The Path to Stronger Claims

4: Write your own clear, complex,
compelling claim about a text.
3: Identify strengths and weaknesses of
a claim.
LG’s

The Toulmin Model of
Argument:
The Path to Writing Better, More
Persuasive, and Realistic Essays

First, let’s agree…
 ALL verbal communication is persuasive to
some degree.
 Therefore, everything uttered is intended to
get the listener to believe as the speaker
believes.
 If that’s true, then everything verbal can be
analyzed by a model of argumentation.

Stephen Toulmin
(March 25, 1922 – December 4, 2009)
 British-born philosopher/logician
 Became frustrated with the failure of traditional
logic to explain the processes of real, everyday
arguments
 As a result, developed his own model of practical
legal reasoning, published as The Uses of Argument
(1958), then specifically applied the method to
rhetoric in Introduction to Reasoning (1979).
 Toulmin’s method has since profoundly influenced
the fields of rhetoric/communication and computer
science.

Just like Trivial Pursuit
 The Toulmin Model posits that good, realistic
arguments typically consist of six parts:
 Claim
 (Qualifiers)
 Grounds
 Warrants
 Backing
 Rebuttals/Counterarguments

Claim

The Claim
 Essentially, the statement being argued—the
assertion the arguer would like to make and
have accepted as true, or be acted upon, by the
audience.
 EVERYTHING in the argument relates back
to the claim.

The Claim, continued
 Answers the question, “What is the author trying to
prove? What’s the bottom line?”
 For example:
1. You should use a hearing aid.
2. That dog is probably friendly.
3. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is racist.
4. The Lord of the Rings represents Britain’s
struggle against fascism during WWII.
5. Needle exchange programs should be
abolished.

But what makes a strong claim?
 Clear
 Compelling
 Complex
– Not compound sentences
 No coordinating conjunctions
– FANBOYS: For, And, Nor, But, Or, Yet, So
– Uses subordinate clauses to establish
relationships amongst elements in claim.

Subordinating Conjunctions
One way to make your claim more complex: Subordinating conjunctions.
 After
 Although
 As
 As if
 As long as
 As much as
 As soon as
 As though
 Because
 Before
 By
 Even
 Even if
 Even though
 If
 If only
 If when
 If then
 Inasmuch
 In order to
 Just as
 Lest
 Now
 Now since
 Now that
 Now when
 Once
 Provided that
 Rather than
 Since
 So that
 Supposing
 Than
 That
 Though
 Till
 Unless
 Until
 When
 Whenever
 Where
 Whereas
 Where if
 Wherever
 Whether
 Which
 While
 Who
 Whoever
 Why

Mwahahahahahaha!
 Quiz on subordinating conjunctions next class.
 Memorize them.

Complex Claim
 The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark
Twain is racist.
 Simple claim.
 Slightly more complex: Huck Finn is racist, so
it should be banned from schools.
 Yet more complex: As much as Huck Finn
seems racist, Twain employed satirical
elements to expose hypocrisies of racist
attitudes.

One more C…
 Controversial
– Don’t argue a point that everybody likely
accepts.
– What’s the purpose?
– When the weather is hot, you don’t need a
thick coat.
– To Kill a Mockingbird is a book about racism
in American society.

Try these:
 “There's a heated debate over the use of
antibiotics in farm animals. Critics say
farmers overuse these drugs; farmers say
they don't.”

Try these:
 “Romeo is a dangerous predator.’”

Try these:
 “In Courtney Solomon's Getaway, a project
less effective as a feature film than as a
promotional reel for the Shelby Super Snake
— basically an insanely tricked-out Ford
Mustang — the nonsense piles up nearly as
fast as the smashed, flipped, T-boned and
otherwise trashed cop cars chasing after
Ethan Hawke's laughably named Brent
Magna and his sidekick, ‘The Kid.’”

Try these:
 “When it comes to diversity, children's
books are sorely lacking; instead of
presenting a representative range of faces,
they're overwhelmingly white.”

Practice
 Look at the flash fiction story “Nine Lives”
by Victoria Pearson.

