A Formal Toulmin Outline
The Assignment:
Because Toulmin is a difficult mode intellectually, you will be writing a formal outline defending one of the positions listed below. I want you to focus your attention on building your reasons, so only an outline is required, though you still need to use complete sentences and correct grammar.
The claims you can choose from are as follows:
1. Everyone elected to public office is obliged to live a morally exemplary life.
2. Celebrities are not obligated to live a morally responsible life.
3. Everyone is ethically obligated to adopt a "green" lifestyle.
4. The United States is not obligated to develop alternative fuels or power sources.
In order to complete the Toulmin model, incorporate the following strategies: devise a properly qualified claim, present appropriate grounds, write solid warrants, and include at least one ethical backing for your warrant.
The Details:
Your outline should be 3-4 pages and is due to the dropbox on Thursday, June 18th by midnight. This paper is worth 15 pts of your final grade. Good luck!
The Criteria:
1. First Impression: Your writing needs to be clean and free of major grammatical errors. It should not be filled with numerous careless errors either, nor sound rushed.
2. Qualified Claim: Your claim needs to announce your topic and which side of the debate you stand on. It should be articulated as clearly and as accurately as possible. In addition, all claims need to be properly qualified.
3. Appropriate Data/Grounds: Your claim needs to be supported with appropriate data and grounds, the logical reasons you give to support your claim. Part of your data is a succinct definition of your key terms and what you take them to mean in the context of your claim.
4. Solid Warrant(s): You must determine if your grounds are appropriate, valid, and based on a solid sense of values. To support your grounds, you must supply and examine at least one warrant, usually an underlying reason that lends credibility to your grounds.
5. Underlying Backing: Grounds and warrants are not enough to support your claim in the Toulmin method. In addition, you need to supply one underlying ethical assumption for your warrant. Your backing will give the deepest ethical reason why your warrant is just and fair. It usually makes a profound moral statement.
6. Final Thoughts: I will be looking for what parts of your argument work well and which parts could have used a little more attention.