Posted: July 7th, 2022

WRITING A TOULMIN ARGUMENT

WRITING A TOULMIN ARGUMENT
ENGL 1213: ENGLISH COMPOSITION II
WHAT IS A TOULMIN ARGUMENT?
Devised by British philosopher Stephen Toulmin, the Toulmin model of argument provides a framework for
making and analyzing arguments. This framework consists of six parts, each of which you use every day
when you make or encounter arguments. These six parts are:
1. Claim
2. Qualifiers
3. Reasons/Evidence
4. Warrants
5. Backing
6. Rebuttal/Response
TOULMIN ARGUMENT: THE CLAIM
Much like classical argument, a Toulmin argument is centered upon a claim. The claim is the position that you
take on the topic of your argument. Claims — unlike statements of fact – are assertions, meaning that they
require support. Claims fall into three categories:
1. Claims of fact – answer the question, “What is or is not true?”
2. Claims of value – answer the question, “What is a subject’s worth?”
3. Claims of policy – answer the question, “What should be done?”
Keep in mind that a claim is inherently debatable; that is, it is a source of disagreement. However, good claims
are also defendable. They are not outlandish or offensive.
When devising your claim, ask yourself, “What am I trying to get my audience to accept, believe, or do?”
TOULMIN ARGUMENT: QUALIFIERS
A qualifier is any limitation you place upon your argument so that it’s more accurate and realistic. In other
words, when you qualify your claim, you are reining it in so that it does not go too far.
For example, let’s say you are writing about the role of violent video games in aggressive behavior. At first, you
make the following claim: Violent video games lead to aggressive behavior.
However, after conducting some research, you realize that studies on this topic arrive at very different
conclusions. After revisiting your claim, you revise it to the following: In some cases, violent video games are a
factor in aggressive behavior.
While still a claim of fact, the revised claim is more realistic. Violent video games are a factor in aggressive
behavior in some cases. Such qualifiers show your audience that you are fair and that you avoid sweeping
generalizations.
TOULMIN ARGUMENT: REASONS/EVIDENCE
Reasons and/or evidence make up the support for your claim. To borrow the language of the classical argument, your reasons
would be comparable to your subclaims: they are why you are making the claim. The evidence, in turn, supports the reasons.
This is where your research comes into play. For example:
• Claim: Colleges should not require textbooks for general education courses.
• Reason #1: Textbook costs are far too much for a college student to afford.
• Evidence: U.S. New & World Report notes that “the average full-time, on-campus undergraduate at a four-year
school is estimated to have spent $1240 on books and supplies during the 2019-2020 academic year.”
• Reason #2: Textbook costs continue to rise at an unsustainable rate.
• Evidence: CBS News reports that “the average cost of college textbooks has risen four times faster than the rate
of inflation over the past 10 years.”
• Reason #3: Students who cannot afford textbooks suffer academically.
• Evidence: A survey conducted by U.S. PIRG found that “94% of students who didn’t have the required textbook
for a class felt that it negatively affected their academic progress.”
TOULMIN ARGUMENT: WARRANTS
Any time you make an argument, you are
making assumptions about your audience: their
beliefs, their values, their views. Such
assumptions frequently connect the reasons of
your argument to the claim.
For example, if you argue that plastic straws
should be banned in restaurants because they
are bad for the environment, you are assuming
that your audience cares about the
environment. In Toulmin argument, such
assumptions are called warrants.
Visualized, the relationship between these
components would look like:
Reason:
Plastic straws
damage the
environment
Warrant:
The
environment
is worth
protecting.
Claim:
Plastic straws
should be
banned in
restaurants.
The warrant can be thought of as the “since” part of the
argument. For example, since the environment is worth
protecting, plastic straws should be banned in restaurants.
TOULMIN ARGUMENT: BACKING
In the Toulmin model of argument, it’s not enough to
simply realize the assumptions you make within an
argument. Just as the reasons require evidence, so
too do the warrants require support. This support is
called backing. Let’s use the previous example of a
warrant:
Reason:
Plastic straws
damage the
environment
Warrant:
The
environment
is worth
protecting.
Claim:
Plastic straws
should be
banned in
restaurants.
If you were to take a closer look at the warrant,
you would see that underlying it is additional
evidence. This evidence is called backing.
Warrant:
The
environment
is worth
protecting.
The environment is worth protecting because it’s
