Figure I.2: The organization of an effective argument.
Adapted from Toulmin, 2003.
As shown in figure I.2, a well-organized argument is typically centered on one main claim. This claim can be supported by as many grounds (young students might call these reasons) as necessary, but it usually has at least two or three, each of which is supported by backing. Students can then use qualifiers to modify or clarify any of these three elements.
To help students understand the structure of an argument, teachers might show them how it works with a simple example claim, such as the one in figure I.3.
Figure I.3: A well-organized argument for the claim that Batman is the best superhero.
In a persuasive essay, the claim—often called a thesis statement—is introduced in the first paragraph or section. Grounds are then presented one by one in the body of the essay, each supported by backing—factual information, expert opinion, or research results.
Classifying Information
As students collect information to support their claims, they will probably also find information that does not support their claims. Each type of information is important and can strengthen an argument if properly organized and then used appropriately. As students collect information, they should classify it according to whether or not it supports the claim. For example, a student collecting information to support the claim “Electric cars reduce pollution and environmental damage” might classify the information she finds as shown in table I.9 (page 24).
Table I.9: Information Related to the Claim “Electric Cars Reduce Pollution and Environmental Damage”
| Supports the Claim | Does Not Support the Claim |
| According to a 2012 study, emissions from electric cars compare equally or favorably to gasoline-powered cars. In countries where electricity is mainly generated by burning coal, electric cars produce about the same emissions as gasoline-powered cars. In countries where electricity is generated in cleaner ways without coal, electric cars produce less than half the emissions of gasoline-powered cars (Wilson, 2013). | Building an electric car produces about thirty thousand pounds of carbon-dioxide emission, compared to fourteen thousand pounds for a conventional car. Unless the car is driven for a long time, an electric car can actually create more carbon-dioxide emissions over its lifetime than a gasoline-powered car, because its manufacture releases so much pollution (Lomborg, 2013). |
| Elon Musk, CEO of electric car manufacturer Tesla, stated, “In a stationary power plant, you can afford to have something that weighs a lot more, is voluminous, and you can take the waste heat and run a steam turbine and generate a secondary power source. . . . Even using the same source fuel, you’re at least twice as better off” (as quoted in Davies, 2013). The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA, 2013) projected that the share of national electricity from renewable resources would increase from 11 percent in 2009 to 15 percent in 2025.The EIA also projected that the share of national electricity from coal would decrease from 44 percent in 2009 to about 28 percent in 2025. | The electricity used to recharge electric cars is often produced by burning fossil fuels (such as coal), which produces carbon-dioxide emissions (Zehner, 2013). The mining of compounds used in electric car batteries, such as lithium, copper, and nickel, requires high amounts of energy. These compounds can release toxic wastes if improperly handled (Zehner, 2013). |
| The Union of Concerned Scientists reported that when “electricity used to power the vehicle comes from resources such as wind and solar power, EVs [electric vehicles] can operate nearly emissions-free” (Anair & Mahmassani, 2012, p. 2). |
Acknowledging and classifying information that does not support the claim, rather than ignoring it, allows students to construct qualifiers that ultimately strengthen their arguments. However, students should first organize the information that supports their claim into grounds and backing.
Organize Grounds and Backing
To review, grounds are overarching reasons to agree with a claim. They often begin with the word because. The claim “Dogs are better than cats,” for example, might be supported by the following grounds: because they are smarter, because they are friendlier, because they are less picky about what they eat, and so on. Backing, on the other hand, is specific evidence (such as expert opinions, research results, or factual information) that shows the grounds are valid. To support the grounds that dogs are smarter than cats, one might cite a quote from an expert animal trainer or research that shows dogs are smarter.
The information that students collect to support their claim is backing. They can organize the backing they collect into related categories and then write grounds for each category. Table I.10 shows how the student who collected supporting information for the claim “Electric cars reduce pollution and environmental damage” might sort supporting information into categories and create grounds for each category.
Table I.10: Supporting Information Sorted Into Grounds and Backing
| Grounds | Backing |
| Electric cars emit less carbon dioxide than gasoline-powered cars. | According to a 2012 study, emissions from electric cars compare equally or favorably to gasoline-powered cars. In countries where electricity is mainly generated by burning coal, electric cars produce about the same emissions as gasoline-powered cars. In countries where electricity is generated in cleaner ways without coal, electric cars produce less than half the emissions of gasoline-powered cars (Wilson, 2013). The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA; 2013) projected that the share of national electricity from renewable resources would increase from 11 percent in 2009 to 15 percent in 2025.The EIA also projected that the share of national electricity from coal would decrease from 44 percent in 2009 to about 28 percent in 2025. |
| Burning fossil fuels in large plants to create electricity that powers electric cars is more efficient and produces less pollution than burning fossil fuels in the engines of individual cars. | Elon Musk, CEO of electric car manufacturer Tesla, stated, “In a stationary power plant, you can afford to have something that weighs a lot more, is voluminous, and you can take the waste heat and run a steam turbine and generate a secondary power source. . . . Even using the same source fuel, you’re at least twice as better off” (as quoted in Davies, 2013). |
| Clean energy sources, such as solar and wind energy, can be used to charge electric cars. | The Union of Concerned Scientists reported that when “electricity used to power the vehicle comes from resources such as wind and solar power, EVs [electric vehicles] can operate nearly emissions-free” (Anair & Mahmassani, 2012, p. 2). |