Practice
 Consider the following prompt:
 Why does Pearson use irony to structure her
story “Nine Lives?”
 Write a clear, complex, compelling claim.
Remember your subordinating conjunction.

Grounds

So, then, we’re agreed!
 Not quite—you don’t get to win without a
fight.
 Most of the time, our perspectives are not
immediately accepted as truths—others will
challenge our claims, forcing us to provide
proof in support.
 In the Toulmin model, this proof is called
the grounds (or data) of the argument.

The Grounds
 This is where persuasion really happens:
evidence
reasons
opinions
examples
facts
 “What additional information does the author
supply to convince me of this claim?” or more
simply, “How come?”

A Stroll Around the Grounds
 Common Types of Argumentative Support
 FACTS
– vivid, real, identifiable, and verifiable
information, of a more or less objective nature.
 OPINIONS  Better yet ANALYSIS
– interpretations/reasoning (yours, or that of
experts) of relevant factual information
 EXAMPLES
– for the purpose of clarification and illustration
of facts and opinions
 Argumentative support is EXPLICITLY stated—not inferred!

Without any grounds, you’d be in China
right now.
 List all types of relevant grounds you would
need to fully support the following claims:
–I need to prescribe you medicine for your
sore throat.
–Your paper deserved a “C.”
–I should be allowed to go to the party.

More than Facts
 For papers about literature finding AND
using grounds can be difficult.
 There are two excellent tools of analysis to
use with literature:
 Connotation
 Paraphrasing

Connotation
 chef vs. cook
 teacher vs. professor
 thrifty vs. tightwad
 stay-at-home mom vs homemaker vs housewife
 ambitious vs greedy
 slender vs gaunt
 clever vs shrewd
 eccentric vs weirdo
 mentally unstable vs wacko
 Think: “Why choose that word?” “What does that word
imply?”

“Richard Cory” by EA Robinson
Whenever Richard Cory went down town,
We people on the pavement looked at him:
He was a gentleman from sole to crown,
Clean favored, and imperially slim.
And he was always quietly arrayed,
And he was always human when he talked;
But still he fluttered pulses when he said,
'Good-morning,' and he glittered when he walked.
And he was rich - yes, richer than a king -
And admirably schooled in every grace:
In fine, we thought that he was everything
To make us wish that we were in his place.
So on we worked, and waited for the light,
And went without the meat, and cursed the bread;
And Richard Cory, one calm summer night,
Went home and put a bullet through his head.

Paraphrasing
 Restate
AND
 Add Clarity
 “Even monkeys fall out of trees.”

Paraphrasing
 Be sure to paraphrase appropriately.
 Look at the following headine from an article about
comedian, Amy Schumer:
Amy Schumer says she doesn’t deserve equal
pay to Chris Rock and Dave Chappelle.
 But look at this line from the article:
“[Chris and Dave] are legends and 2 of the
greatest comics of all time. I would like to say
that I have been selling out arenas these last
couple years.”

Paraphrase
 Paraphrase the following:
– Absence makes the heart grow fonder.
– In the country of the blind, the one eyed
man is king.
– Half a loaf is better than no bread.

Throughout the play, Nurse demonstrates rationality
more than emotion. Before Juliet ever meets Romeo, Nurse tries
to convince Juliet to marry Paris not because of an emotional
bond; rather because he looks good. She argues, “Why, he’s a
man of wax” (I.iii 76). Being a man of wax means he is
handsome, like a sculpture by an artist. The connotation further
suggests he has been sculpted in the image of a good partner—
he’s been made for the express purpose of marriage to a wealthy
family. Nurse seems to be arguing that instead of finding a
partner to love, Juliet must find a groom who will suit an image.
Nurse further argues the image of a good marriage when she
says, “I tell you, he that can lay hold of her/Shall have the
chinks” (I.v.119). Chinks means money, so the person whom
Juliet chooses will marry into a lot of money. Though love
provides for a meaningful, passionate relationship, there is logic
in marrying for money, and Nurse’s focus on the logic of
choosing a mate, presents her as rational.