essential to our own survival.
If the environment suffers, so too does our
quality of life.
TOULMIN ARGUMENT: REBUTTAL/RESPONSES
Just as in a classical argument, a Toulmin argument anticipates that there will be objections to the claim and argument being
put forth. In classical argument, such objections are acknowledged and addressed in the refutation. In Toulmin argument,
these objections are called conditions of rebuttal. For our purposes, we will refer to this part of the argument as the rebuttal
and responses.
For example, if you were arguing that health care should be paid for through tax funds, you could expect several common
objections:
• Universal health care would put an unfair tax burden on American citizens
• The quality of health care would suffer
• Due to limited revenue, health care would have to be rationed
After acknowledging these rebuttals, you would have to respond in a logical and fair manner. Your response might look like:
• Universal health care would raise taxes, yes – but Americans would never have to worry about going bankrupt due to illness
• Other nations with universal health care have excellent health care systems
• Under our current system, insurance companies already ration health care
TOULMIN MODEL ARGUMENT ANALYSIS
If you organized the elements of an argument using the Toulmin model, it might look like this:
Claim: College tuition should be free.
Qualifier: For those with a household income of less than 100k per year, college tuition should be free.
Reasons: 1. Student debt is crippling, often taking decades to pay off.
• Evidence
2. Student debt forces graduates to postpone getting married, buying a house, and having children. This is bad for
communities and society.
• Evidence
3. Student debt hurts the economy by limiting the spending power of college graduates
• Evidence
Warrants: 1. A college education is meant to increase opportunities, not limit them
2. Having more college graduates is good for the economy.
Backing: Evidence proving that, traditionally, a college education has been the means of upward mobility in American society.
Rebuttal: Evidence proving that:
1. Making college tuition free will raise taxes for everyone.
2. Making college tuition free is unfair to those who paid their way through college.
Responses: 1. The average American will save far more money in tuition costs than they will pay in higher taxes
2. Free college tuition will benefit everyone by strengthening the economy
ARGUMENT ESSAY OUTLINE BASED ON TOULMIN MODEL
After analyzing your argument using the Toulmin model, you organize the components to follow the essay structure that suits your issue and
audience. Here is an outline following the Classical Argument structure:
Claim with Qualifier: College tuition should be free for those with a household income of less than 100k per year
Reasons: 1. Student debt is crippling, often taking decades to pay off.
• Evidence
• Evidence
• Warrant: Long-term debt negatively impacts financial security.
• Backing: evidence that proves the warrant
2. Student debt forces graduates to postpone getting married, buying a house, and having children. This is bad for communities and society.
• Evidence
• Evidence
• Warrant Students pursue a college education to increase lifestyle opportunities, not limit them.
• Backing: evidence that proves the warrant.
3. Student debt hurts the economy by limiting the spending power of college graduates.
• Evidence
• Evidence
• Warrant: A strong economy is supported by people having disposable income.
• Backing: evidence that proves the warrant
Rebuttal: 1. Making college tuition free will raise taxes for everyone.
Response: The average American will save far more money in tuition costs than they will pay in higher taxes
2. Making college tuition free is unfair to those who paid their way through college.
Response: Free college tuition will benefit everyone by strengthening the economy
Proves the sub claim
Proves the sub claim
Proves the sub claim

——–

WRITING A TOULMIN ARGUMENT ENGL 1213: ENGLISH COMPOSITION II

WHAT IS A TOULMIN ARGUMENT?

Devised by British philosopher Stephen Toulmin, the Toulmin model of argument provides a framework for

making and analyzing arguments. This framework consists of six parts, each of which you use every day

when you make or encounter arguments. These six parts are:

1. Claim

2. Qualifiers

3. Reasons/Evidence

4. Warrants

5. Backing

6. Rebuttal/Response

TOULMIN ARGUMENT: THE CLAIM

Much like classical argument, a Toulmin argument is centered upon a claim. The claim is the position that you

take on the topic of your argument. Claims — unlike statements of fact – are assertions, meaning that they

require support. Claims fall into three categories:

1. Claims of fact – answer the question, “What is or

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