claim, following along a single link, and perhaps accompanied by a reservation.

Structure of a Simple Argument In this example, the evidence is actually a previous claim that the audience has been convinced to accept.

Structure of a Simple Argument

Argument With Combined Structure Consists of multiple pieces of evidence linked with one another.

Argument With Combined Structure

Argument with Independent Structure Several pieces of evidence independently support a claim

Argument with Independent Structure