Analysis at work
 Grounds: “Why, he’s a man of wax” (I.iii 76).
– Connotation analysis: Being a man of wax means
he is handsome, like a sculpture by an artist. The
connotation further suggests this sculpture has
been constructed in the image of a good
partner—he’s been made for the express purpose
of marriage to a wealthy family.
– Paraphrasing analysis: Nurse seems to be arguing
that instead of finding a partner to love, Juliet
must find a groom who will suit an image.

Practice
 Go back to “Nine Lives” by Victoria
Pearson.
 Provide a list of grounds you would use to
defend your claim.
–Include the specific words and lines you’d
use
–Include a line about how that evidence
defends your claim.

Warrants

At War(rants) with your parents…
 Free Write:
–Think of a specific time you had an
argument with your parents. What did
you say to them to convince them that
you were right? What did you say to them
to get them to understand your side?

The Warrant
 Toulmin arguments make a logical and
persuasive connection between a claim, its
reasons/data supporting it, and the
audience.
 Toulmin called this connection the warrant.
The warrant answers the question, "How do
I get from the claim to the grounds?“
 It helps establish a connection for the reader
to better relate to the argument.

Back at War(rants)
 Return to your free writes.
 Underline the main claim
 Circle the grounds
– Be sure that the grounds is DIRECTLY related to
the claim to your parents.
 What’s left-over?

Easy Example
 Claim: We’d better stop for gas.
 Grounds: The gauge has been reading empty for
more than 30 miles.
 What’s the implied warrant?
 “The car needs gas to operate.”
– You don’t necessarily have to state this outright; it’s
obvious, but that is the warrant that validates the claim
and the grounds.

Warrant, continued…
 Don't eat that mushroom. It's poisonous
– Claim: You shouldn’t eat that mushroom
– Grounds: It’s poisonous.
 Though unstated, there’s a pretty clear warrant:
 “Poisonous things should not be eaten.”
“If something is poisonous, eating it could cause harm.”
 Put it all together:
– Don't eat the mushroom! It is poisonous, and poisonous
things should not be eaten.

Try this:
 Many reliable people have seen UFOs, so
they do exist...whatever they are.
–What is the main claim here?
–What is the reason/data which supports
the claim?
–What is the unstated, assumed warrant?

Try this:
 Since Wally chose the ice cream last time
and Phillipina chose the time before that, I
should choose the next ice cream flavor to
get!
the claim?
–What is the assumed warrant?

Try this:
 Painter Ilya Repin depicts famous writer Leo
Tolstoy as supremely moral by showing him
to be frugal, humble, and hardworking.
the claim?
–What is the missing, assumed warrant?

Finding warrants from your claim
 To develop warrants from your claim, look at the
key concepts you’re addressing in the claim.
 “Video games containing profanity can sometimes
encourage children to curse and act aggressively.”
 Possible warrants:
– We don’t want children to curse and act
aggressively.
– Children are encouraged to behave in the ways
they see around them.

Practice
 Again look for the concepts in the claim:
 “In modern language, profanity serves as an
outlet to reduce both physical and
psychological pain.”
 Possible warrants:
We should have ways to reduce pain.
Reducing pain is important for people.

Practice
 Write down the main concepts in this claim:
–“When it comes to diversity, children's
books are sorely lacking; instead of
presenting a representative range of faces,
they're overwhelmingly white.”
 What are some possible warrants you could
frame to support the claim?

Practice
 Write down the main concepts in this claim:
–Shakespeare’s Macbeth demonstrates how
paranoia affects the brain, so deeply that a
character can lose his sense of self.”
 What are some possible warrants you could
frame to support the claim?

Practice
 Go back to your work for “Nine Lives” by
Victoria Pearson
 Looking at your grounds and claim, what
warrants can you derive?
 Remember, look at the key concepts you’re
addressing in the claim to guide you.

EXPLICITLY develop your argument with
warrants.
 There are 6 useful ways to structure your warrants using logical
principles—GASCAP!
Generalization
Analogy
Sign
Causality
Authority
Principle

Argument based on Generalization
 A very common form of reasoning—what is true of
a well chosen sample is likely to hold for a larger
group or population, or that certain things
consistent with the sample can be inferred of the
group/population.
 Example:
CLAIM: That dog is probably friendly.
GROUNDS: It is a Golden Retriever.
WARRANT: GENERALIZATION “Most
or all Golden Retrievers are friendly.

