1. Toulmin Model of Argumentation English 10

2. Court Case Scenario In a courtroom, there are 2 sides: the prosecution and the defense Imagine that a case involves a student being charged with grand theft auto…

3. Court Case Scenario The prosecution’s claim would be…he is guilty! But is that enough? No… What does the prosecution need to present? Proof! Ex: he was caught with the keys, the car is in his garage, his fingerprints are on the car

4. What do you use to defend a case? The proof used to persuade a jury is like the data used to persuade an audience to believe one’s claim. You must use logic (logos) in an argument You may also use emotion (pathos) to affect an audience Or, you can establish credibility (ethos).

5. Who is Toulmin? Stephen Toulmin was a British author, philosopher, and educator (passed away Dec. ’09) Studied rhetoric (using language as a means to persuade) Developed a model of argumentation that involves the following terms: claim, data, and warrant.

6. Choosing Your Toulmin Essay Topic You can write an essay about literally anything – shoes, politics, cars, people, etc. Regardless of what kind of subject you choose – whether it's based on knowledge or experience – you must have an opinion about your subject. Opinion: A belief not based on absolute certainty or positive knowledge, but on what seems to be true, valid, or probable to one's own mind or judgment.

7. Creating an Opinion Every opinion that you are considering as a potential essay topic should be checked against these questions: 1) Can a valid argument be made against it? 2) Can I defend it logically against this argument? If you can answer 'yes' to both these questions, you can be reasonably sure that you are on the trail of an interesting topic.

8. TOULMIN: INTRODUCTION / POSITION STATEMENT Your Toulmin essay will begin with an introduction. Typically, you want to engage the reader, introduce the subject, acknowledge the opposition, and end the introduction with your THESIS STATEMENT (the opinion that will guide the body of your paper)

9. THESIS STATEMENT The thesis statement is the LAST sentence of your introduction paragraph. It outlines the body of your paper by stating your overall opinion and outlining your three main points in the order you will be talking about them. Ex: There should be stricter bans on smoking (opinion) because it is detrimental to the smoker (1), people around the smoker (2), and the environment (3).

10. TOULMIN BASIC STRUCTURE After the intro paragraph, you will begin your body paragraphs. Each body paragraph will include the following terms: POSITION STATEMENT: topic sentence that presents the argument/opinion (one of the three claims in your thesis) CLAIM: opinion; a more specific sub opinion DATA: research that backs up the claim WARRANT: sums up claim; confirms it; shows WHY the DATA supports the CLAIM CONCLUDING STATEMENT: generalizes and reinforces everything mentioned within the paragraph.

11. TOULMIN BASIC STRUCTURE Each body paragraph will have ONE TOPIC SENTENCE or POSITION STATEMENT, and three sets of “claim-data-warrant.” (C), (D), (W) You will eventually form three body paragraphs for your Toulmin essay Each body paragraph will end with a CONCLUDING SENTENCE, as well.

12. TOULMIN BASIC STRUCTURE Intro with attention grabber, general information, and acknowledgment of opposition, leading to THESIS Body Paragraph 1: (PS), (C1), (D1), (W1), (C2), (D2), (W2), (C3), (D3), (W3), (CS) Body Paragraph 2: (PS), (C1), (D1), (W1), (C2), (D2), (W2), (C3), (D3), (W3), (CS) Body Paragraph 3: (PS), (C1), (D1), (W1), (C2), (D2), (W2), (C3), (D3), (W3), (CS) Conclusion that begins with the THESIS, restates main points, and leads to a CALL TO ACTION or OVERALL GENERALIZATION

13. TOULMIN: POSITION STATEMENT (PS) Begins each body paragraph Also called the topic sentence States an OPINION (one of the three main topics from thesis statement) Takes a POSITION on an issue, and must be supported by the rest of the paragraph

14. TOULMIN: THE CLAIM (C) The CLAIM is the conclusion you have drawn in support of your position This statement must be strong and eloquent, well- thought and polished. Ex: “Dress codes are not good” is a WEAK claim.

15. TOULMIN: THE CLAIM (C) Do NOT use passive voice in your writing. What is passive voice? This occurs when the object of a sentence becomes the subject. It often uses the following words: is, am, are, was, were, etc.

16. TOULMIN: PASSIVE VOICE Passive voice: The fossil was discovered by Steve. Active voice: Steve discovered the fossil. Which of the following is in passive voice? Amy sent the letter. Jill swam across the ocean. Jordan is eighteen. The document is signed by the president.

