The Toulmin Method

Hi everyone! This week, our topic is the Toulmin Method. The Toulmin Method is described in Communicating Online by Julia Green as a method of breaking arguments into different elements in order to completely support a claim, (pg. 286). This method includes a claim, grounds, warrant, qualifier, rebuttal, and backing. 

An example of this online is a news article I came across on U.S. News called "Should the U.S. Adopt a 4-Day Workweek?" by Lindsay Lyon. Her claim stands that "office work has been overdue for a rewrite" and she includes writing from a writer named Brent Orrell. Here is a break-down of the Toulmin Method in this writing:

Claim: "If we want to honor the desire for greater job flexibility, then the shortest path to reaching that goal is to let the market work, gradually adjusting the workweek as technology and productivity improvements allow rather than using the harsh gavel of a federal law".
Grounds: "Data from a recent American Enterprise Institute survey shows that workers value flexibility in employment above virtually any other consideration: Workers want a better balance between their work and family lives, and they are willing to sacrifice financially, as much as $30,000 per year in salary, in order to get it."

Warrant: "Market forcesare moving us toward workplace practices that strike a better balance between business needs and the desire of employees to have more control over schedules and working locations."

Qualifier: "Microsoft Japan and Unilever of New Zealand are experimenting with shorter workweeks with promising initial results".

Rebuttal: "On the other hand, in some sectors, like health care, where 24-hour, seven-day coverage is often required, Iceland's government ended up spending an additional $33.6 million to maintain services during the shorter workweek. When government mandates a change like this, someone somewhere always picks up the tab". 

Backing:  (Talking about Iceland) About 1% of the country's workforce had an average reduction in working hours of between one and three hours per week, considerably less than moving to a four-day week. These workers kept their pay and maintained productivity under experimental conditions where workers knew their performance might affect the future of the policy.

Here is the link: 

https://www.usnews.com/opinion/should-the-us-adopt-the-4-day-workweek/the-4-day-workweek-doesnt-work