Generalizations
 Other arguments based on generalizations:
– “Last time I went to that restaurant the food was
terrible, so we shouldn’t go there again.”
– Due to two powerful rainstorms that damaged the
town in 1978 and 1981, a flood control project is
necessary due to the regular heavy rainfall.

Argument based on Analogy
 Using similarities between two ideas, objects, or
situations.
– “I also had a significant other cheat on me. Listening
to Sam Smith non-stop helped me get over it. You
should listen to the playlist of his that I made.”
 Warrant of analogy: What worked for me will
work for you.
 If a well receives 1,000 gallons of water a day and you
remove 1,500 gallons, the well will run dry. Similarly, if
the government receives $500 million tax dollars and
pays out $600 million in benefits, the money will also
run out.

DANGER!
 BEWARE THE FALSE ANALOGY!
 “I can do THIS well, therefore I can also do
THAT (unrelated!) thing well!”
– I’m good at soccer, so I should be good at basketball, too.
 Political Candidate says, “I’m a successful
businessman! Elect me president and I’ll run a
successful nation!”
 This isn’t to say Mr. Candidate WON’T be
successful—it’s just that there’s no real
connection between his CLAIM and his
GROUNDS, as he has established them within
the context of his argument.

Analogy
 Other arguments based on analogy:
– We fought for our rights 60 years ago. The same
injustices are happening today, so we should
resurrect the fight.
– A similar legal case that won its lawsuit was based on
Act 2.3a, so we could argue the same Act and win
our case.

Argument via Sign/Clue
 The notion that certain types of evidence are
symptomatic of some wider outcome.
 Examples:
“Where there’s smoke, there’s fire.”
Students with high SAT scores will do well in
college.
“Muffin is running a temperature. I'll bet she
has an infection.”

Sign/Clue
 Other arguments based on signs/clues:
– Slow down; I see some sirens ahead.
– The day before the murder, the suspect bought a
one-way ticket to Peru, she tried to run away when
the police questioned her, she also told a convoluted
story about her whereabouts the day of the murder
that couldn’t be corroborated.

Causal Argument
 The most complex of the different forms of warrant—the
given occurrence or event “X” is the result of, or is affected
by, factor “Y”.
 Example:
 CLAIM: Needle exchange programs should be
abolished
 GROUNDS: They only cause more people to use
drugs
 WARRANT: CAUSAL (“more people will engage in
risky behaviors because you’ve made them safer”)

Causal Failures
– College Administrator: “Our newsletter is a big
success! After the first publication, alumni giving
went up!”
– Government Official: “We ran up the deficit and
the economy improved! We’ll increase the deficit
even more, and the economy will get even better!”
– Modern Prophet: “That hurricane wiped out a
whole city. See what happens when you allow gay
marriage?”
– All Annoying/Concerned Parents: “If you go to
that party, people will be doing the alcohol there,
and you’ll end up pregnant in a ditch somewhere
in Camden.”

Causal Arguments
 Other arguments based on causes:
– Nations with a national health program have higher
life expectancy and lower infant mortality.
– Studies of twins have shown that environment
heavily influences academic success. One twin who
lived in a lower socio-economic area did more
poorly in school. The other twin who lived in a
higher socio-economic area excelled at school.

Argument from Authority
 Does person / text “X” constitute an authoritative
source on the issue in question?
 What political, ideological or economic interests does
the authority have?
 Is this the sort of issue in which a significant number
of authorities are likely to agree on?
– Scientists say…
– Professor Humperdink has noted…
– Buzby’s mom lets her do it!
– The Bill of Rights says so!

Authority
 Other arguments based on authority:
– Lebron James said that these shoes are the best
basketball shoes on the market.
– With over 50 years of service in the CIA,
McMahon’s predictions about the dangers of the
threat should be recognized.

Argument from Principle
 Locating a principle that is widely regarded as valid and
showing that a situation exists in which this principle applies.
 Evaluation:
 Is the principle widely accepted?
 Does it accurately apply to the situation in question?
 Are there commonly agreed on exceptions?
 Are there 'rival' principles that lead to a different claim?
 Are the practical consequences of following the
principle sufficiently desirable?
– Principles of morality, ethics, law, religion, social codes.

