TOULMIN ARGUMENT LSC-CyFair English Department English 1301

Stephen Toulmin  “If we are to set our arguments out with complete logical candor, and understood properly the nature of ‘the logical process’, surely we shall need to employ a pattern of argument no less sophisticated than is required in the law.”  P. 96, The Uses of Argument, 1958

Toulmin Argument Terms-CDWB  (C)=“claim or conclusion whose merits we are seeking to establish”  (D)=data, “facts we appeal to as foundation for the claim”  (W)=warrants, “general, hypothetical statements, which can act as bridges, and authorise the sort of step to which our particular argument commits us”  (B)=backing, “assurances, without which the warrants themselves would possess neither authority nor currency”

Toulmin Argument Terms  (Q)=“qualifiers, indicating the strength conferred by the warrant on this step”  (R)=“conditions of rebuttal, indicating general circumstances in which the general authority of the warrant would have to be set aside”

Diagram  “Data are appealed to explicitly, warrants implicitly”

Defining Argument  Opinion—stance on an issue based on beliefs, intuition, emotion, “gut reaction”, personal desires  Argument—stance on an issue using reasonable evidence, logical thinking, responsible communication

Argument Terminology  Issue—debatable topic  Claim—stance on issue  Grounds  Reason—explains claim  Evidence—data for reasons  Warrant—assumption support claim and reason  Backing—support for warrant

Issue  Question  Claim  Reason  Issue  Phones on college campuses  Claim  Phones negatively impact college classes  Reason 1  Phones distract students in class  Reason 2  Phones allow cheating in class

Evidence  Survey of students: how often they check their phones in class:   phone-usage-college-1578.html phone-usage-college-1578.html  Anecdotal evidence of phones disrupting class

Warrants & Backing  Reason 1: Phones disrupt  Warrant=disruption is a problem  Backing=research study that shows importance of concentration for learning  Reason 2: Phones allow cheating  Warrant=cheating is not be allowed  Backing=story of how cheating caused student to fail