Structuring Arguments

Classical oration is structured in similar ways to the Greek and Roman rhetors two thousand years ago. Classical oration has six parts with latin names; exordium, Narratio, Partitio, Confirmatio, Refutatio, Peroratio. The structure is powerful this way because it covers the bases giving the readers what they want to know about their topic of search with how you intend to cover it and the evidence you plan on using along with a pleasing ethos in the beginning and a winning pathos in the conclusion. There is a five part updated version from the classical pattern which is found to be useful on many occasions; Introduction, Background, Lines of arguments, and conclusion. Not all pieces of rhetoric, past or present, follows the structure of oration or if it does it does not include all components.

Rogerian and Invitational arguments would be used more in the alternative to confrontational and angry arguments. Scholars and teachers adapted to the non confrontational principles employed by psychologist Carl Rogers in personal therapy sessions. “Rogers argued that people involved in disputes should not respond to each other until they could fully,fairly, and sympathetically state the other person's position” kinda like a rebuttal in the middle of the essay to focus on their point of view and then pull it back to your side to show you understand why they are saying what they are. Unlike Oration ROgerian and Invitational is a four part structure involving; Introduction, contexts, writer's position, and benefits to opponent.

Stephen Toulmin is a British philosopher who presented structures to describe how regular people make reasonable arguments. Toulmin's argument is structured in order like this; claim, qualifier, good reasons, warrants, backing, evidence, authority, conditions of rebuttal, response.  Crucial to toulmin's argument is appreciating that there must be a logical and persuasive connection between a claim and the reasons and data supporting it; that's why the warrant is so important because it draws everything together.