Speech

Speech Study Guide

includes three elements: the claim, the support, and the warrant. The claim wants their audience to agree with. Support is the evidence offered as grounds for accepting and/or agreeing with the claim. Claims are supported with types of evidence such as facts, opinions, experiences, and observation. Support is also commonly referred to as the burden of proof. Warrant is the reasoning process that connects the support to the claim. Sometimes the warrant is verbalized and other times it is implied. There are general assumptions, principles, or rules that connect claims with one or more types of reasoning. Reasoning is also about drawing inferences from known facts, and involves a mental leap from the known to the unknown. There are four types of reasoning: inductive, deductive, casual, and analogical. Each of these types of reasoning involves inferences that may not lead to absolute or certain conclusions. The strength of conclusions depends on the strength of evidence and the quality of reasoning. Inductive reasoning involves reasoning from a set of specific examples, or series of observations, to a general conclusion. This method of reasoning demands a speaker qualify their claims carefully while avoiding making generalizations based on few examples. Reservations to claims and identifying conditions when a generalization may not be credible can be a part of this method. Inductive reasoning may be strengthened by testimony and evidence that establishes the reliability of examples. Deductive reasoning draws conclusions about specific cases based on inferences from a generally accepted premise or principle. Syllogism contains a major premise, a minor premise, and a conclusion. Often times a speaker will not state their premise because it is already accepted by their audience; they assume the audience will supply the missing premise from their own store of beliefs and values. This method of reasoning is rhetorical syllogism or enthymeme and typically is how arguments are constructed in everyday speech. If an audience is skeptical of a speaker’s premise, the speaker should provide evidence to support their premise. Causal reasoning is the ability to identify the relationship between a cause and its effect. We naturally want to know the cause for trends, problems, or policies. Causal reasoning tries to solve the mysteries of the world. Establishing causation is seldom simple. Speakers are responsible for recognizing the difficulties of proving causation and for seeking out the best evidence available from reputable sources. Responsible orators qualify their claims while acknowledging it is difficult to assert causal claims with absolute certainty, or to talk about any single factor as the cause of a complex problem. Analogical reasoning is an inference that two or more things that are similar to each other in one way are also similar in other ways. In this type of reasoning the information is taken from a particular source and then transferred to another subject. Analogical reasoning is especially useful when engaging in persuasive arguments. is the conclusion a speaker

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