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Argument instruction is necessary
Argument comprehension is required in school assignments, standardized testing, and political and
personal decision-making
High-school students, however, are not proficient argument processors
 Only 13% of 12th graders were judged “skillful” or “excellent” in a persuasive writing
assessment (NAEP, 1998)
What is a formal argument?
An argument is an attempt to persuade the reader to change their attitude, belief, or behavior by
providing one or more reasons.
Main parts of an argument are: claim, reason, qualifier, backing, warrants, counter-claims, and
rebuttals.
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Argument elements
Claim -- a disputable statement that an author is trying to persuade you to accept; something not
everyone will agree to.
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Qualifier -- indicates the degree of certainty and generalizability for an element.
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Reason -- a statement that supports the claim. It tells you why you should believe the claim to be
true.
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Warrant -- forms the connection or “bridge” from the reason to the claim. It is a general rule, law,
principle, or practice that permits the conclusion given the reason. Usually unstated so must be
inferred.
Practice: Argument identification
People should probably stop and ask for directions when they are lost because driving around, trying to
figure out where they are will make them late. People who ask directions get to their destination about 5
minutes faster than those not asking for directions. Of course, the person they ask may give them bad
directions, but that rarely happens if they ask an attendant at a gas station.
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Claim:
Qualifiers:
Reason:
Warrant:
Answer: Argument identification
People should probably stop and ask for directions when they are lost because driving around, trying to
figure out where they are will make them late. People who ask directions get to their destination about 5
minutes faster than those not asking for directions. Of course, the person they ask may give them bad
directions, but that rarely happens if they ask an attendant at a gas station.
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Claim: People should stop to ask directions when lost.
Qualifiers: Probably
Reason: Trying to drive around and figure out where we are will make us late.
Warrant: One should take actions that prevent them from being late.
Counters to the Argument
Arguments often examine alternatives to the main claim.
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Counter-claim -- the opposite side of the main claim.
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Counter-reason -- indicates why the claim may NOT be believable.
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Rebuttal -- a sub-argument attempting to show why a reason or claim is not true. It specifies an
exception to an element of an argument.
Practice: Identify counter information
People should probably stop and ask for directions when they are lost because driving around, trying to
figure out where they are will make them late. People who ask directions get to their destination about 5
minutes faster than those not asking for directions. Of course, the person they ask may give them bad
directions, but that rarely happens if they ask an attendant at a gas station.
 Counter-claim:
 Counter-reason:
Rebuttal:
Answer: Identify counter information
People should probably stop and ask for directions when they are lost because driving around, trying to
figure out where they are will make them late. People who ask directions get to their destination about 5
minutes faster than those not asking for directions. Of course, the person they ask may give them bad
directions, but that rarely happens if they ask an attendant at a gas station.
 Counter-claim: People should not stop to ask directions when lost.
 Counter-reason: Person may give them bad directions.
 Rebuttal: Getting bad directions rarely happens if they ask an attendant at a gas station.
DEMO (NOT PRESENTED)
The death penalty is ineffective because many death penalty convictions have been overturned in recent
years as a result of DNA testing.
Claim Elements
Claims = Theme + Stance + Side (+ Qualifiers)
 Theme – topic of the argument (e.g., death penalty)
 Stance – specific action or belief being advocated (e.g., should be abolished, is harmful, is
necessary)
 Side – pro (arguing for) or con (arguing against)
 Qualifiers – certainty (maybe) and generality (all, some)
Practice: Identify claim elements
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Exercise should be required of all college students because it increases overall health levels.
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Exercise is beneficial because studies show that people that increase their exercise level lose
weight.
Answers: Identify claim elements
Exercise should be required of all college students because it increases overall health levels.
Qualifier:
all
Theme:
exercise
Stance:
Side: pro
should be required of
Exercise is beneficial because studies show that people that increase their exercise level lose weight.
Qualifier:
most
Theme:
exercise
Stance:
is beneficial
Side: pro
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Common types of claims
Value -- attempt to change your belief or attitude.
is effective, is good, is safer, is valuable,
is important, is harmful
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Policy -- attempt to change your behavior.
should legalize, should allow, should require,
should increase
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Factual – something existed, exists, or will exist or about what caused something to exist.
Mars’ atmosphere supported life, cigs cause cancer, unemployment rates will improve)
Reasoning from gist representations
People create multiple independent levels of representation simultaneously (Brainerd & Reyna, 1998;
Johnson-Laird, 1985; Kintsch & van Dyke, 1978; Roediger & McDermott, 2000).
• Verbatim – preserving the surface form
• Gist – abstracted summary of the meaning
According to the Fuzzy Trace theory, people reason from the least precise level they can (Brainerd &
Reyna, 1992).
Precision required for arguments
Argument comprehension, however, requires a precise representation.
• The death penalty is immoral because many death penalty convictions have been overturned in
recent years.
• The death penalty is ineffective because many death penalty convictions have been overturned
in recent years.
