Toulmin Method Outline: Toulmin Model Essay Outline

Toulmin Method Outline: Toulmin Model Essay Outline

The Toulmin method was developed by Stephen Toulmin, a philosopher. It is an argumentation style that breaks down arguments into six parts.

These six parts include:

• Claim.
• Grounds.
• Warrant.
• Qualifier.
• Rebuttal
• Backing.

The following is a Toulmin method outline:

Toulmin Model Essay Outline

1. Claim

The claim is the main point, thesis statement, and controlling idea in an essay. You can state your claim directly or suggest it. When reading a literary work you can trace the claim by asking what the author is trying to prove.

2. Support

These are the reasons that you give to support your claim. Support is also known as proof, data, evidence, grounds, or arguments. Support can appear in the form of expert opinions, explanations, facts, statistics, examples, and logical reasoning.

3. Warrants

These are the theories that lie behind the argument. A warrant is an accepted belief, value or the common way in which society views things. Warrants are always unstated and implied. They are important because they are the common ground between the author and the readers. Warrants enable the author to invite the audience to participate by providing part of the argument. Warrants also provide the reasons linking the claim and the support.

4. Qualifier

You may need to qualify or tone down your claim with expressions such as rarely, few, many, etc. since an argument is about probability and possibility and not a certainty.

5. Rebuttal

You must consider conflicting viewpoints when making an argument and deal with them in a fair manner. You should answer questions and objections that may arise from the minds of your readers. Failure to give a rebuttal will make your argument weak and subject it to attack and counter-argument. Rebuttal may be directed to opposing claims or to alternative interpretations of the evidence.

6. Backing

When you warrant needs evidence to support it.  You should make it more believable in order to back up your argument further.