give strength to the argument. Bare
assertions are not proofs and some of the "points" are nothing but
assertions. Opinions are not arguments. Some of the statements would
need to bolstered up by facts and "authorities" before they could be
accepted as real arguments.

Most debates are oral, but, for our purpose, they are to be considered
as written language lessons. Hence, when the arguments are marshalled as
above, the child should select the side he feels to be right and compose
his argument in proper form. Teach him to see the three parts to his
argument, namely, the introduction, the body of his argument, and the
conclusion. Tell him to make his style personal, clear, concise,
logical, strong, persuasive and convincing. Show him what each
characteristic in the above list means.

For example, the _argument_ for the judges made from the assertions
given above might be stated as follows:

_Introduction._ "That the judges were right when they pronounced Captain
Preston and the eight British soldiers not guilty of murder when they
fired on the colonial mob in what is incorrectly called the 'Boston
Massacre' will be proved in this argument."

_Body of the Argument._ "The citizens of Boston were English subjects
who had been fostered by the mother country. Since the settlement at
Plymouth in 1620 no other nation had claimed or exercised any control
over them, and I maintain that loyalty to his country is one of the
highest duties of every citizen." (It is not advisable to write here the
"body" of the argument. It would naturally be continued step by step
till the eleven "points" given above had been exhausted. If those
"points" had been brought up in the general conversation lesson every
child would be expected to add others that he had found by his own
study. Liberty of omission, arrangement and addition should always be
allowed. Originality is always at a premium.)

_Conclusion._ "I have now presented to you the reasons for my belief. I
have shown you conclusively that the colonists were British subjects and
owed unquestioning loyalty to their country; that----[Here recapitulate
briefly but forcibly the arguments, so as to present them convincingly
and at one time.] In view of all these facts I maintain that I have
shown that the judges did not err when they pronounced Captain Preston
and the eight soldiers not guilty of murder."

Of course, the form of the introduction and conclusion may vary from
that given he