The core of an argument

1. The core of an argument A Claim With reasons Toulmin Structure for developing arguments

3. Social context

4. �Issue� or �Information�? Issue calls for an argument. What role between you and audience? Teacher, new knowledge � INFO Advocate, persuade audience � ISSUE Examples? Describe a context that justifies your choice. What % of US public schools are failing? What causes US public schools to fail? What techniques for interrogation are permitted? Is playing loud music over prison speakers torture? What is the effect of violent TV shows on children?

5. Psuedo or Reasonable Arguments Fanatical believer or skeptic What evidence would arbitrate? What argument could be given? Lack of shared assumptions Criteria for evaluating �good� or �better� What we can agree on �below� the claim Reasonable arguments? Are Star Wars films good Sci Fi? Should cities subsidize pro sports venues?

6. Toulmin Structure maps out the argument's structure makes you aware of "holes" or missing parts of the structure makes you aware of other possible avenues for making the argument

7. Frame: Claim + Reasons Claim: one sentence answer to issue question Reason: A claim supporting the claim Because, thus, since, consequently, therefore �Because clause�

8. Real-world argument Not grounded in universal statements like logical arguments or proofs Rather, they are: grounded in beliefs, assumptions, values These are often unstated

9. Enthymeme An incomplete logical structure Claim with because clause Depends on an unstated assumption or belief If audience is unwilling or unable to supply the missing piece, then it�s not persuasive

10. Example Enthymeme Women should be allowed to join combat units because the image of women in combat would help eliminate stereotype. Missing? Gender stereotypes are bad and should be eliminated.

11. Enthymeme Claim: Cocaine and heroin should be legalized Stated Reason: because legalization would eliminate the black market for drugs Unstated assumption: An action that eliminates the black market for drugs is good

12. Toulmin terminology The unstated assumption is called the �warrant�

13. Convincing� The �Grounds� Evidence supporting stated reason (because) What you have to go on Facts, data, statistics, testimony, How do you know that <your stated reason>? How do you know legalizing drugs will end black market?

14. If your warrant is questioned� If audience does not immediately accept the unstated assumption (warrant)� Then you need �Backing� The argument that supports the warrant Why do you believe that <unstated reason or warrant>? Why believe that gender stereotypes are harmful and should be eliminated?

15. Toulmin Structure: Summary Claim: Your thesis; issue in dispute and on which you are taking a stand. NASA should launch a human expedition to Mars Reason: A statement that supports your claim. It can be connected to the Claim with the word because. Different audiences will find different reasons to be persuasive. NASA should launch a human expedition to Mars because Americans need a unifying national goal. Warrant: The logical, persuasive connection between claim and reasons. The unstated assumption your audience has to buy into. What unifies the nation ought to be a national priority. Backing: The evidence that allows you to support a warrant. Americans want to be part of something bigger than themselves. A country as diverse as the U.S. needs common purposes and values to hold it together. In the past, common enterprises enabled most Americans to work toward common goals. Grounds: The evidence that allows you to support a reason. The American people are politically divided. A common challenge or problem often unites people to accomplish great things.

16. Due Friday 2/22 Develop an argument for or against the following claim: Computer scientists need a code of ethics such as the ACM Code.Outline the argument using the Toulmin structure as described in Chapter 5. This writing assignment can be in outline form (more to come).

17. Toulmin Structure (outline) Claim (enthymeme) Reason (because clause) Warrant Backing Grounds

18. Practice: Generate Because Clauses A student should report a fellow student who is cheating on an exam or plagiarizing an essay. Sates should legalize marriages between homosexuals Sports records achieved by athletes who used steroids should be identified as �sterioid-aided�. It is permissible to use racial profiling for airport screening. It should be illegal for companies to issue credit cards to anyone under 21.

19. 1. A student should report a fellow student who is cheating on an exam or plagiarizing an essay. pro because plagiarism or cheating is wrong in principle and shouldn�t be condoned by students because condoning plagiarism or cheating reduces the value of good grades earned legitimately because condoning plagiarism or cheating will allow unqualified persons to get positions that would endanger the public (physician who cheated his way through medical school) because accepting plagiarism and cheating leads to acceptance of many other sorts of wrong-doing such as shoplifting, cheating on income tax, etc. con because that would be ratting on a fellow student because it is none of my business because the �rules� covering school assignments aren�t like real laws that have the consent of the governed

20. 2. States should legalize marriages between homosexuals. pro � because current marriage laws discriminate against sexual minorities � because the tax, medical insurance, and other benefits available to heterosexuals entering committed relationships ought to be equally available to homosexuals entering committed relationships � because this would be an important step toward ending prejudice against gay people � because doing so would make it socially easier for gay people to establish long-term committed relationships and reduce promiscuity � because reduction of promiscuity would slow the spread of AIDS con � because doing so would indicate public acceptance of homosexuality � because, to the extent that homosexuality is learned rather than inborn, society ought to encourage heterosexuality over homosexuality � because homosexuality is opposed to Judeo-Christian values � because allowing homosexual marriages would then lead to allowing homosexual couples to adopt children � because this is one step toward the complete overthrow of the traditional family

21. 3. Sports records achieved by athletes known to have used steroids should be identified with an asterisk as �steroid-aided. pro � because steroids provide a competitive advantage in hitting or pitching � because doing so will be fair to those athletes who competed without using steroids � because Major League Baseball used an asterisk to indicate that Roger Maris hit 61 homeruns in more games than Babe Ruth, thereby showing that significant difference in the past � because such a mark will show the younger generation that using such performance enhancing drugs is frowned upon by society � because statistical records are seen as sacred by fans, and steroid use damages the integrity of the records con � because it is debatable how much steroids could significantly help athletes in competition � because such an asterisk would unduly provide a �black eye� to athletes who may have only used steroids for a short time during their long careers � because it is very hard to prove whether a steroid used steroids or not � because Americans need to focus on more relevant and important matters than sports records � because it is questionable to where using asterisks will stop, meaning that the records will become even more muddled than before

22. 6. It should be illegal for credit card companies to issue credit cards to anyone under twenty-one years of age. pro � because such a proposal would limit free market capitalism � because doing so would limit these companies from preying on unsuspecting � because young adults are typically not mature enough to pay off their debts in manner � because young consumers tend to buy objects on whims or for status, not for � because credit card debt is an ever-growing problem for young people, putting significant financial disadvantage before they would start a full-time job � because the parents of young adults who go into credit card debt have to continually them out of debt as a result of their unwise spending decisions con � because, with a few notable exceptions, 18-20 year olds are considered adults � because this proposal assumes 18-20 year olds are not responsible consumers � because young adults would need to use credit cards to buy important and crucial emergency occurs � because using credit cards responsibly provides a verifiable credit record