Homework 2, Part 3 of 9
THE WARRANT
A warrant is a general principal that serves
as a bridge between your claim and your evidence--it explains how your
evidence is both accurate and relevant to your claim.
For example,
if one were to claim:
| John
Jay College is the best place to study Criminal Justice because US News & World Report ranked it number 1 in that field. |
| Element |
Text |
The
Claim
What
are you trying to demonstrate?
|
John
Jay College is the best place to study Criminal Justice. |
The
Evidence
What
proof do you have?
|
US News & World Report ranked John Jay at the top of the list in Criminal
Justice.
|
Even
if we assume that your evidence is accurate
and the magazine did rank John Jay first in the field, why should that
lead me to believe your claim that John Jay
is the best place to study criminal justice?
This
questions above underscores that even if both your claim and your evidence are entirely accurate,
it is possible to make a weak argument.
To avoid making a weak argument (even with good evidence), you must
explain why the evidence you are presenting
supports the claim you are making.
In
short, you need to establish a warrant between
your claim and your evidence
In
this example, the warrant might be:
Since US
News & World Report is a recognized authority in ranking schools,
we can trust their opinion about John Jay.
The whole argument,
then, would read:
John
Jay College is the best place to study Criminal Justice because US
News & World Report ranked it at the top of the list in Criminal
Justice. Since US News & World Report is a recognized authority in ranking
schools, we can trust their opinion about John Jay.
|
Element |
Text |
The
Claim
What
are you trying to demonstrate?
|
John
Jay College is the best place to study Criminal Justice
|
The
Evidence
What
proof do you have?
|
US News & World Report ranked it number 1 in that field
|
The Warrant
Why
do you think that your proof is relevant to your claim?
|
Since US News & World Report is a recognized authority
in ranking schools, we can trust their opinion about John Jay.
|
Let's take a look at another fairly simple example from the world of sports:
| Michael
Jordan is the greatest basketball player who ever lived. He holds
the NBA records for highest career regular-season scoring average
(30.12 points per game) and highest career playoff scoring average
(33.4 points per game). Since regular-season
scoring averages and playoff scoring averages are the best indicators
we have of a player's greatness and no one beats Jordan in these statistics,
he must be the greatest player of all time. |
| Element |
Text |
The
Claim
What
are you trying to demonstrate?
|
Michael Jordan is the greatest basketball player who ever lived.
|
The
Evidence
What
proof do you have?
|
He
holds the NBA record for highest career regular-season scoring average
(30.12 points per game) and highest career playoff scoring average
(33.4 points per game).
|
The Warrant
Why
do you think that your proof is relevant to your claim?
|
Since regular-season
scoring averages and playoff scoring averages are the best indicators
we have of a player's greatness and no one beats Jordan in these
statistics, he must be the greatest player of all time.
|
(click
here continue on to next page--->) |