Understanding Rhetoric on the Internet

Stephen Toulmin was a British philosopher, author, and educator who sought to understand the analysis of moral reasoning. The Toulmin model was later found to be useful for the analysis of of rhetorical arguments. Rhetoric, or the art of persuasive speaking, is one of those classes that you notice existing in college, but never really think of again. But maybe you should. Understanding arguments can be helpful not only in such cases as making a great presentation at work, but can also help you decipher others arguments so the wrong ones don't pull you in. Being good at persuasive speaking can help get you that raise. And understanding the building blocks of arguments can help you defend yourself against them.

Of course a great example of the need for understanding and analyzing arguments is the internet. I know you have seen thousand of posts on Facebook that people have reposted without checking the facts of the claim. And if you've browsed any forum at all you've seen the thousands of arguments and counter arguments in the comment section, and sadly many of these arguments can't even hold water. There are a plethora of weak arguments out there on the internet without any evidence at all. And there are others whose facts aren't actually facts. Many of these you can tell are false just from personal knowledge or quickly googling the stated evidence. But it is when the evidence seems good that understanding the building blocks of arguments can really come in handy to understand the flaw that you suspect might be there.

And, who knows, maybe understanding and making solid arguments will become your thing, and you will be the one that no one can out argue in the comment section. But just a piece of advice, the best persuaders will be believed to have the readers interests at heart. So while you're building up your rhetoric, build up your ethos as well.

Basics of the Toulmin Model
In any good argument the reason should not only support the claim, but it should be built on solid assumptions(warrents), as well as having solid evidence to back it up. There are two other parts to Toulmin's model those being qualifiers, that which limits or clarifies the claim, and rebuttals in anticipation of counter arguments.