Immediate recall of all claim elements
Assess accuracy of memory for the claim:
 stance (e.g., is ineffective, should ban),
 theme (e.g., recycling, death penalty), and
 side (e.g., pro, con)
Method
Read 24 2-clause arguments
Rated agreement on 6 pt scale
Recall argument
Design: Claim Type (policy vs. value) X Element (stance vs. theme vs. side)
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Claim recall results
Recall of claim-stance term was low (84%)
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Policy arguments recalled more accurately than value arguments (due to stance term recall)
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Themes and side were recalled more accurately than stance terms
Percent of terms recalled
Policy
Value
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Stance
Theme
Side
Claim term
Judge whether structurally or logically flawed
Adventure sports are a thrilling way to exercise and more colleges should have adventure sports clubs.
Unsupported claims
 Unsupported claim – claim without at least one reason
Adventure sports are a thrilling way to exercise and more colleges should have adventure sports clubs.
 This is a structurally flawed argument because it does not have a supporting reason.
Judge whether structurally or logically flawed
It is a good idea for car insurance companies to charge higher rates to those under the age of 25 because
people under the age of 25 are unlikely to have children.
Unwarranted arguments
 Unwarranted arguments – reason fails to provide support for the claim
It is a good idea for car insurance companies to charge higher rates to those under the age of 25 because
people under the age of 25 are unlikely to have children.
 This is a structurally flawed argument because the reason does not have support the stance of the
claim.
Judge whether structurally or logically flawed
Cloning should not be allowed because cloning techniques are derived from technological advancements.
Universities should censor all mail sent on university computers.
Most creators of computer viruses do not have malicious intent because the function of most human DNA
is to harmlessly replicate itself.
Answer: Judge whether structurally or logically flawed
Unwarranted: Cloning should not be allowed because cloning techniques are derived from technological
advancements.
Unsupported claim: Universities should censor all mail sent on university computers.
Unwarranted (due to changed theme): Most creators of computer viruses do not have malicious intent
because the function of most human DNA is to harmlessly replicate itself.
Training study
To attempt to improve students’ ability to recognize structurally flawed arguments with a tutorial
 Control
 No feedback tutorial
 Immediate feedback tutorial
Argument types:
 Warranted
 Unsupported arguments
 Unwarranted reasons
 Change themes (thematically different theme)
Sample Items From Test
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Claim Only
It is a good idea for car insurance companies to charge higher rates to those under the age
of 25.
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Unwarranted arguments
… because people under the age of 25 are unlikely to have children.
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Good arguments
… because younger drivers represent a higher risk to insurance companies.
Accuracy
Results (Evaluation training)
Control
No feedback tutorial
Feedback tutorial
100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Warranted
Unsupported
Changed
theme
Unwarranted
Argument type
Claim-trigger module
Believability of Statements
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Imagine reading a novel. The truth of the statements presented in the novel usually doesn’t matter.
We are often willing to suspend our disbelief while reading novels. We whole-heartedly accept the
world created by the author.
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On the other hand, when we read to learn, understand, or make decisions, then the truth of
statements does matter. You have to be able to notice when a claim is being made, and then
evaluate the quality of the claim and supporting reasons.
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Some of the claims will be well-founded, whereas others may have little to no support at all.
Importance of claims
People make claims all the time such as:
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LCD TVs are most energy efficient.
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You should take Prozac if you are depressed.
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Whole foods has the best fresh produce.
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Americans should buy American-made products.
The Rayma® Bracelet will balance your body’s ions and renew your body’s energy.
Importance of claims
When people make these claims, their intension is to persuade you to believe or do something.
Generally, however, they do not provide reasons or support to tell you why they think their
statement is true.
It is important for you to notice when people make claims so you can determine whether they have
enough support for their claim.
Thus, this power point we help you become more skilled in detecting claims.
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What is a claim?
Claims are debatable statements that the speaker is trying to persuade you to believe a certain way
about. By “debatable”, we mean that people can have different opinions or stances on the issue.
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Because the claim is not agreed upon, it requires support.
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The more controversial the claim, the more support it requires if you want to convince your
audience.
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Clues to claims
There are many clues that can help you decide that you have encountered a claim. We are going to
show you 4 such ways:
1. Use of knowledge or beliefs
2. Presence of evidence
3. Use of modal verbs
4. Use of evaluative terms
(1) Use your knowledge or beliefs to identify claims
One way to identify claims is to check the believability of statements you hear against your own
knowledge or beliefs.
A statement may be a claim if it runs counter to your beliefs.
– Remember that claims are debatable statements. So finding someone that disagrees with a
statement will indicate that the statement is debatable. If you notice that a statement is against
your personal beliefs or those of others, you can classify it as a claim.
E.g., Let’s say you believe that TV isn’t harmful and you hear
“Watching violent TV programs is harmful”
Since it is against your beliefs, you can see it is a claim and then ask “What’s
your evidence?”
