0.5 Writing module three: five essential parts of argument  (Page 3/5)

When arguing through evidence

• Present evidence from general to specific
• Build on what readers know
• Don’t rehearse your own work process; instead, support your conclusions
• Use diagrams, graphs, and other visuals
• Keep support appropriate and simple
• Make sure data is authoritative/expert
• Help the audience to know what is important

Warrants

The words “reason” and “evidence” are much more familiar to most students of written and oral argument than the term “warrant.” But reasons and evidence are most powerful when they are utilized within the structure of argument we have been discussing. To be convincing, the reasons and evidence you present in support of your claim need to be connected through warrants. Warrants express a general belief or principle in a way that influences or explains our judgments in specific cases.

Take, for example, the old saying:

“Measure twice, cut once.”

Expressing as it does a general belief or principle— that when you take the time to do a thing properly, you don’t make mistakes— the saying provides a viable warrant for an argument like:

“It is never a good idea to hurry a task. [Reason] [Connected by the beliefs and assumptions expressed by the warrant to the supporting evidence that] Careless mistakes take longer to fix than it would to do things right the first time.” [Evidence]

Warrants express justifying principles, shared beliefs, or general assumptions. They are the spoken or unspoken logic that connects your reasons to your evidence. Warrants take many forms, but Williams and Colomb emphasize that they always have or imply two parts:

• one articulating a general belief or circumstance
• one stating a conclusion we can infer from applying that circumstance to a specific situation.

Warrants often take the form: Whenever X, then Y. For example, take the commonly held belief expressed by the old saying “When it rains, it pours.” The same sentiment and set of assumptions could be described by the general truism “If one thing goes wrong, everything goes wrong.” Whether implied or explicit, and whether it takes the form of a general observation or a cultural belief, a warrant states a broader principle that can be applied in a particular case to justify the thinking behind an argument.

More on clear warrants

Warrants connect your Reasons to your Claim in logical ways. Whether a warrant is assumed or implied, it is still crucial that the audience be able to recognize your warrant and be able to determine that they agree with or accept your warrant.

Questions for determining good warrants

• Do readers know the warrant already?
• Will all readers think it is true?
• Will they see its connection to this circumstance or situation?
• If they think it is both valid and appropriate, will they think it applies to their family, corporation, or community?

Warranting: a specific case

Consider a case when an audience might not accept your argument unless it first accepts your warrant. Take, for example, the following discussion between a mother and her child.

Child (To mother): “I need new shoes.”