Evaluating a Speaker's Argument

Imagine a class discussing where to keep its dictionaries. A pupil says, 'We should put a dictionary on each table. Then we could check spellings without waiting. Yesterday, three groups waited while another group used the only dictionary.'

The claim is the proposed change: put a dictionary on each table. The reason is the expected benefit: less waiting. The observation about yesterday is evidence offered to show that waiting is a problem.

A summary could say, 'The pupil wants more dictionaries so groups can check spellings sooner, and describes groups waiting yesterday.' This reports the speaker's support without adding your own reasons.

Now evaluate it. The observation concerns waiting, so it fits the reason. It describes one lesson, though. Ask whether the same problem happens often and whether more dictionaries would address it. Describing the argument accurately helps you judge the argument the speaker actually made.

In an imagined meeting, a pupil says, 'We should label the lost-property shelf because the choir meets on Fridays.' The choir's schedule could be accurate. It does not explain how labels would help people find their belongings.

Another pupil says, 'Labels could help us sort the shelf. I searched through coats and lunch boxes yesterday to find my hat.' This example describes a problem that sorting might address.

The second argument has a clearer connection. It still leaves questions. Would pupils put belongings under the right labels? Would people be able to read the labels?

Explain your judgment by naming the connection. For example, 'The search for a hat supports sorting the shelf because sorting could make belongings easier to find.' Calling something a fact does not tell us whether it supports this particular proposal.

Imagine a speaker planning a class exhibition. She proposes adding name cards to the models and leaving a wider gap between the display tables.

For name cards, her reason is that visitors need to identify the makers. Her evidence is a record of visitors asking who had made particular models at the last exhibition.

For the wider gap, her reason is that visitors need room to pass. Her evidence is a report that people had to wait while others moved through the narrow space last time.

A clear summary keeps each piece of support with its own point. Questions about makers support adding name cards. Waiting in a narrow gap supports leaving more space.

The evidence does not support both proposals equally. Questions about makers do not establish the width of a walkway. A narrow gap does not establish that models need name cards. Evaluate the support for each point separately.

Imagine two classes collecting permission slips. One uses a box near the door. The other passes slips along each row. A pupil records that the box class finishes sooner and concludes, 'The box caused the faster collection.'

The observation concerns collection time, so it fits a claim about speed. It does not settle the cause. The classes might have different numbers of pupils or different routines. One class might have more slips to collect.

A careful response would say, 'The box class collected its slips sooner in this comparison. We need more details before saying the box caused the difference.'

Ask which conditions were alike and which differed. You can recognize that an observation is useful while explaining what it leaves unanswered. The speaker's conclusion should not go beyond what the evidence can support.

In a made-up school newsletter, a pupil writes, 'Everyone wants a drawing club.' Her evidence is that the friends sitting beside her all said they would join.

Those answers describe that group of friends. They do not establish what everyone at school wants. The friends may share interests that other pupils do not share.

Ask who answered, what they were asked and whether other pupils had a chance to reply. Opinions can be useful evidence when the claim concerns preferences. The people questioned need to fit the group described in the claim.

If a speaker says only 'a survey proved it', ask to see the questions and results. A source name gives you somewhere to check. You still need to examine what the source found and whether it supports the speaker's words.