Sample Arguments
to be Toulminized
Identify the claim, grounds, and
warrant for each argument
Argument #1
• Gay couples should not
be allowed to marry
legally. The Bible says
“Adam and Eve” not
“Adam and Steve.”
The Toulminized version
• Claim: policy Gay couples
should be legally permitted to
marry.
• Grounds: The Bible says so
• Warrant: Authority: scripture
condemns homosexuality
Argument #2
Volatility in the stock market
will probably persist for the
foreseeable future. In a global
economy, changing
circumstances anywhere in the
world can create uncertainty.
The Toulminized version
• Claim: value/judgment: volatility in the
stock market will probably persist for the
foreseeable future.
• Grounds: In a global economy, changing
circumstances anywhere in the world can
create uncertainty.
• Warrant: cause-effect reasoning; political and
economic uncertainties elsewhere produce
fluctuations in stock values in the U.S.
• Qualifier: probably
Argument #3
• I am now
convinced that we
are perilously close
to the end of
civilization. William
Shatner sold his
kidney stone on
EBay for $25,000.
The Toulminized version
• Claim: value/judgment I am now convinced
that we are perilously close to the end of
civilization.
• Grounds: William Shatner sold his kidney
stone on EBay for $25,000.
• Warrant: Argument by example; absurd acts
like selling body parts on Ebay illustrate that
our civilization is teetering on the edge.
• Note: this wouldn’t be a serious argument
Argument # 4
• “George Bush
doesn’t care
about black
people” Kanye
West
The Toulminized version
• Claim: value/judgment George Bush
doesn’t care about black people.
• Grounds: FEMA’s response to hurricane
Katrina was intentionally slow
• Warrant: cause-effect the reason the
federal government didn’t respond faster
is because most of the victims were black.
Argument #5
• Ronald Reagan’s
likeness should be
chiseled onto Mt.
Rushmore, alongside
Washington,
Jefferson Lincoln and
Roosevelt. Polls show
Americans rank him
with John F. Kennedy
and Abraham Lincoln
as one of the greatest
presidents of all time.
The Toulminized version
• Claim: policy Ronald Reagan’s likeness
should be chiseled onto Mt. Rushmore.
• Grounds: Polls show Americans rank him with
JFK and Lincoln as one of the greatest
presidents of all time.
• Warrant: value assumption; public popularity
is the basis for determining whose face belongs
on Mt. Rushmore.
Argument #6
How do you know WWE wrestling is fake?
I’ll tell you how. You never see the
results printed in the Sports section of
the newspaper.
The Toulminized version
• Claim: factual claim WWE wrestling is fake.
• Grounds: The results are never reported in
the Sports section of the newspaper.
• Warrant: argument from authority & sign
reasoning; authority; newspapers only print
the results of legitimate sports. sign;
newspaper coverage is a reliable sign of a
genuine sport
Argument #7
Conservatives may not like
it, but citizens have a
Constitutional right to
burn the American flag.
Flag burning is a symbolic,
political act and it is
precisely such unpopular,
offensive symbolic acts
that the 1st amendment
was designed to protect.
The Toulminized version
• Claim: value/judgment Conservatives
may not like it, but citizens do have a
Constitutional right to burn the American
flag.
• Grounds: Flag burning is a symbolic,
political act and it is precisely such
unpopular, offensive symbolic acts that the
1st amendment was designed to protect.
• Warrant: value premise; Not only words,
but symbolic acts, such as flag burning, are
encompassed within the scope of the 1st
amendment.
Argument #8
Herbal remedies may do more harm than
good in some cases. People with serious
health problems may delay or forego
needed medical care because they are
relying on herbal remedies
St. John’s Wort
The Toulminized version
• Claim: value/judgment Herbal remedies
may do more harm than good.
• Grounds: People with serious health
problems may delay or forego needed
medical care because they are relying on
herbal medicines.
• Warrant: cause-effect reasoning; the
effect of relying on herbal remedies is to
postpone needed medical care
• Qualifier: in some cases