Argument/Passage Analysis

Every write up published has a claim. In other words, passages put forward arguments, and to
back these arguments/ claims writers also provide a variety of evidence or proof. Evidences are
of two types, namely, factual evidence and motivational evidence.

Factual evidence – the evidence that uses sound logic and objective reasoning, such as,
statistics, data, facts, figures and numbers - (Logos)

Motivational/Emotional evidence – it uses examples, stories and information that appeal to

readers’ emotions and feelings. This type of support tries to convince readers with morals and
ideals rather than objective facts – (Pathos)

And so, it is the task of an argument analyst to identify the claim and analyze the merit and
quality of different evidences and indications used. Therefore, in an argument/passage analysis,
one must analyze a passage in details.

 What does an argument analysis exercise entail? 10 points

1. Identify the claim of the passage and its type.

2. Identify and segregate the two types of evidence.
3. Identify the warrant.
4. Evaluate the overall effectiveness of the passage, using your own words to answer in
one or two integrated paragraphs of at least 150-200 words. Possible points you can
discuss are the relevance of the topic or claim, quality of the support, acknowledgement
of counter-arguments, organization of the passage, quality of language, etc.
( 2 + 3 + 1 + 4 = 10 pts.)