Claim, evidence, reasoning. An argument has three parts. The claim is what the author wants you to believe — the position they’re defending. The evidence is what they offer in support: facts, statistics, examples, expert testimony, or personal observation. The reasoning is the connection between them, the logic that’s supposed to make the evidence lead to the claim. To analyze an argument, separate these out. Ask first, "What does the author want me to accept?" and then, "What have they given me as a reason to accept it?"
Judging the evidence. Not all evidence is equally strong, and TEAS questions often turn on the difference. Good evidence is relevant (it actually bears on the claim), sufficient (there’s enough of it), and representative (it reflects the whole, not a lucky slice). Weak evidence fails one of these tests. A single personal anecdote is rarely sufficient to support a sweeping claim. A statistic about one city may not be representative of a whole country. A fact can be perfectly true and still be irrelevant to the point the author is making. When a question asks how an argument could be strengthened or weakened, it’s usually pointing at one of these gaps.
Spotting unsupported claims and assumptions. Sometimes an author states a conclusion but never actually backs it, or leans on an unstated assumption that a careful reader can question. If a writer argues that a new policy will save money because "everyone knows government programs are wasteful," the argument rests on an assumption doing all the work without support. Learning to notice the claim that arrives without evidence — or the assumption smuggled in as if it were obvious — is central to this skill.
Drawing evidence-based conclusions. The flip side of evaluating an argument is building a sound conclusion yourself. A well-supported conclusion follows from the evidence given and doesn’t stretch past it. If the passage presents data showing a steady rise, a conclusion that continues that trend is defensible; a conclusion that predicts a sudden collapse is not. Stay proportional to what the evidence will actually bear.
The method: find the claim, then list what the author offers as support. Ask whether that support is relevant, sufficient, and representative. To weaken the argument, look for the missing, thin, or unrepresentative evidence; to draw a conclusion, extend only as far as the evidence reaches.
Worked example:
Our town should ban skateboarding downtown. Last week I watched two skateboarders nearly knock over a pedestrian on Main Street.
The claim is that the town should ban downtown skateboarding. The evidence is a single near-miss the author personally saw. The weakness is clear once you separate the parts: one anecdote is not sufficient or representative enough to justify a townwide ban. Pointing that out is exactly what an "evaluate the argument" question rewards.
Evaluating Arguments Review Quiz
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