In order to understand how arguments work, we need to be able to get them into a 'controlled environment' - we need to clean them up and prepare them for study. We'll do that by putting them into standard form. For more hints on putting things into standard form, see Govier pp 38-39. Look for the conclusion. Look for explicit premises.
List premises first, then conclusion.
Make simple sentences if possible. Gumby's pal is a zebra. Therefore, Bullwinkle is a zebra. If a recipe calls for beef stock but you don't have any, you can use bouillon instead. You don't have any beef stock, you can't make any, and you have some bouillon.