Eight argument components

Checkpoint piece

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Checkpoint page
Your replies on this page can be graded by your teacher

For this lesson's checkpoint, make a simple valuational argument with the following structure:

  • Valuational issue & claim
  • Evidence (criteria & match) 1
  • Evidence (criteria & match) 2
  • Rebuttal (respond to objections)
  • Conclude however you want

If you want to change the scale or type of argument, that's fine, just state what type of argument you're making at the top of your response.

Here are your options:

Scale of argument

  • Specific situation
  • General trend

Type of argument

  • Factual: "What exists? What happened? What is true?"
  • Causal: "How did this happen? What will happen next?"
  • Definitional: "What is it? Who are they?"
  • Resemblance: "Is this like that?"
  • Proposal: "What should we do? How should we do it?"
  • Valuational: "What is this worth? How should we value it?"
  • Ethical: "Is it right or wrong to treat them this way?"

Your argument will be more compelling if you can refer to some specific evidence and introduce some plausible limits.

Here are a few reminders to help you:

Possible sources of evidence

  • Personal experience (from yourself and others)
  • Observations (live and recorded)
  • Surveys and questionnaires
  • Published research (from books and articles)
  • Authority opinion & expert testimony
  • Hypothetical scenarios

Limits

  • Scope (where this argument applies)
  • Certainty (how confident you are about your claims, evidence, etc).

Here's an inspiration image for you to use. What problematic general trend might this represent?

Make a valuational argument about this general trend.
Write a brief argument using the structure above.
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