Transcript 1_ArgumentBasics - Willamette University

International Debate Education Association and Willamette University
Basics of Argumentation
2010 Advocacy Institute
Robert Trapp, Willamette University
Agenda
• Structure of an Argument
– Evidence
– Reason
– Claim
– Reservation
•
•
•
•
Making an Argument
Proposition
Case
Opposition and Refutation
Structure of an Argument
• Claim: The basic point that an arguer wishes to make.
A single point. Does not include a “because.”
• Evidence: The data upon which an argument is constructed.
• Reason: Statements (explicit or implicit) that connect the
evidence to the claim.
• Reservation: Instances when the arguer suggests the claim
should not be supported.
Model of an Argument
Reason
Evidence
Claim
Reservation
Example of a Simple Argument
Temperature
increase is
correlated with
human activity
Temperatures in
the Arctic have
increased during
the last 187 years,
but especially in
recent years
Global climate
change is
influenced by
human activity
Making an Argument
State your
claim
Explain your
evidence
Explain your
reasoning
Restate
your claim
Model of a Linked Argument
Reason
Evidence
Claim
Evidence
Reservation
Evidence
Example of a Linked Argument
Human activity
increases production
and consumption of
energy
Production and
consumption of energy
influences global
climate change
Logical combination
of 1 and 2
Human activity
influences
global climate
change.
Model of an Independent Argument
Reason
Evidence
Evidence
Evidence
Claim
Reservation
Example of an Independent Argument
Evidence correlated
to climate change
Avg. global surface
temperature
Avg. global sea level
N. hemisphere snow
cover
Global climate
change is
influenced by
human activity
Proposition
• A proposition functions just like a claim.
• A proposition is the ultimate or final claim that an arguer
wishes to make.
Argument 1
Proposition
Argument 2
Case
• A case, simply defined, is one or more arguments offered
to support a proposition.
Opposition
• Opposition, simply defined, is the presentation of one or
more arguments against the proposition.
Refutation
• Refutation is a process of deconstructing and
criticizing the arguments opposing the
arguer’s case.
Summary
Choose the better
and discard the
worse
Argument
Construction
Argument
Refutation
Generate
arguments better
than either of the
original