A N O T H E R P I E C E O F T H E A R G U M E N T P UZ Z L E

THE TOULMIN APPROACH TO ARGUMENT

USING YOUR PHONE…

• Research the following three terms. On a clean sheet of paper, write out what you find. This can be a bulleted list!

• Claim• Data• Warrant

ELEMENTS OF AN ARGUMENT

• According to Stephen Toulmin, arguments are composed of three main elements:

• Claims

• Data/Evidence

• Warrants

STEPHEN E. TOULMIN

• He was born in England in 1922.• He was a philosopher and

rhetorical theorist.• He taught at USC from

1993-2009.• In 1958, he offered his

model of argumentation: a way to compare “truths.”

WHAT IS CLAIM, DATA, WARRANT?

• Claim, data, warrant (CDW) is a formal and logical writing style.

• CDW helps you PROVE your thoughts in a logical way using evidence.

• It also can be used for answering open response questions, discussion questions, or writing paragraphs & essays.

• You can use it in any class.

• It is what you already know how to do with writing:

• Claim – a thesis about a topic

• Data – the support (evidence) about a topic

• Warrant – a general, unspoken rule that most people would agree upon

TOULMIN’S MODEL

• When a prompt asks you to support, refute, or qualify a statement, use this method.

CLAIM

• This is the main point of the argument. What you are trying to prove.

• Example: The school lunch program contributes to childhood obesity.

DATA/EVIDENCE

Includes facts, statistics, authorities, SOLID opinion, and examples all usually from source material depending on the claim.

Example:On October 5, Mesa Public Schools served two options for lunch: pizza and burritos. The pizza contained 21 grams of fat, and the burrito contained 15 grams of fat. A healthy meal should contain no more than 7 grams of fat (Donovan 3).

WARRANT

An assumption/rule which shows the connection between the claim and the evidence.

Example:Feeding students lunches with wit high fat contents will cause students to acquire extra pounds.

NOTE: The warrant must be widely accepted or believed to be true by the majority of the public.

CONNECTION

• Sometimes it helps to create a diagram of the claim, data, and warrant that looks like the example below.

Claim----------------------------------------------Data Lunch program is bad Pizza/burritos have

high fat content

Warrant: Fatty lunches cause obesity.

LET’S TRY THIS OUT!

• On the same sheet of paper as your notes, write the name of your favorite movie and 3 reasons (claims) why you like it.

Example:• The Little Mermaid• 1. It’s a sweet love story.• 2. It’s appropriate for people of all ages.• 3. The music is memorable.

NEXT, ADD IN THE DATA (EVIDENCE)

• 1. It’s a sweet love story.• Prince Eric is handsome, wealthy, and kind; Ariel is

curious, kind, and outgoing. It’s nice that two people who enjoy life so much have found each other.

• 2. It’s appropriate for people of all ages.• The love story is G-rated, making it appropriate for

younger children. Adults can enjoy the innocent love story as well as the catchy music.

• 3. The music is memorable. • Nearly everyone can sing at least some part of “Under

the Sea”.

NOW, ADD IN THE WARRANT (CONNECTION)

• 1. It’s a sweet love story.• Prince Eric is handsome, wealthy, and kind; Ariel is curious,

kind, and outgoing. It’s nice that two people who enjoy life so much have found each other. • Warrant:

• 2. It’s appropriate for people of all ages.• The love story is G-rated, making it appropriate for younger

children. Adults can enjoy the innocent love story as well as the catchy music. • Warrant:

• 3. The music is memorable. • Nearly everyone can sing at least some part of “Under the

Sea”. • Warrant:

SWITCH YOUR PAPER WITH A PARTNER AND…

• Find a bad movie review for your partner’s favorite movie on your phone! Try RottenTomatoes.com!

STEP 1

STEP 2

STEP 3

STEP 4

STEP 5

'THE LITTLE MERMAID‘ BY HAL HINSON "The Little Mermaid," Walt Disney's likably unspectacular

adaptation of the Hans Christian Andersen classic, has a message, it is this: Girls just don't want to have fins. Flicking her amber tresses out of her eyes, Ariel, the film's heroine, laments the undersea life. She wants to be "where the people are," up in the sun, "walkin' around on those, whaddaya call 'em? Feet."

The calypso crab composer Sebastian and her puffy flounder pal, Flounder, urge her to do as her father, Triton, King of the Merpeople, says and remain true to her underwater roots. As Sebastian sings in his Busby Berkeleyesque sales pitch, "Under the Sea," "Darlin', it's better where it's wetter."

Ariel's longing for things human is too strong for her to resist, even if humans are considered barbarians by most undersea folk. For years she's been collecting people stuff, picked up in shipwrecks, and taking it to her sea gull friend, Scuttle, who is endearingly creative in his identifications. Her passion only increases when she spies a dark-haired young prince aboard a passing ship. Eventually the prince, whose name is Eric, is washed overboard in a storm, and Ariel saves his life.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR:

• First, look for the three appeals.

• Ethos:

• Logos:

• Pathos:

• Then, look for the:

• Claims (s)

• Warrant (s)

• Data

BASED ON THE EVIDENCE…

• Who has the stronger argument? Your partner? The movie reviewer?

• In a reflection type paragraph, explain which argument has the better evidence and support for the claim.

FINAL CONNECTION

• Look back at your annotated copy of “Letter from Birmingham Jail”.

• Using written annotations, identify the claim, warrant(s), and data present in MLK’s argument. We will talk about this next class!