Toulmin Method

In the age of online communication, the Toulmin method provides a structured approach to evaluate and respond to arguments encountered on the internet by giving the the person responding the correct way to break down the opposing persons argument so that they can understand it better and possibly point out flaws. This correct method, or the Toulmin method, consists of 6 main components: the claim, data, warrant, backing, qualifier, and rebuttal. Using these 6 main components, they can be effectively applied to online interactions by giving the the people debating #1 a way to set up their argument, #2 a way to better understand someones argument, and #3 a template so that people are not just blabbering back and forth with little thought (easy to do on the internet). Here are the definitions of those components:

• Claim - The authors main argument.
• Data - The evidence that supports the claim.
• Warrant - The assumption that connects the data to the claims.
• Backing - The additional support for the warrant.
• Qualifier - A fallback for the claim incase it doesn't work for all scenarios.
• Rebuttal - The acknowledgment that another view may exist.

Some examples of online arguments where the Toulmin method could strengthen ones position would be in the comment sections on Twitter and Instagram, or really any social media app. Most often in the comment section people will only say their claim, and will leave out the other 5 components we talked about. This then makes this persons argument come across as purely an opinion with no real base or evidence. This may work for some people with the same view point as them, but it can easily be dismantled by someone who uses all 6 components, creating a well thought out and executed argument.

On the opposite end of of my comment section idea, a limitation to the Toulmin method in this scenario is that people may skip over the comment simply because it is too long. The internet is shortening peoples attention spans so it will be hard for people to sit through and read of all what is written. Someone can navigate this by doing a comment thread rather than one large comment. The first comment can be the claim, second can be the data, third warrant...so on and so forth. By doing this you immediately get the attention of the reader, and then if they are inclined they can read your replied comments under that to give more insight.

Critical thinking skills and information literacy also play a large factor when utilizing the Toulmin method effectively in the digital age. Like I mentioned prior, most now want a quick and fast answer without having to do much thinking. While I don't blame these people, it creates a lack of analyzing and thinking that would have been done prior. By having the critical thinking skills and information literacy you have an automatic advantage when using the Toulmin method because you are already thinking ahead and deeper than your peers.