The Table of Contents of Anthony Weston’s A Rulebook for Arguments (5th ed.) as a guide
I. Short Arguments: Some General Rules
1. Resolve premises and conclusion
2. Unfold your ideas in a natural order
3. Start from reliable premises
4. Be concrete and concise
5. Build on substance, not overtone
6. Use consistent terms
II. Arguments by Example
7. Use more than one example
8. Use representative examples
9. Background rates are often crucial
10. Statistics need a critical eye
11. Reckon with counterexamples
III. Arguments by Analogy
12. Analogies require relevantly similar examples
IV. Arguments from Authority
13. Cite your sources
14. Seek informed sources
15. Seek impartial sources
16. Cross-check sources
17. Build your Internet savvy
IV. Arguments about Causes 33
18. Causal arguments start with correlations
19. Correlations may have alternative explanations
20. Work toward the most likely explanation
21. Expect complexity
VI. Deductive Arguments
22. Modus ponens
23. Modus tollens
24. Hypothetical syllogism
25. Disjunctive syllogism
26. Dilemma
27. Reductio ad absurdum
28. Deductive arguments in multiple steps
VII. Extended Arguments
29. Explore the issue
30. Spell out basic ideas as arguments
31. Defend basic premises with arguments of their own
32. Reckon with objections
33. Explore alternatives
VIII. Argumentative Essays
34. Jump right in
35. Urge a definite claim or proposal
36. Your argument is your outline
37. Detail objections and meet them
38. Seek feedback and use it
39. Modesty, please!
IX. Oral Arguments 69
40. Ask for a hearing 69
41. Be fully present 70
42. Signpost energetically 71
43. Hew your visuals to your argument 72
44. End in style
X. Public Debates 75
45. Do argument proud 75
46. Listen, learn, leverage 76
47. Offer something positive 78
48. Work from common ground 80
49. At least be civil 82
50. Leave them thinking when you go