Claim Data WarrantEssay

A model for analyzing arguments adapted from the work of Stephen

Toulmin.

L i t e r a r y A n a l y s i s

Th es is S ta tem en tTop ic S en ten ces(W h at you w ish

to p rove .)

C la im

D irec t Q u o tesS u m m ary

P arap h raseD eta ils

D ata

op in ion , in s ig h t,an a lys is , reac tion

exp lica tion , fee lin g s ,re flec tion

W arran t O RC om m en ta ry

C h u n k

Claim

Definition: A claim states the position that will be defended in the essay.

What is your claim? War is ennobling. orWar is contemptible.

Data

Definition:: Data is the evidence the writer cites that supports his or her claim.

What 3 pieces of evidence from Michael Shaara’s The Killer Angels support your claim that war is either ennobling or contemptible?

Warrant

Definition: The warrant interprets your data, showing how the data supports your claim or explaining why the data proves your claim. – In trials, for example, opposing lawyers often agree

on the data but dispute the warrants. They would argue that the set of data presented proves their point rather than the opposing side’s point.

Go back to your data. Make sure you can connect each piece of evidence/data to your position on war. Those explanations are your warrants.

The Blind Always Come as Such a Surpriseby Ted Kooser

The blind always come as such a surprise,suddenly filling an elevatorwith a great white porcupine of canes,or coming down upon us in a noisy crowdlike the eye of a hurricane.The dashboards of cars stopped at crosswalksand the shoes of commuters on trainsare covered with sentencesstruck down in mid-flight by the canes of the blind.Each of them changes our lives,tapping across the bright circles of our ambitionslike cracks traversing the favorite china.

Literary Analysis: This poem uses excellent imagery to depict

how blind folks affect our lives, to evoke sympathy

for the blind, and to criticize mainstream America

for its callousness towards the disabled. In the first

three lines Kooser describes how the blind can

suddenly fill an elevator “with a great white porcupine

of canes.” A porcupine is noted for its prickliness;

we are apprehensive when it is around and we do not

want to touch it. The blind person, according to

Kooser, evokes a similar reaction: their presence in a

situation causes “prickliness,” and it makes us

uncomfortable.

Claim

Data

Commentary

Literary Analysis:

In Animal Farm, Clover represents a caring and motherly figure to the other animals. For example, she talks to Mollie, the horse, when others will not. In addition, Clover warns Boxer to slow down and nurses him when he collapses. Furthermore, she sees the changes in the Seven Commandments and in the pigs at the end. She works hard to help the other animals regardless of what the negative consequences may be.

In Animal Farm, Clover represents a caring and motherly figure to the other animals. She talks to Mollie, the horse, when others will not. She cares about keeping the animals together. She isn’t mean to Mollie but wants her to understand how her decision to leave may affect the farm. In addition, Clover warns Boxer to slow down and nurses him when he collapses. In her concern for him, she models the kind of behavior that the animals wanted from Mr. Jones but did not get. She sees the injustice of the system and understands the punishment of hard work. Furthermore, she notices the changes in the Seven Commands and in the pigs’ behavior at the end. The knowledge that something is wrong leads her to speak out. Her commitment to Animal Farm is most important in her mind, and she wants to put her beliefs into action. Clover works hard to help the other animals, regardless of what might happen to her.

Literary Analysis:

In Animal Farm, Clover represents a caring and motherly figure to the other animals. For example, she talks to Mollie, the horse, when others will not. In addition, Clover warns Boxer to slow down and nurses him when he collapses. Furthermore, she sees the changes in the Seven Commandments and in the pigs at the end. She works hard to help the other animals regardless of what the negative consequences may be.

In Animal Farm, Clover represents a caring and motherly figure to the other animals. She talks to Mollie, the horse, when others will not. She cares about keeping the animals together. She isn’t mean to Mollie but wants her to understand how her decision to leave may affect the farm. In addition, Clover warns Boxer to slow down and nurses him when he collapses. In her concern for him, she models the kind of behavior that the animals wanted from Mr. Jones but did not get. She sees the injustice of the system and understands the punishment of hard work. Furthermore, she notices the changes in the Seven Commands and in the pigs’ behavior at the end. The knowledge that something is wrong leads her to speak out. Her commitment to Animal Farm is most important in her mind, and she wants to put her beliefs into action. Clover works hard to help the other animals, regardless of what might happen to her.