Elements Of Toulmin Analysis

The structure of an argument reveals both the strengths and limits of the argument; nothing more, nothing less. An argument can only be as strong as it is meant to be. The writer’s goal is to make a close depiction of this argument without overstepping any boundaries. The Toulmin method is essentially a guide for analyzing the structures of arguments. Nevertheless, this method is more effective for arguments with no absolute truths or clear solutions. This lets the writer know how to use and understand the information. There are six elements for presenting arguments in the Toulmin method: claim, grounds, warrant, backing, qualifier, and rebuttal. These elements of a Toulmin analysis can help one as both a reader and a writer; however, there
A claim is a statement of opinion that the writer is asking of the audience to accept as the truth. In other words, this can be seen as the thesis. The grounds are the facts, data, and/or reasoning upon which the claim is developed from. Substantially, the grounds are the facts making the case for the claim. The warrant is the bridge between the claim and the grounds. This is what makes the audience understand how the grounds are connected to supporting the claim. Sometimes, the warrant is bluntly obvious or not directly stated. As a writer, one is making assumptions about what your audience already believes. This forces one to think about how clear the warrant is and whether or not, it needs to be directly stated for the audience. Also, one needs to contemplate if the warrant is actually an unproven claim. Therefore, this makes warrant the most significant part of the Toulmin method despite some elements not being discussed yet. Without the warrant, the audience would not understand the point of the argument, defeating the whole purpose of the argument. The backing is the additional support for the claim. It addresses different questions related to the claim. Due note: this is acknowledging that there are other sides than explicitly counterarguing. The qualifier is the limitations to the claim. Basically, it recognizes that the claim is not always true. This adds strength to claims because it helps the audience understand the writer does not expect one’s opinion to be true all of the time. The rebuttal is where the writer addresses the opposing views. One can use a rebuttal to pre-empt counter arguments, making the original argument