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
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
• 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. CLAIM-DATA-WARRANT
• Example of a common knowledge argumentative
paragraph
• (PS): Hats are inappropriate in a classroom setting.
• (C): A student is often inattentive when he/she
wears a hat.
• (D): It is easier for students to fall asleep when hats
are permitted.
• (W): Therefore, hats should not be worn in school if
they distract from one’s education.
12. 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.
13. 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
14. TOULMIN: POSITION
STATEMENT (PS)
• Begins each body paragraph
• Also called the topic
sentence
• States an OPINION
• Takes a POSITION on an
issue, and must be
supported by the rest of the
paragraph
15. 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.
16. 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.
17. 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.
18. 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.
19. 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.
20. TOULMIN: DATA (D)
• EXAMPLES OF
DATA to use in your
essay:
• FACTS
• STATISTICS
• EXPERT OPINION
• DIRECT QUOTES
• CURRENT EVENTS
• LAWS/HISTORY
21. 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
22. 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
23. 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
24. C-D-W Example
• Claim #1: Many sports require
cooperation
• Data #1: For example,
basketball players must pass to
each other or getting the ball
down the court would be more
difficult
• Warrant #1: Clearly, if it wasn’t
for teamwork, a basketball
team would likely fail.
25. C-D-W Example
• Claim #1: Air bags
are necessary in cars.
• Data #1: They lessen
the impact of crash
victims
• Warrant #1:
Therefore, air bags
help to ensure the
safety of passengers.
26. C-D-W Example
• Claim #1: Music education
enriches a person’s intelligence.
• Data #1: Studies prove that
children who are exposed to
music at a young age score
higher on aptitude tests later on
in life.
• Warrant #1: Since music is
proven to improve IQ scores, it
should be part of a school's
curriculum.
27. 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
28. 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
29. 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
