Steps for Determining the Validity of a Textual Argument:
 

1. Identify the conclusion and the premises
2. If there is a missing or implied premise, determine what it is by forming an enthymeme in the form A --> B because A--> C and reconstruct the implied premise by using the formula "All things that --> C --> B"
3. Put the two premises and the conclusion into the form of a syllogism
4. Translate the claims of the syllogism into standard-form categorical claims
5. Check to see if you have a standard form categorical syllogism (3 claims, 3 terms)
6. If not, do immediate inferences or revise claims to get to 3 terms
7. Apply the 3 rules for validity to determine if the argument is valid.