Teaching Argumentation - Julia A. Simms What Principals Need to Know

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Toulmin’s (2003) model of argumentation: claim, grounds, backing, and qualifiers. Table I.5 describes and exemplifies each element.

      As shown in table I.5, an effective argument usually presents a claim and provides support in the form of grounds, backing, and qualifiers.

      Teachers can explain each element in more depth. For claims, point out that there are different types of claims: value claims assert that something is good, bad, right, or wrong, and action claims assert that something should or should not be done. There are also different types of backing: expert opinion, research results, and factual information. The type of backing that students use in their own arguments and encounter in others’ arguments will vary, as different grounds call for different types of backing. Table I.6 defines and exemplifies each of these types of backing.

       Signal Words and Phrases

      Signal words (such as describing words or transition words) can help students identify each element of an argument. For example, the words because and reason often signal grounds. Phrases such as according to, reported in, and found by frequently indicate backing. Concession words and phrases like despite, although, granted that, and in spite of usually precede qualifiers. Table I.7 lists signal words and phrases for each element of an argument.

       Source: Adapted from Marzano & Heflebower, 2012.

Element Signal Words and Phrases
Claim Describing words (such as awful, amazing, beautiful, disgusting, miserable, and favorite), modal verbs (such as should, must, and ought to), and superlatives (such as best, worst, most, and smartest)
Grounds Cause and effect words (such as because, as a result, due to, since, and for that reason) and temporal transition words (such as first, next, and finally)
Backing Illustrating transition words (such as for example, for instance, to explain, to elaborate, specifically, in particular, such as, according to, as reported in, and as found by)
Qualifiers Concession words (such as even if, despite the fact, albeit, admitting, granting, although, at any rate, at least, still, even though, granted that, while it may be true, in spite of, of course, just because . . . doesn’t mean, necessarily, and whereas)

      Signal words and phrases can also alert students to the various types of backing being used to support grounds and claims. Table I.8 (page 20) lists the different types of backing and the signal words and phrases usually associated with each type.

Signal Words and Phrases
Expert Opinion According to, as [so-and-so] stated, in keeping with, expert, endorsed, believed, recommended, accomplished, foremost, leading, master, pre-eminent
Research Results As reported in, studies show, according to, data, findings, found, percent, percentile, average number of, reports, statistics, participants
Factual Information True, certain, absolute, objective, proven, unquestionable, infallible, and any form of the verb to be (including is, was, are, and were)

      Note that certain signal words and phrases overlap. For example, the phrase according to is listed as a signal phrase for both expert opinion and research results. As with all signal words and phrases, those associated with each element of an argument and with the various types of backing should be evaluated in context. To illustrate, a statement that contains the modal verb should is likely to be an action claim (as in “Kids should be allowed to stay up past 9 p.m.”), but there are also instances when it simply indicates a question (as in “Should we go outside?”). Students should use signal words and phrases as clues to alert them to the various elements of an argument and the various types of backing.

       Explaining the Relationship Between Claims, Grounds, and Backing

      Explaining the relationship between claims, grounds, and backing involves explicitly stating how each piece of evidence presented supports the original claim. It forces students to think more deeply about the relationships between the various elements of an argument. To help students learn this skill, teachers can:

      1.Ask students to make a claim and provide grounds, backing, and qualifiers for it.

      2.Ask students to explain relationships within their own claim.

      3.Ask students to explain relationships in other claims.

      Here, we provide detail about each step of the process.

       Make a Claim

      To understand the relationship between claims, grounds, and backing, students first need to make a claim and provide grounds, backing, and qualifiers for it. You might ask individual students to each design a claim with grounds, backing, and qualifiers, or students could collaborate in small groups to design group claims and support. For example, a group of students might claim that people should not smoke. As grounds for the claim, they say, “Because many medical organizations have found that smoking causes lung cancer.” Their backing might include research results and expert opinions from the American Association for Cancer Research, the American Lung Association, the National Cancer Institute, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services illustrating that smoking causes lung cancer. They might qualify their argument by saying that there are cases of lung cancer that are not caused by smoking.

       Explain Relationships Within Their Own Claim

      To explain the relationship between claims, grounds, and backing, students should clearly articulate how their backing supports their claim. To do this, students must make explicit relationships that might be implicit. For example, the small group that claimed people should not smoke because smoking causes lung cancer (grounds and backing) might explain that getting lung cancer is undesirable.

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