The Toulim Method

What is the Toulim Method?  

The Toulim Method is an effective way to dissect an argument to help one form their own opinion on the statement. An individual's response to an argument is sometimes immediate and not thought out thoroughly. The Toulim Method prevents individuals from making fast immediate opinions, and helps them to look at the different pieces of evidence and reasons of the argument.  

Using the Toulim Method 

The Toulim Method consists of five steps; Identifying the Claim, Looking for Qualifiers and Exceptions, Stating the Reasons, Finding and Examining the Evidence, Examining the Warrants, and Noting the Rebuttals (Green, 2017, p. 44-47). Identifying the claim consists of determining what exactly the individual is defending. When looking for qualifiers and exceptions, the main goal is to conclude whether the argument is an absolute or not. Stating the reasons includes listing reasons why the argument is possibly accurate based off of what the individual has stated. Finding and examining the evidence means to look for adequate forms of evidence that support the previous found reasons that indicate why the argument is true. Examining the warrants consists of examining the thesis of the argument and if it is logical. Noting the rebuttals requires looking for counterarguments that the author has included to prevent bias opinions from happening. 

Toulim Method Example 

Below is a link to a website where the author argues why cats are better than dogs. One can use the Toulim Method to determine their own opinion accurately and effectively. Feel free to comment your results below! 

https://www.rover.com/blog/why-cats-are-better-than-dogs/

Here is a picture of my cat Ponyo just for fun :)

References:

    Green, J. M. (2017). Communication and Technology. In Communicating online (p. 44-47). essay, McGraw Hill Education Create.