Successful and Unsuccessful Arguments

Strong Evidence

Clear Claim

Logical Reasoning

Effective Rhetorical Appeals

Personal opinions that support the author's viewpoint.

Facts, data, and examples that support the claim.

Emotional appeals designed to sway the reader.

A summary of opposing viewpoints.

Presenting a statistic without explaining its relevance to the argument.

Including a personal anecdote that is not widely relatable.

Providing expert opinions from credible sources that directly relate to the claim.

Ignoring counterarguments to maintain a consistent viewpoint.

Observing that several students who study regularly perform well on exams, and concluding that all students who study regularly will perform well.

Noticing that every apple from a particular tree is red and inferring that all apples from that tree are red.

Starting with the premise that all birds have feathers and robins are birds, concluding that robins have feathers.

Assuming that because a new policy was implemented and sales increased, the policy caused the increase in sales.

It strengthens the argument by adding emotional appeals.

It has no impact on the argument's validity.

It weakens the argument by undermining its logical foundation.

It makes the argument more complex and difficult to understand.

Evidence

Reasoning

Claim

Counterargument

Evoking emotional responses from the audience.

Using logical reasoning and factual evidence.

Establishing the speaker's credibility and authority.

Presenting a balanced view of opposing arguments.

A statement that is factually incorrect.

An error in reasoning that undermines the logic of an argument.

A rhetorical device used to persuade an audience.

A strong piece of evidence that supports a claim.

To determine the author's personal biases.

To assess whether the evidence is relevant, accurate, and sufficient to support the claim.

To identify the emotional appeals used by the author.

To count the number of sources cited in the argument.

It presents the main claim of the argument.

It provides emotional appeals to persuade the audience.

It explains how the evidence supports the claim.

It acknowledges and refutes counterarguments.