17. TOULMIN: THE CLAIM (C) The claim must be arguable. Is “I like pizza” a good claim? Is “drinking and driving is dangerous" a good claim? No. You can’t argue a personal opinion (and you should not use first person, anyways) and most would not argue against a claim that drinking and driving is dangerous. The claim must be controversial AND be able to be defended.

18. TOULMIN: DATA (D) Data is the evidence or information that supports the claim; it is the proof that backs up your opinion How do you come to an opinion? You examine the facts. Thus, you must research the DATA BEFORE YOU FORM THE CLAIM. But when you write your argument, you state the CLAIM BEFORE THE DATA.

19. TOULMIN: DATA (D) EXAMPLES OF DATA to use in your essay: FACTS STATISTICS EXPERT OPINION DIRECT QUOTES CURRENT EVENTS LAWS/HISTORY

20. TOULMIN: DATA (D) Data must be verifiable: It must come from a qualified source The source is sufficiently unbiased The source was in a position to make the observations regarding the data The data is sufficiently recent

21. TOULMIN: WARRANT (W) Allows data to be linked to the claim This lessens the room that opponents have to attack The warrant provides evidence that the data does indeed support the claim and follows the claim logically Acts as a bridge and answers the “So what?” question

22. C-D-W Review Claim = opinion Data = evidence Warrant = affirmation Claim = You make a point Data = You back up a point Warrant = You restate the point as correct

23. C-D-W Example #1 Let’s say that your thesis is: As people age, they should embrace technology because it will help them improve their health, maintain communication, and remain up-to-date. (PS): Technological devices can improve the quality of life for senior citizens. (C1): Hearing aids are more harmful than helpful for those who experience a loss of hearing. (D1): Auditory deprivation is the term used to describe a decrease in speech understanding resulting from a hearing loss. In simple terms, hearing loss starves the auditory centers in the brain of acoustic information. The good news is that hearing aids, which allow the auditory centers of your brain to “stay busy,” have been proven to help this potential problem (“Hearing Loss Facts”). (W1): Therefore, when used properly, hearing aids can prevent the loss of hearing that 1 in 10 Americans experiences in his or her lifetime.

24. C-D-W Example #2 Let’s say that your thesis is: A national ban on smoking should be enacted immediately because smoking endangers the health of those who do it, it negatively affects those who inhale second- hand smoke, and it pollutes the environment. (PS): Cigarettes harm the bodies of smokers. (C1): Those who smoke increase their risk of getting cancer and dying prematurely. (D1): Lung cancer from smoking is caused by the tar in tobacco smoke. Men who smoke are ten times more likely to die from lung cancer than non-smokers. Tobacco can also cause kidney and stomach cancer, as well as cancer of the larnyx, cervix, esophagus, and pancreas (“Health Effects”). (W1): Therefore, by eliminating cigarettes, the nation’s cancer rates would decrease.

25. Label each of the following as (Thesis, PS, C1, D1, or W1) ________ With this being said, music education classes serve to not only enrich a student’s curriculum, but they can also assist students who may struggle with reading comprehension. ________ Music can help the brain to develop in various areas. ________ First, music education classes can assist students who have learning disabilities. ________Music education should be mandatory because it helps to develop the brain; it increases communication skills; and it helps to prepare students for life beyond high school. ________ Stanford University research has found for the first time that musical training improves how the brain processes the spoken word, a finding that researchers say could lead to improving the reading ability of children who have dyslexia and other reading problems, “especially for children... who aren't good at rapid auditory processing and are high-risk for becoming poor readers, they may especially benefit from musical training” (“Playing Music Can Be Good for Your Brain”).

26. TOULMIN: CONCLUDING SENTENCE (CS) Falls at the end of each body paragraph. May take the form of restatement of the position statement, Or it can summarize the paragraph’s contents, Or it can be a final comment concerning the issue at hand

27. What do I need to find while researching? Background information about topic for introduction Possible opposing arguments to your topic to mention in introduction Facts, statistics, laws, etc. to back up THREE different position statements that apply to your thesis Remember, for each of those position statements, you need three claims. Example: (PS) Smoking endangers one's health. (C1) Detrimental to lungs (C2) Harmful to heart (C3) Increases risk of cancer

28. KEEP YOUR RESEARCH You must PRINT all of your sources and make sure they include the proper information to create in-text citations and your Works Cited page. This includes information such as the web address, author, publishing date, publisher, etc. You need to use a minimum of FOUR reliable sources in your essay