Structure of Arguments

Example 5: Las Vegas has too many people.1 There’s not enough water in the desert to support more than a million people.2 And the infrastructure of the city can’t handle more than a million: The streets are overcrowded,3 and traffic is always congested;4 the schools are overcrowded,5 and new ones can’t be built fast enough. We should stop migration to the city by tough zoning laws in the city and county.6
Argument? Yes

Conclusion: We should stop migration to the city by tough zoning laws in the city and county.

Additional premises needed? If there is not enough water, the streets are over crowded, traffic is always congested, and the schools are over crowded, then Las Vegas has too many people.

Identify and sub argument: 2,3,4,5 are independent and support 1. Then 1 supports the conclusion.

Good argument? Yes, I think so.

I believe that this exercise was very helpful. It helped me break down the argument and really look at the structure of how an argument should look like.