Claim, Reason, Evidence, Warrant, Acknowledgement/Response

Claim, Reason, Evidence, Warrant, Acknowledgement/Response

CLAIM

A statement that is:

·  Not otherwise known.

·  Contestable.

·  Supportable with evidence.

Examples:

1) The Winter Olympics should be held every two years.

2) We should build a memorial for World War II veterans.

3) Hamlet was devoid of Christian values.

REASONS

Statements that:

·  Explain why you think your claim should be accepted by you and by your readers.

·  Represent judgments that you assume are not shared by your readers.

Examples:

The Winter Olympics should be held every two years . . .

Reasons:

1) so aging athletes have more chances to compete.

2) to bring more money into the economies of host cities.

EVIDENCE

Statements that:

·  Describe or otherwise represent facts about the world that are assumed to be shared with readers. ("You could look it up.")

·  Will not be questioned by readers, at least not for the moment.

·  Note: evidence is comprised of representations of states of affairs that are treated, for the sake of the argument at hand, as external, foundational facts.

Examples:

The Winter Olympics should be held every two years so aging athletes have more chances to compete.

Evidence:

A study conducted in 1999 by the Organization of Olympic Athletes (OOA) shows that many athletes peak during non-Olympic years and, as a result of aging, can no longer compete when the games re-open.

WARRANTS

General principles that:

·  Assert a principled connection between a kind of reason/ evidence and a kind of claim.

·  Have two components, a reason/ evidence side and a claim side.

·  Are normally assumed rather than stated.

·  Represent shared beliefs and values without which an argument cannot get off the ground.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND RESPONSE

Acknowledgments

Statements that:

·  Raise or refer to alternative claims, reasons, evidence, or warrants.

·  Locate an argument in a field of possible arguments.

·  Show readers that you have not ignored their concerns.

Responses

Statements that:

·  Accept or reject an acknowledged alternative.

·  Offer arguments or mini-arguments against an alternative.

·  Explain the complications and limits of your argument.

QUALIFICATIONS

Words, phrases, and occasionally sentences that:

·  Specify degrees of certainty, limits on the sufficiency or quality of evidence, etc.

·  Limit the range of a claim.

-  State conditions required for a claim to apply (excluding clauses concerning obvious conditions that go without saying).

-  Show readers your sense of the reliability and range of applicability of your argument.

Reminders about persuasive speeches

1.  Topics need to be substantive, need to have a counterargument.

2.  If your audience is emotional about the topic or doesn’t understand, ese logos to get to facts.

3.  If your audience doesn’t care about topic, use pathos to stir them up.

4.  If your audience finds it hard to believe, stress ethos of you and sources.