2. Stephen Toulmin developed the
model for analyzing the kind of
argument you read and hear
everyday – in newspapers and on
television, at work, in classrooms,
and in conversation.
The Toulmin Model is not meant to
judge the success or failure of an
attempt to prove an argument,
instead it helps break an argument
down to its most basic pieces.
It helps to show how tightly
constructed arguments are, and
how each part of an argument
relates to the overall validity or
reasonableness of that argument.
3. Six parts that make
up an argument
CLAIM · GROUNDS · WARRANTS · BACKING
RESERVATIONS · QUALIFIERS
4. “ My friends who graduated from college most likely will be
successful. The LA Times reports that college graduates
earn more money in their lifetime. All people who graduate
from college are successful, unless they are lazy or have
unrealistic expectations as my uncle says. ”
Grounds Qualifier Claim
(Friends graduated (Most likely) (Friends will be
from college) successful)
Warrant Reservation
(All people who graduate from (Unless they are lazy or have
college are successful) unrealistic expectations)
Backing Backing
(Several friends I have who have (LA Times article that college graduates
graduated from college) earn more in their working lifetime)
5. This is the main point, the
thesis, the controlling idea.
The claim may be directly
stated or the claim may be
implied.
You can find the claim by
asking the question, “What
is the advocate trying to
prove?”
6. In the sample argument, the
conclusion you have
reached is that your college
graduate friends will lead
successful lives. This is the
claim.
7. These are the reasons given
in support of the claim; they
are also known as evidence,
proof, or arguments. The
support of a claim can come
in the form of facts and
statistics, expert opinion,
examples, explanations, and
logical reasoning.
You can find the support by
asking, “What does the
advocate say to persuade the
audience of the claim?”
8. In the sample argument, the
grounds are that you have
several friends who have
obtained a college degree.
9. This is the logic underlying the
argument. The warrant is some
universal law of nature, legal
principle or statute, rule of thumb,
mathematical formula, or specific
type of reasoning. Warrants usually
begin with the words like all, every,
any, anytime, whenever, or are if-
then, either-or, statements. A
general rule of logic is that from
less than an absolute warrant no
valid conclusion can be drawn.
You can infer warrants by asking,
“What’s causing the advocate to
say things he/she does?” or
“Where’s the advocate coming
from?”
10. In the sample argument, the
warrant is that all people
who graduate from college
are successful.
11. Backing is the specific data
which is used to justify and
support the grounds and
warrant. Critical thinkers
realize that there must be
backing for their statements
or they are merely
assertions.
12. In the sample argument, the
backing for the grounds are
specific friends who
graduated from college.
The backing for the warrant
comes from an LA Times
article that college
graduates earn more in
their working lifetime than
non-college graduates do.
13. They are the “unlesses” to the
warrant. A rule of logic is that
from less than an absolute
warrant, no valid conclusion
can be drawn. Thus,
reservations do not change
the wording of the warrant.
That is, reservations do not
change the “universality” of
the warrant, but do mean that
an appropriate qualifier for the
claim must be considered
because these exceptions
exist.
14. In the sample argument,
your uncle has a
reservation to the warrant.
He states that people who
get a college degree will
succeed, unless they are
lazy. The “unless they are
lazy” is the reservation to
the warrant.
15. Because argument is about
possibility, not about
certainty, you should not
use superlatives like
all, every, absolutely or
never, none, no one.
Instead you may need to
qualify (tone down) your
claim with expressions like
many, probably, some or
rarely, few, possibly, etc.
16. In the sample argument,
your uncle tells you that
“most likely” that they will
become successful. The
“most likely” is the qualifier.
17. The six parts that make up
an argument are:
Claim
Grounds
Warrants
Backing
Reservations
Qualifiers