Principle
 Principles to use for warrants:
– Do unto others as you want others to do unto you.
– Eating nutritious food is a positive mentality
– Equality is an important quality to aim for.
– You should respect your elders.

Key Point About Warrants
 When you state your warrant, if you have to spend a
lot of time defending the veracity of the warrant…
You need a better, clearer warrant.
 Grounds: That meal had fresh ingredients, and
everything tasted great to me.
 Claim: I’d say that meal was excellent.
 Warrant: What I like is good.
 You have to spend a lot of time defending that
warrant. This might be OK if you’re a food critic,
but you need to clarify the claim to account for a
better warrant.

Practice
 Go back to your warrant for “Nine Lives.”
 Often you can rework the same warrant in a
number of ways.
 Rework the warrant you have into each of the 6
elements of GASCAP. Then choose which one
you think works best.

Backing

The Backing
 Though warrants, good ones at least, should
be self-evident, warrants—since they are
claims themselves will benefit from
evidence.
 In Toulmin argument, evidence used to
support a warrant is called backing.

The Backing
 Backing provides additional justification for the warrant
(especially if it might be viewed as questionable).
 Specific examples generally work best.
 Example:
 CLAIM: You should use a hearing aid
 GROUNDS: You’ve been having more trouble
hearing lately, and over 70% of people over age 65
have hearing difficulty.
 WARRANT: Many hearing aid users say it helps
them to hear better (GENERALIZATION)
 BACKING: 80% of hearing aid users report better
hearing and comfort of lifestyle.

The Backing
 Claim: The Eagles are a shoe-in for Super Bowl
champs this year.
 Grounds: Newly acquired all-stars, re-signed all-
stars, awesome draft selections.
 Warrant: Great players are needed for a great
team
 Backing: An example of a past team that had a
lot of Pro-Bowl players on the roster that did
well.

The Backing
 Claim: Although Nathaniel Hawthorne was openly
racist, his work should still be praised in the present due
to his breath-taking writing style and great contributions
to American literature.
 Grounds: Various facts about Hawthorne’s statements
regarding Black people, examples of his writing style and
impact on literature.
 Warrant: Generally, people tend to admire exceptional
work no matter the origin of it.
 Backing: Although many of the founding fathers were
pro-slavery, they are still admired due to their great
contributions to shaping the American government.

Practice
 What backing could you use for the following
argument:
– Grounds: This patient has an upper
respiratory infection.
– Claim: Penicillin will cure this patient’s
condition.
– Warrant: Penicillin is effective against most
upper respiratory infections.
– Backing: __________________________

Practice
 What backing could you use for the following
argument:
– Grounds: The kitchen equipment had visible dirt
marks and had been reportedly unwashed for
several days.
– Claim: The dirty kitchen surfaces caused the
food poisoning.
– Warrant: Dirty kitchen surfaces will increase the
risk for food poisoning.
– Backing: ___________________

Practice
 Go back to your “Nine Lives” write up.
 Look at the warrant and determine backing to
support it.
 Remember, find a specific example that
illustrates the generalization, analogy, sign,
causality, authority, or principle in your warrant.

So What’s the Point of all this?
 Though claims and grounds and evidence are obvious and
often reinforced aspects of writing, what’s the point of all this
warrant and backing hullabaloo?
 How many of you think you are bad at writing introductions?
How about conclusions?
 How many of you turn off a song within the first few seconds
of hearing it?
 Though patience is laudable, audiences need effective,
compelling introductions to orient them to your idea.

So What’s the point of all this?
 The warrant, backing, claim format provides
a useful, compelling model for introductions
and conclusions

Look at this intro:
When thinking of authority, maybe images of
the annoying boss at work or the picky English
teacher come to mind. Maybe even an angry mom
nagging about a dirty room. However, what about
your own authoritative self. The part of you that says,
“Don’t make bad decisions, even though jumping off
the roof into the pool could be really fun.”
Sometimes, your authoritative self is portrayed
through an object or another person. Vonnegut takes
this idea and transforms it into something never seen
before. In the short story “EPICAC,” Vonnegut
creates the machine to portray the main character’s
authoritative self through specific vocabulary to help
him make decisions.

