The Anatomy of a Strong Argument

A strong argument is built from three parts working together — not just an opinion stated loudly.

Notice

  • Claim: the position you are arguing for. “Remote work should be the default option.”
  • Evidence: the facts or examples supporting the claim. “Studies show productivity rises by 13% when employees work from home.”
  • Warrant: the reasoning that connects the evidence to the claim. “Because higher productivity benefits both employees and employers, this supports making remote work standard.”

Rule

Rule: a claim without evidence is just an opinion; evidence without a warrant leaves the listener to guess why it matters. At C2, spontaneous arguments should include all three — even briefly — to sound genuinely persuasive rather than merely assertive.

Practice

  1. Identify the claim in: “We should ban single-use plastics because they harm marine life, and protecting ecosystems is a shared responsibility.”
    Answer: “We should ban single-use plastics.”
  2. Identify the evidence in the same sentence.
    Answer: “They harm marine life.”
  3. Identify the warrant in the same sentence.
    Answer: “Protecting ecosystems is a shared responsibility” — it connects the harm (evidence) to why banning them (claim) is justified.
  4. Why is a claim without evidence considered weak?
    Answer: It is just an unsupported opinion, giving the listener no reason to accept it.

Connect

Practise building claim-evidence-warrant arguments in the Writing Practice Hub.

Try Writing Practice Hub →

CEFR: C2

Azizul Hakim
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