Deductive Logic
Persuasive arguments are not solely the hurling of facts and generalities at your opponent in an effort to drown them in ideas (though if you’ve been on a Debate or Mock trial team it may seem that way…) A well constructed argument has parts, each serving a purpose, to construct a sturdy and complete picture.
Rather than focusing solely on persuasion, then, our method provides a comprehensive toolkit for understanding the underlying structure and validity of any argument.
Learn the Components
Take the following argument:
“Though not every student improves their score immediately, Jake often tutors very effectively. Jake favors teaching reasoning skills, and skill building is the most important factor in determining effective tutoring. After all, skills, once learned, are powerful tools for every student.”
Our first job is to identify what part of the argument each phrase represents. Once we do so, we can then arrange those parts into a sensible whole.
Though you may recognize other portions of the argument right away, you should always start with finding the claim or main conclusion.
The Claim/Main Conclusion
The statement or proposition that the arguer is advancing.
An opinion, prediction, hypothesis, analysis, or prescription.
Conclusions can be tricky to find. There are some arguments whose conclusions are indicated through transition words like hence, thus, or therefore. But this is not always the case. Sometimes, conclusions stand alone without indictor language. A complex argument can have “conclusion indicator language” because it is making smaller claims in service of the main one.
So, the best thing to do is maintain an open and engaged mind and visualize the argument as you would someone on a debate stage: what are they trying to tell me? What is the takeaway?
So, in our argument, what is the author trying to tell you?
“Though not every student improves their score immediately, Jake often tutors very effectively. Jake favors teaching reasoning skills, and skill building is the most important factor in determining effective tutoring. After all, skills, once learned, are powerful tools for every student.”
The conclusion is the main point, the reason we showed up today. Why are we all here? Because this narrator wants us to know that Jake tutors very effectively.
Notice that “often” is not underlined. We will address that in the next section.
The Qualifier
The indication of the degree of certainty or scope of the claim.
Terms like "usually," "often," or "in most cases"
The qualifier will be language within or adjacent to the claim telling us the degree of certainty of that claim. For the grammatically inclined, we’re usually looking for an adverb or adverbial phrase. For everyone else, we’re looking for words of number, frequency, extremeness, etc.
So, how is our claim qualified?
“Though not every student improves their score immediately, Jake often tutors very effectively. Jake favors teaching reasoning skills, and skill building is the most important factor in determining effective tutoring. After all, skills, once learned, are powerful tools for every student.”
The qualifier here is often. Jake doesn’t tutor effectively all the time, or some of the time, or on occasion. He does so often. Knowing that will let us know what our evidence must look like.
Speaking of which ... on to our evidence!
Minor Premises
The evidence supporting the claim.
Factual information, statistics, expert testimony, or examples that lend credibility to the argument.
The grounds for a claim come in the form of specific facts about the person or idea in the claim. Look for concrete, observable facts, rather than ideas or generalizations. If the claim answered the question “Why are we here?” the Minor Premises answer the question “Oh really, why do you think that?”
“Though not every student improves their score immediately, Jake often tutors very effectively. Jake favors teaching reasoning skills, and skill building is the most important factor in determining effective tutoring. After all, skills, once learned, are powerful tools for every student.”
Our claim was that Jake tutors very effectively, and we’ve based that on a fact we know: Jake favors teaching reasoning skills. This makes for a perfect Minor Premise, grounds for making our claim!
OK, now that we have that, it’s time to connect them!
Major Premise
The logical bridge between the claim and the evidence.
A principle that explains why the facts provided support the assertion being made.
So we know why we’re here, and we know what the author has based it on. But WHY does that mean anything? How does that evidence connect to the claim. That is the secret to identifying the Major Premise.
“Though not every student improves their score immediately, Jake often tutors very effectively. Jake favors teaching reasoning skills, and skill building is the most important factor in determining effective tutoring. After all, skills, once learned, are powerful tools for every student.”
Facts do not in themselves justify a claim. We need something to tell us what those facts mean. In the laboratory, we use the Scientific Method. In Deductive Reasoning, we use rules, structured principles to tell us what kinds of facts would warrant the conclusion being made. In the given argument, that is exactly what this newly introduced principle did: told us that skill building would warrant effectiveness.
The remaining two parts, Backing and Counterargument & Rebuttal, do not appear in every valid argument. But, for exactly that reason, we must become skilled at recognizing them when they show up so we can efficiently and effective handle them when they do!
The Backing
Further justification or reasoning to reinforce the validity of the argument.
In some cases, additional support may be necessary to bolster the warrant.
Some arguments will provide further facts/rules that support the truth of the premises, either lending credibility to an already valid argument or implying the truth of a premise that has gone unstated.
“Though not every student improves their score immediately, Jake often tutors very effectively. Jake favors teaching reasoning skills, and skill building is the most important factor in determining effective tutoring. After all, skills, once learned, are powerful tools for every student.”
Would the argument work without this information?
Sure!
We don't need to know WHY skill building is the most important factor in order for the conclusion to be valid, as long as that fact is stipulated. However, in the case where that rule is ALSO up for debate, this new information about skills being powerful tools is good evidence to support the rule. That is the essence of Backing.
The Counterargument and Rebuttal
A rejected potential counterargument.
Addressing rebuttals strengthens the argument by demonstrating thoroughness and addressing potential weaknesses
The Rebuttal feels like the viewpoint of the other competitor in the debate tournament. If you zoom out on it, it basically reads “Some people think this sort of thing, but they are wrong.” If you need help, seek out those words that indicated a shift, like an Uno reverse card: “but”, “however”, “although”, “despite”. These words will help attach the Rebuttal to the rest of the argument.
“Though not every student improves their score immediately, Jake often tutors very effectively. Jake favors teaching reasoning skills, and skill building is the most important factor in determining effective tutoring. After all, skills, once learned, are powerful tools for every student.”
Seems like hearing that “not every student improves” would HURT the argument…and you’re right, it would! That is what makes it a Counterargument.
So the author acknowledges that using the word “though” and communicates to us: “Yeah yeah yeah, that’s true, but still…”
That’s a Rebuttal!
Summary:
This method provides a robust framework for analyzing arguments, offering a systematic approach to understanding the underlying structure and validity of any claim. By dissecting arguments into their constituent parts – claim, minor premise, major premise, backing, qualifier, and counterargument & rebuttal – test takers can gain deeper insights into the complexities of discourse, empowering them to engage critically and thoughtfully with ideas and assertions.