Skip to content
Free public beta until December 4, 2026: every course is open, no card needed. After that, the first chapter of each course stays free and full access is a one-time $39 ($19 for up to 100 founding members chosen for helpful feedback). Your progress is kept. How the beta works

Recipe

Reconstruct and diagram a passage

Use when: you're handed a paragraph of reasoning with no numbers and need to see how its claims support one another

Goal: a numbered list of the passage's distinct claims and an argument diagram with the main conclusion at the bottom

Taught in Diagramming longer arguments

Quick recipe

  1. Find the main conclusion
  2. Split into claims and number them
  3. Set aside filler and reuse numbers for repeats
  4. Draw the direct support for the conclusion
  5. Repeat one level up until every claim is placed
  6. Check the finished diagram
  1. 1

    Read the whole passage and ask what it is trying to get you to believe. Confirm your answer with the because test against a couple of the other claims.

    Example

    In "The laundry room should stay open until 11 p.m. Half the tenants work until eight or later...", the laundry room staying open late is what the whole note is pushing for.

    Why: every other decision in the diagram is made relative to this claim, so it has to be settled first.

  2. 2

    Cut the passage into single claims, splitting sentences at words like and, because, so, and which. Number the claims in the order they appear.

    Example

    "The machines are quiet, so late loads won't bother anyone" becomes two claims: the machines are quiet, and late loads won't bother anyone.

    • a sentence holds two claims — give each its own number.
    • a claim arrives as a command or a question making a point — number the claim it carries.

    Why: the diagram connects claims, not sentences, and one sentence can hold several.

  3. 3

    Give no number to greetings, background, jokes, or stand-alone feelings. When a sentence restates an earlier claim, give it the earlier claim's number.

    Why: set-aside material supports nothing, and a repeated claim is one claim, so it must appear in the diagram once.

  4. 4

    Place the main conclusion at the bottom. Find the claims that support it directly, and use the remove-one test on each group.

    • covering one reason leaves the other with some support — independent; draw separate arrows.
    • covering either reason leaves the other with none — joint; bracket them and draw one arrow.

    Why: independent and joint premises behave differently when one turns out false, and the drawing has to show which is which.

  5. 5

    For each direct supporter, ask what supports it. Any claim that is supported and also supports something is an intermediate conclusion; build its support the same way.

    Why: working back from the conclusion keeps you from attaching a claim to its neighbor just because they sit side by side.

  6. 6

    Every claim except the main conclusion has at least one arrow leaving it (its own or a shared bracketed one); a claim that supports two things has two. The main conclusion has none. Nothing set aside appears.

    Why: a claim with no outgoing arrow is either the conclusion or a sign that something was misplaced.

Common mistakes

  • Giving a restated claim a second number, so the diagram shows two main conclusions.
  • Taking the last sentence as the main conclusion because of where it sits.
  • Bracketing reasons that each work alone, or giving joint reasons separate arrows.
  • Drawing an arrow from the main conclusion to something else.
  • Numbering a greeting, a piece of background, or a stand-alone feeling.