AP English Language & Composition Rhetoric Crash Course: Warrants

In the lesson, our professor Rebekah Hendershot goes through an introduction on a rhetoric crash course of warrants. She starts by reviewing the three elements of argument and then explains what a warrant is, the types of warrants and evaluation of warrants.

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Rhetoric Crash Course: Warrants

Source: The Elements of Argument, Annette Rottenberg

• Claim: The main idea, or thesis, of your argument.
• Support: The information that backs up your claim.
• Warrant: The “big idea” that connects your support to your claim.

• Claim: “What?”
• Support: “Why?”
• Warrant: “So what?”

• A warrant is the assumption, common belief, or general principle that connects the claim to its support.
• In an essay, your warrant may not be stated at all, but you must know what it is in order to construct a solid argument.
• The warrant is the “So what?” part of your argument.

• Authoritative warrants are based on the credibility of sources.
  • Example: An expert on organ transplantation is a reliable source of information about kidney transplants.
  • Example: A survey of 1,000 people represents the opinions of a community of 3,000.
  • Example: First come, first served.
  • To evaluate authoritative warrants, ask:
    • Is the authority sufficiently respected and reputable?
    • Do other equally reputable authorities agree?
    • Are there equally reputable authorities who disagree?
    • Are the examples given sufficient and representative enough to make a general statement?
    • If the warrant supports a cause-and-effect argument, does the cause seem to account entirely for the effect?
    • If the argument uses comparisons , are the similarities greater than the differences?
    • If the argument uses analogies , does the analogy explain or merely describe?
    • Are the values ones that the audience will regard as important?
    • Are the values relevant to the claim?

    Rhetoric Crash Course: Warrants

    Lecture Slides are screen-captured images of important points in the lecture. Students can download and print out these lecture slide images to do practice problems as well as take notes while watching the lecture.

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    1. Intro
    2. Lesson Overview
    3. The Three Elements of Argument
       • Claim
       • Support
       • Warrant
    4. An Example
    5. What is a Warrant?
       • Definition
       • May Not Be Stated At All in Your Essay
    6. Types of Warrants
       • Authoritative Warrants
       • Substantive Warrants
       • Motivational Warrants
    7. Evaluation of Warrants
       • Ask These Questions to Evaluate Authoritative Warrants
       • Ask These Questions to Evaluate Substantive Warrants
       • Ask These Questions to Evaluate Motivational Warrants
    • Intro 0:00
    • Lesson Overview 0:11
    • The Three Elements of Argument 0:38
      • Claim
      • Support
      • Warrant
      • Definition
      • May Not Be Stated At All in Your Essay
      • Authoritative Warrants
      • Substantive Warrants
      • Motivational Warrants
      • Ask These Questions to Evaluate Authoritative Warrants
      • Ask These Questions to Evaluate Substantive Warrants
      • Ask These Questions to Evaluate Motivational Warrants

      AP English Language & Composition

      Section 1: Introduction
      Introduction	13:08
      Section 2: Multiple-Choice section
      Multiple Choice Overview	7:34
      How to Read & Interpret a Passage	10:18
      Multiple Choice Practice	13:33
      Section 3: Essay Basics
      AP Essay Section	9:02
      AP Essay Section Scoring	10:58
      Strategies to Raise Your Essay Score	9:28
      Section 4: Rhetoric
      Rhetoric Crash Course: Claims	14:18
      Rhetoric Crash Course: Support	14:26
      Rhetoric Crash Course: Warrants	10:29
      Rhetoric Crash Course: Logical Fallacies	19:17
      Basic Rhetorical Modes	11:18
      Complex Rhetorical Modes	14:22
      Section 5: Rhetorical Analysis Essay
      The Rhetorical Analysis Essay	6:17
      The Rhetorical Analysis Prompt	7:31
      Rhetorical Analysis Practice	12:08
      Section 6: Argumentative Essay
      The Argumentative Essay	10:22
      The Argumentative Prompt	8:19
      Argumentative Practice	13:01
      Section 7: Synthesis Essay
      The Synthesis Essay	9:19
      The Synthesis Prompt	8:30
      Synthesis Practice	10:23
      Section 8: Test Walkthrough
      Multiple Choice Walkthrough, Part 1	24:26
      Multiple Choice Walkthrough, Part 2	19:06
      Rhetorical Analysis Walkthrough	12:11
      Argumentative Walkthrough	11:29
      Synthesis Walkthrough	11:33
      Section 9: Final Thoughts
      Tips for the Test	16:26