The uses of Toulmin: the value of an explicit model of argument for academic and working engineers

Abstract

This paper presents a case study of an engineering writer learning to use Toulmin logic as a strategy for writing. Before the case, Toulmin logic is explained in terms of two concepts: force and criteria, and elements of argument. Then, a pedagogical approach and several classroom exercises are explained to illustrate the ways in which Toulmin logic has been introduced to the students. Finally, the engineer's writing is analyzed through four iterations. His revisions reveal that he has absorbed the ideas of tightening the warranting of claims to though unconsciously. These results suggest that Toulmin's model is useful not only for helping writers to improve their organization, but also for helping them shape the ideas themselves.