The Toulmin Argumentation Framework

Abstract

The authors present Stephen Toulmin's incredibly powerful framework for analyzing the structure of arguments: the Toulmin argumentation framework, or TAF for short. Every argument terminates in a claim, the end conclusion of an argument. Every argument also makes use of evidence of some kind. In short, the evidence is the evidentiary support upon which an argument is built. The warrant, which is the because part of an argument, is the bridge between the evidence and the claim. The backing is the deeper set of background reasons why the warrant should be accepted. Finally, every argument has a rebuttal. The rebuttal is the full set of counter-arguments against every part of the main argument, for example, why the claim is dubious and makes no sense at all, why the evidence is flawed and therefore doesn't support the claim, why the warrant is deficient, and why the backing doesn't support the warrant.