By Stephen Toulmin
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Hook
 Interest for the reader
 Fact, quote, definition, description
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Information about the topic
 GENERAL
 What do I need to know to understand your
paper?
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Thesis
 Subject/Prompt
 Claim
▪ What are you wanting to say about the Subject/Prompt?
▪ Ex. The theme of isolation in Ender’s Game is important
because it creates a killer inside of Ender.
 What are you going to tell me (the reader) about
the subject?
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Topic Sentence
 Main Idea of the paragraph
 Mini-claim
▪ Prove thesis true
 Ex. Ender’s isolation causes him to go crazy.
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Evidence/Data
 SPECIFIC examples of support
 Quotes, data, statistics
 Ex. Ender yells at Bean for small things that didn’t
really matter.
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Analysis/Warrant
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Importance
Significance
Why does this support my thesis?
Warrant
▪ Warrant for someone’s arrest.
▪ CLAIM: You need to come to court.
▪ WARRANT: Why you need to come to court.
 The specific charges
 Ex. By yelling at Bean, Ender shows that he no longer
can remember the Lauchie he used to be. All he cares
about is the battles and war.
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Restate Thesis
 REWORDED
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Highlight Main Points
 Analysis/Warrants
 Why is what I proved important
 Ex. Ender’s isolation was vital in him killing the
Buggars and saving the world. Without it, he would
have been too scared to kill them.