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Robert Trapp
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Chapter Outline
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15.1 Claims
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15.2 Exceptions
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15.3 Summary
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15.4 Terms and Concepts from Chapter 15
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15.5 Discussion Questions for Chapter 15
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15.6 Exercises for Chapter 5
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Debate is a process in which individuals exchange arguments about controversial topics. Debate could not exist without arguments. Arguments are the substance of debate. Of course, debates can include more than arguments. Some debates also include humor, stories, and appeals to emotion. In some unfortunate cases, debates may even include verbal aggression and threats. The aim of this text is to support substantive debate, focused primarily on argumentation.
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A description of argumentation should account for the elements of argument and how those elements relate to one another. The next three chapters will focus on four elements of argument: claims, evidence, links, and exceptions.1This chapter will consider claims and exceptions.
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Some beginning students of argumentation mistakenly believe that the elements of argument must be presented in a particular order. However, the arrangement of elements into a particular structure does not dictate the order in which each of the elements must be presented. Sometimes, presenting the claim and following it with supporting reasons and evidence is the most persuasive way to present an argument. At other times, an argument may be persuasively presented by starting with evidence then leading up to the claim. The following is a discussion of the structure of an argument, although not necessarily in the order in which the elements should be organized.
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思辨精英：英语辩论-构筑全球视角 [:1705132470]
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15.1 Claims
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A claim is the main point or the thesis of an argument. A claim is based on or supported by explicit evidence.2 As people argue, they present evidence designed to persuade their audiences or judges to accept their claim. A claim can either be the conclusion that the debater wishes the audience or judge to accept, or it can be evidence for a subsequent claim.
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Sometimes, a claim involves simply a movement from evidence to a conclusion, as illustrated in the following diagram:
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In this case, evidence is used to convince an audience to accept a claim; audience acceptance of the claim is the primary goal of the debater. An example of evidence being used to produce a claim is presented in the following diagram:
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Here, the claim that the debater wants the audience to accept is, “Smoking should be banned in public places.” That claim is supported by evidence suggesting “Second-hand smoke contributes to health problems for children.”
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In other instances, claims are used to produce other claims. For example, evidence is used to produce Claim 1, then Claim 1is used to convince an audience or judge to accept yet another claim. Thus, Claim 1 produced by the evidence was not the debater’s ultimate goal. Here, Claim 2 is the ultimate goal, but Claim 1 was necessary to convince the audience of Claim 2. For example:
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The above example demonstrates how one piece of evidence can be used to produce one claim, and how that claim can be used to produce yet a second claim. Of course, many different combinations exist where claims are used to convince an audience of subsequent claims. The following is another example:
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