Moving Beyond Simple Arguments: Using Toulmin Logic to Create Written Arguments DIRECTIONS: {Carefully read the following "investigator's Report” about the “Slip or Trip” Case iain aiiderce ‘S or different colored markers/pens, create a key and then identify the argument's i and warrants, as well as where the argument responds to counterarguments. Key. THESIS (MAIN IDEA): EVIDENCE: RAISES COUNTER: ‘SUPPORTING CLAIMS (body paragraphs): WARRANTS: RESPONDS to COUNTER: Dear Chief Jones, We have concluded our investigation of the death of Arthur Volupides. According to his wife Queenie, she returned home from the country club and began preparing for the arrival of friends (from the club) who would be joining in a few minutes. She claims that Arthur fell coming down the stairs to get another drink. According to Queenie, the hit on the head he took from the fall supposedly killed him. After careful examination of the details, we cannot claim for sure that Queenie Volupides killed her husband Arthur, but we believe beyond a reasonable doubt that the crime scene evidence does not support her story. First off, the position of the body suggests that there was no way Arthur could have fallen while coming down the stairs. When we arrived at the scene, Arthur's body was face-up, with his head on the floor and his feet lying on two separate steps. tis highly improbable that someone falling down the stairs would land in this position. When someone falls down stairs, he would most likely either land face-down (er if he did land face-up from slipping, he would be feet first). Also, the momentum from a fatal fall would almost certainly be enough to carry a body farther than to have his feet lying on steps. We don't know how Arthur's body ended up in this position, but it is most likely not from falling down the stairs. Second, additional physical appearance does not support that he fell down the stairs. Upon examining the body, we noticed that all of Arthur's clothes were neat; even his bathrobe remained tied. ‘When a body falls such a long distance, the impact would most likely disturb one’s clothes, causing him to become disheveled. An examination of the body revealed that the only wound exists on Arthur's head. A fall down several stairs would cause bruises, scratches, and bumps on multiple parts of the body; yet, none of these exist on the corpse of Mr. Volupides. ‘Written by Chris Moore, Olentangy Liberty High School, Powell, Ohiorroundings around Arthur Volupides are very neat It. the physical su cr is the rug on which Arthur landed, In addition to the body tt rs on the wall are disturbed, and nelthe rything aroun him to try to catch hi 1 body falling from several feet would None of the candles or jmself, and none of the Generally, f someone fas, he will grab onto eve! ‘objects in question seem to suggest that this happened. AlS0, that none of these surroundings are messed up suggests strongly certainty scrunch up the rug. The fact that Mr. Volupides did not fall down the stairs. the most convincing piece of evidence Is the gla je was quick to point out he still had nd ‘Speaking of surrounding objects, ee ta was Fou resting In Mr. Volupides's hand. According to the neighbors, Qu the glass in his hand from when he fell, and we found the glass in his hand when we arrived. Someone faling will ether drop what he's holding to brace himself, or if he holds onto it, it will break, especially if i's made of glass. Furthermore, we found the glass in Arthur's left hand. Someone walking down the stairs would most likely hold onto the banister—especially if he’s drunk, as Queenie claimed—and in the case of the Volupides house, the banister is on the left side of the stairs. itis unlikely that Arthur would have held the glass and the banister in the same hand. Allof this offers pretty concrete proof that Queenie was lying, and it furthermore suggests that the glass may have been planted in Arthur's hands after he died (One might argue that Arthur's drunkenness may have kept him from trying to catch himself, and therefore, this is why he didn't drop the glass. Indeed, drunk people often have poor reaction time, which might suggest that he didn't even do anything to try to catch himself when falling. Yes this is true, but we must not forget all the other evidence. If we consider any one of these pieces of evidence in isolation, one could easily question if it alone could cast doubt on Queenie’s story. There is always the possibility that a person—especially if drunk—could twist while falling and end up in a position like Arthur's, or that someone could take a deadly fall and somehow manage to hold onto an object. However, considering all of these ‘a system, it becomes increasingly improbable that Arthur could have fallen pieces of evidence together down the stairs and landed in this particular position, still holding onto the glass, still dressed completely neatly, with all surrounding objects undisturbed. When evidence piles up that contradicts a story, itis the surest sign that the story is not true. We cannot reach as far to claim that Queenie killed her husband, but based on the combination of all of this evidence, we can at least infer that Queenie’s story is extremely doubtful, which itself suggests that some sort of foul play may have occurred. We recommend further Investigation into this case. ‘Written by Carts Moore, Olentangy Liberty High School, Powell Obto