A statement may also be detected as a claim if you have knowledge that the topic is controversial
– the easiest way to recognize a claim is to be familiar with different opinions on the topic.
E.g., If you know that that the topic of TV violence is controversial. It will than be easy to
notice that the following statement is a claim:
“Watching violent TV programs is harmful”.
So pay attention to your own knowledge and beliefs when trying to identify claims.
(2) Use the presentation of evidence to identify claims
Another clue that indicates a claim was made is the presence of evidence
– when the arguer gives you a reason to support the statement, then they are acknowledging that
it is controversial
E.g., “TV violence is harmful. We know this because of studies
showing increased violence in kids that also watch more violent TV programs.”
Notice that the speaker gives you a reason to try to persuade you that the claim
is believable. Therefore, the speaker is indicating that a claim is being made.
(3) Use of modal verbs to identify claims
A statement may be a claim if it has a modal verb.
– Certain types of claims have modals verbs such as “should”, “must”, “ought to”, “might”,
“shall”, “could”. These verbs forms indicate a claim about how the world should be.
E.g., “Kids should not watch violent TV programs.”
These type of claims with modal verbs are a special type. We call them policy claims. Policy claims are
those in which the speaker is trying to convince you to change a behavior.
E.g., Hunting animals for sport should be prohibited.
We should be allowed to hunt animals for sport.
Parents should encourage their children to hunt animals for sport.
We must hunt animals for sport to keep their population down.
(4) Use of evaluative terms
A statement may be a claim if it has one or more evaluative terms.
– Some terms such as “good”, “immoral”, “harmful”, “pretty”, indicate that the arguer is making
an evaluation or judgment of something.
E.g., It is important to monitor the number of violent TV programs your kids watch.
These type of claims with evaluative terms are a special type. We call them value claims. Value claims
are those in which the speaker is trying to convince you to trying to change a belief.
E.g.,
Hunting animals for sport is moral appropriate.
Hunting animals for sport is enjoyable.
It is harmful for rents to encourage their children to hunt animals for sport.
Hunt animals for sport is effective in keeping their population down.
Value claims use evaluative terms
Value claims often have “is” or “are” and an evaluation or opinion term.
Things can be evaluated on many dimensions including:
value (worthy/unworthy, valuable/not valuable, important/unimportant)
E.g., It is important to monitor the number of violent TV programs your kids
watch.
goodness (right/wrong, approve/disapprove, benefit/harm, good/bad)
E.g., Watching violent TV programs is harmful.
justice (just/unjust)
E.g., It is unfair to restrict kids viewing of violent TV programs.
ascetics or preference (like/dislike, pleasant/unpleasant, pretty/ugly)
E.g., Most kids dislike watching violent TV programs.
interpretation of data (what a finding means)
E.g., Recent research shows that watching violent TV programs is harmful.
You can argue that your value or evaluation is best, but it can not be determined to be true objectively.
These are always claims!
Evaluating claim-ness
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2
3
4
6
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Less obvious
More obvious
claim
claim
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1. Kids do not have sex until they are 25 years old.
2. It is important to educate students about birth control.
3. It is important to educate students about birth control because of the detrimental effects of teen
pregnancy.
4. Condoms should be provided to students.
5. Condoms are effective.
6. Condoms are a safe method of birth control.
7. Studies show that condoms are 95% effective.
Name that claim
Chicago should legalize river-boat gambling.
Ignoring air resistance, an object falling freely near the Earth's surface increases its velocity by 32.2 ft/s
for each second of its descent.
Helping the underprivileged is a worthwhile and rewarding practice.
Poverty in the U.S. in 2010 is below a family income of $11,000 per year.
Recycling materials is a right thing to do.
Physician-assisted suicide must not be permitted for terminally ill patients.
Do you really think we should have to pay taxes?
It is inappropriate for the United States to intervene in other countries’ affairs.
Chewing gum while peeling onions will keep you from crying.
Illinois should mandate recycling.
The first Harley Davidson motorcycle was built in 1903, and used a tomato can for a carburetor.
Sexually explicit music lyrics should be banned.
It is important for people to recycle.
Six-year-olds laugh an average of 300 times a day while adults only laugh 15 to 100 times a day.
We must return children to their natural parents whenever possible.
Google is actually the common name for a number with a million zeros.
The highway speed should not be limited to 55mph.
Grading is an effective way to motivate high school students.
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What is the support for your assertion?
We hope this tutorial helped you learn to better identify claims using:
1. Your knowledge or beliefs
2. Presence of evidence
3. Presence of modal verbs
4. Presence of evaluative terms
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When you detect such claims, ask yourself did the speaker provide evidence or support for their
claim?
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The more controversial the claim, the more support it requires if you want to convince your
audience.
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OK. Why did I call this the “Claim-trigger module”?
It is important to detect claims
We hope this tutorial helped you learn to better identify claims
When you notice a claim, you want to then