Argument is kinda tough to teach cause all the books on it suck and if all you do is tell kids what NOT to to - that's what going to happen. They're not going to do it. We gotta be positive here. There's not a lot of really well-structured arguments in day-to-day talk, so we gotta go old-school here to this model that looks like a teeter-totter. Here's where Toulmin hits the streets. He says making arguments with real life examples is tough, but here's the basics:
The Data: The starting point and the reason you got on the teeter-totter.
The Warrant: The down low, what we should already know, and what the argument hinges on. Get it?!
The Claim: the point you're trying to make by the time you've gone through the whole teeter-totter.
Ok but here's the catch - arguments aren't always rainbows and butterflies here. There's going to be times when you need a little street cred to get the argument to stand on its own. Here's your backup singers:
The Qualifier: likes to hang out with the claim, keeps the argument realistic, "Keeps it real."
The Reservation: sometimes the warrant isn't always right (even Dog the Bounty Hunter could tel you that), so the reservation sets some ground rules (the first rule of fight club...)
The Backing: justifies what we're assuming with the warrant is legit, gives it a reason to be.
Ellen, your model was so helpful! The wording in the Toulmin Model essay is so complex and complicated, so it was a relief to read it in more "college-kid friendly" terms. I am impressed! Thank you!
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