How to identify premises

A Premise

• must be a claim
• must be a single claim
• must be part of an argument (must have a conclusion it is supporting)
• must be a claim that is supporting another claim

TEST

Find the conclusion. Ask "Why? What makes you say so?" Say it out loud with "because" after it and then the potential premise.  Does it make sense?
 
OR

Say the potential premise out loud with a "therefore" after it, and then say the conclusion.  Does it sound right?
 
 
 
 

Common types of premises
reasons	precedents
evidence	stories
statements of fact	examples
statistics	arguments from authority
data	persuasive definitions
cause/effect analyses	analogies

 Common Indicator Words:  because, since, for, given that, due to, for the reason that

A word (or several) of caution:

• Sometimes the premise is concealed. Is it underlying a question or is it implied but not stated outright?