Look at this intro:
It would be hard to describe what having power
feels like to somebody who has never felt it . How does
one describe the feeling of having full control? It would
be hard to imagine what it feels like being an authority
figure, having dominance and full command over the
behaviors of others or the situation at hand. Yet
oftentimes, humans are entirely powerless, although they
may not realize it; the forces of the universe take
jurisdiction when needed. One of these all-powerful
forces with the capability to influence the actions of
humans is guilt . Macbeth by William Shakespeare and the
poem “Sure, She Sees It Now” share the theme that one
should think about their actions before making decisions,
because in the end guilt is powerful .

Compelling is Key
 A warrant for “Nine Lives” that invokes a principle
about irony isn’t so effective:
– Authors use irony to make their writing more
interesting.
 Though this is valid, use the concept of
warrant/backing to make more compelling
statements.
 Your background knowledge and interests are useful
here.
 You all know stuff! Use it!

Rebuttal

Evil Genie
 On your latest expedition to the caves of Ruwow in Lower Falgeria
you stumbled upon the most extraordinary relic! An actual lantern
with an actual genie inside! Huzzah!
 You get one wish, but be careful to state your wish carefully and
completely, because this genie tends to manipulate words.
 For example,
– The person who wished to fly, was never able to land.
– The person who wished for amazing guitar skills, got them and a
permanent job playing in The Justin Bieber Tribute Band.
– The person who wished to be able to play basketball better than
Michael Jordan, Stephen Curry, and Lebron James combined,
got those skills but no one wanted to play with her anymore.
 See what you can do to beat the Evil Genie (your classmates)!
Think carefully about how others might twist or manipulate your
wish.

A Fantastic Challenge
 Look at the following painting, “Nighthawks”
by Edward Hopper, develop 3 DIFFERENT
interpretations.

The Rebuttal
 People make awful decisions everyday:
– I’ll cheat on my significant other.
– Trying heroin, my parent’s medicine, cigarettes,
etc… will totally be OK.
– That person is talking to my significant other; this
calls for a visit from Mr. Fist.
– Let’s tie together these bedsheets together and
bungee jump off the roof!
 Wouldn’t it be awesome if people challenged their
ideas more often!

The Rebuttal
 The rebuttal acknowledges exceptions or
limitations to the MAIN CLAIM, and admits to
those circumstances or situations where the
argument would not hold.
 It answers the question, “what are the other
possible views on this issue?”

Why we NEED to…
 It demonstrates that the author is aware of and
thinking carefully about opposing views, and is not
trying to 'sweep them under the table'.
 The writer's argument is more likely to seem
“balanced” or “fair” to readers—and thus be more
persuasive.
 Furthermore, you take away your opposition’s
strongest ammunition against you.
 We should also put our ideas—even seemingly
obvious ones—to the test to ensure their strength.

The Rebuttal
 The rebuttal does NOT have to categorically
challenge the claim.
 You can offer alternative interpretations.

Be Careful…
 Be sure to think carefully about rebuttals.
Ignoring or neglecting significant rebuttals will
destroy your argument even if all the other parts
are well conceived and cogently stated.
 Be sure to also consider your
counterargument—your response to the
rebuttal. You need to have a good answer for
your opponents, or you’re still sunk.

The Good Listener
 Have a look at the piece about tall people at
concerts. Give it a scan now.
 Identify all the major parts of the Toulmin
Argument.

What if I don’t care…
 Dealing with rebuttals in literature poses unique
challenges:
– You might not really care about your topic.
– When you don’t care, considering various
perspectives becomes arduous.
– Also, sometimes there don’t seem to be any
rebuttals.
If this is the case, you might not have a very
compelling claim to begin with.

What if I don’t care…
 For literary arguments, consider alternative
interpretations of the text.
– Other themes that could be seen as more
relevant.
– Other views of the characters’ motivations.
– Other interpretations of the events.
– Other interpretations of symbols.

