Since most arguments contain appeals to both reason and emotion, the single term argument is often used to refer to any attempt to convince an audience of the truth or rightness of an assertion or proposition.
Every argument contains a main claim and a number of supporting claims.
Claims may be roughly classified into three types. An audience may be persuaded to accept a claim of value when they see that it answers to particular needs, values, concerns, moral standards, or deeply held beliefs that they share. The policy should be clearly outlined and supported by claims of fact and value. Examples used are fairly typical instances, not extreme or isolated cases. Or evidence is 'common knowledge', accepted as true by most educated readers.