The Toulmin Model

A Tool for Understanding Argument

Stephen Toulmin: British Philospher

1922 – 2009

Famous for his argument & reasoning model.

Why learn this method?O Know how to understand and identify the key

pieces and functions of each piece of an argument so you can determine whether it is effective .

O Know the elements necessary to structure a sound argument.

O Know the elements of an argument so you can determine what is missing from your argument or other arguments.

O Sound smart.O Learn language used in argument analysis and

apply to your own rhetorical analyses on the AP test!

Vocabulary #2O Words to look out for & define:

O Claim (review)O GroundsO WarrantO BackingO Qualifiers

Make some inferences based on this picture.

Possible InferencesO The lady is the child’s mother

because…

O It is a hot day because…

O The lady is middle to upper class because…

O It is summer because…

Claim: A statement that asserts a belief or truth and requires supporting evidence

Grounds: the evidence provided to support a claim

Warrant: the statement (expressed or implied) that establishes the logical connection between a claim and its supporting reason. Backing: the evidence provided to support a warrant.

Claim- Grounds- Warrant

The lady is the child’s mother because she is holding the child’s hand.

Mothers often hold their children’s hands to protect them.

The lady is middle to upper class because she is talking on her cell phone.

Cell phones are expensive, so they are typically owned by people in the middle to upper class.

It is summer because the little boy is wearing shorts.Temperatures are hot during the summer, so people wear lighter clothing.

Why Warrants are Necessary

It is hot outside because the lady is holding an umbrella.

Why is it so necessary to explicitly state your warrant in this argument?

A warrant gives you permission to proceed with your argument.

A Sample Argument

ClaimGrounds(support/data)

Warrant

The Angels are likely to win the ballgame They are playing

at home

Generalization: The home team enjoys an advantage in baseball

Backing?

The Structure in a Wordy Sentence

Because (support/ data), therefore (claim), since (warrant) because/ on account of (backing).

Because the woman is holding an umbrella on a sunny day, therefore it must be hot outside, since people use umbrellas to shield themselves from the hot sun on account of the shade provided by the umbrella being cooler than the sun beating down.

Sample SentencesPeople should become vegetarians because vegetarianism is a healthy choice since it eliminates the cholesterol from red meat.

Since slaughtering animals for food is cruel, people should become vegetarians.

Million Dollar Baby won several Academy Awards. Since world-renowned movie experts choose these awards, they are evidence of a movie’s greatness. Therefore, Million Dollar Baby is an excellent film.

Pause & PracticeO Find & color code the sentences in your

structured brainstorm from last week. You might not have all elements present yet.

O Now write a wordy sentence incorporating claim, grounds, warrant, and backing. Use the template below.

O Because (support/ data), therefore (claim), since (warrant) because/ on account of (backing).

Sample ParagraphO When teachers “teach to the test,”

students lose the ability to think deeply and critically about subjects. Faced with increasing pressure to help students succeed on the ACT, teachers are modifying lesson plans to only teach the content on the test. Unfortunately, the content of these tests often reflects lower-level thinking, the type of thinking taught by “drill and kill” teaching methods. Teachers focus on making sure the students can regurgitate information rather than making sure they understand it. This type of teaching does not promote critical thinking.

Another ExampleO Teachers who teach to the test are focused only

on the skills measured by the tests. These skills usually represent lower-level thinking, and they are often not applicable outside of the educational setting. For example, the type of grammar questions asked by the ACT do not necessarily translate into grammatically correct writing, a skill necessary for real life. Also, students are not asked to explain why a sentence is correct or incorrect; they simply must make the correction and move on. When teachers focus on teaching for these type of questions, they don’t get students to think deeply about the material. The focus is just on covering the material. Therefore, “teaching to the test” hurts students’ ability to think critically and deeply.

QualifiersO Qualifiers are words or phrases that

limit the scope of the claimO Examples:

O UsuallyO In a few casesO Under these circumstancesO It seemsO RarelyO OftenO For the most part

Unqualified v. QualifiedO Welfare programs should be cut.

O Ineffective federal welfare programs should be identified, modified, and if necessary, eliminated.

Pause & PracticeO The claims I provided were

unqualified. O Choose 3-4 claims to qualify. Write

the original claim in your notebook, followed by the qualified version.