Still Needs Evidence
 Providing evidence for the rebuttal
demonstrates that it is a legitimate rebuttal:
– Some people might say that Romeo wasn’t really in
love with Juliet; he was gay and overcompensating.
 Neat idea and certainly one that you can refute in your
counterargument, but without any evidence, the rebuttal
loses its power and renders the point irrelevant.

Practice
 Go back to your work for “Nine Lives.”
 Consider a reasonable, cogent rebuttal to the
MAIN CLAIM.
 Then consider your counterargument—your
response to the rebuttal.

Dealing with the Devil:
Defeating Rebuttal with Counterargument
 Tactic #1: Strategic concession
 acknowledge SOME of the opposition argument’s
merits—but reject it overall.
 In some cases, this may mean accepting or
incorporating some components of an authors'
argument, while rejecting other parts of it.
 “Sure, regulation of medicinal marijuana may be helpful,
but…”

 Tactic #2: Refutation
 show important weaknesses and shortcomings in an
opponent's position that demonstrate their argument must
be rejected in its entirety.
 “Though the belief that immigrants to America destroy
the fabric of American society persists, it contradicts all
that American rhetoric, from our Founding Fathers to the
Statue of Liberty, has established as our core American
beliefs.”

 Tactic #3: Demonstration of
irrelevance
 opposing views, while perhaps valid in certain respects, do
not in fact meet the criteria of relevance that define the
issue.
 “Though some may interpret Romeo’s actions as the
selfish pursuits of young boys, this doesn’t quite fit with
Shakespeare’s message of the extreme danger that wild
passions can pose.”

Counterargument

Counterargument
 The other half to the rebuttal.
 You need to have a response to the rebuttal;
otherwise, you need to change your claim!
 You must have evidence here, too.

Organizing the Rebuttal and
Counterargument in your writing.
 Combine the rebuttal and counterargument in
the topic sentence of one paragraph.
– Spend a sentence or two in the beginning of the
paragraph to substantiate the rebuttal. (With
evidence)
– Devote most of the paragraph to the
counterargument. (With plenty of evidence.)

Organizing the Rebuttal and
Counterargument in your writing.
 Devote a whole paragraph to the rebuttal
developing the idea with plenty of evidence.
 Have another paragraph for the
counterargument.

The Toulmin Chart

All Together Now!
 With all of this work on the Toulmin model,
we might ask ourselves, “Now what?”
 Meet your new pre-writing organizer:
 The Toulmin Chart!

All Together Now!
 For every essay you do this year, you will fill out a similar
Toulmin Chart. You will identify your
– Grounds
– Claim
– Warrant
– Backing
– Rebuttal
– Counterargument
 Look at your work for “Nine Lives.” Make any final
revisions to your chart and submit.

Qualifiers

The Qualifier
 Arguments are NOT expected to
demonstrate certainties! They can usually only
establish probabilities.
 Thus, claims are qualified to meet anticipated
objections of an audience.
 The Qualifier states the degree of force or
probability to be attached to the claim—
essentially, how sure the arguer is about its
correctness.
 It specifies the arguer’s self-imposed limits to
the universality of claim, warrant and backing by
establishing conditionality, when necessary.

Them’s Qualifyin’ words, mister!
 Examples:
Sometimes
Maybe
Might
Many
Some
Few
Possibly
Probably
Most
Usually
Virtually
 As a result of the
specific Qualifier in
use, arguments may
range from strong,
unconditional
assertions to
generally floppy or
largely uncertain
statements.

So, qualify me!
 Example:
 CLAIM:
 Hearing aids help people hear better
 CLAIM + QUALIFIER
 Hearing aids help most people hear better
 The arguer recognizes that hearing aids do not work
for 100% of hearing-loss patients; this recognition
allows the arguer to alert the audience that this
specific reality is known and understood, and will not
be part of the argument.

Qualifier Variant!
 A variant on the qualifier is the reservation, which
offers the audience recognition of the greater
possibility that the claim is incorrect—without
actually saying so.
CLAIM:
Hearing aids do no harm to ears.
CLAIM WITH RESERVATION:
Except in situations when there is
additional ear damage beyond hearing
loss, hearing aids do no harm to ears.

The Path to Stronger Claims

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