0 Developed by philosopher

Stephen Toulmin in his 1958 book The Uses of Argument 0 Assertion + because statements 0 http://www.draughtshisto ry.nl/toulmin.htm

Components of a Toulmin Argument

0 Claim- Claim-Assertion or thesis 0 Data-information to support your claim 0 Warrant-why the data supports the claim (sometimes can

be omitted) Optional Components: 0 Backing-Support for the warrant 0 Rebuttal- Explain the other sides position but show why yours is better 0 Qualifier-Indicate precisely the conditions under which your claim does or does not apply (words such as sometimes, possibly, may, perhaps, etc.)

Claim
Claim-Assertion or thesis: A major objective of this countrys space program should be to land a crew of astronauts on Mars

Data
Data-information to support your claim: Because knowing about Mars will help us understand our own planet and the life it supports since Mars may have had water-and life-at one time

Warrant
Warrant-why the data supports the claim (sometimes can be omitted): it is important that we understand our planet (this would probably be assumed)

Backing
Backing-Support for the warrant: Understanding our own planet and the life it supports is crucial to our survival as a species, and knowing about Mars will help us do that

Rebuttal
Rebuttal- Explain the other sides position but show why yours is better: While space flight with astronauts is expensive, in terms of our total economy those costs are small and the possible knowledge we could gain is priceless

Qualifier
Qualifier-Indicate precisely the conditions under which your claim does or does not apply (words such as sometimes, possibly, may, perhaps, etc.): Major objective of the space program may be the exploration of Mars by humans, especially if expeditions by robots continue to gather evidence that Mars may have once had life

Taken from the McGraw-Hill Guide