1. Each premise, sub-conclusion, and conclusion must be numbered.
2. Every premise, sub-conclusion, and conclusion must be expressed in a complete sentence.
3. Underline the last premise before each sub-conclusion.
4. Underline any premise or sub-conclusion immediately preceding the main conclusion.
5. Each sub-conclusion and conclusion must be preceded by three dots ("therefore").
6. The last line must encapsulate the main conclusion of the argument.

That's it! If you get all these correct, your argument is in standard form.

Arguments in Standard Form
Arguments look and sound great when they are written out in prose form, as in a paragraph. Yet, it often takes a great deal of insight to understand the logical underpinning of an argument when it is written out this way. One can often gain such insight through effort, instead of intuition, by rewriting the argument in standard form.
Here is an argument in prose form: Our concept of God is the most perfect entity which could possibly be, and our concept does exist. What is pretty obvious is that a non-existent thing is less perfect than an existing thing. It follows that our concept of God necessarily includes the property of existence, but that just goes to show that God really does exist.	Here is the same argument in standard form: 1. The concept of God includes all perfections. 2. Existence is a perfection. 3. The concept of God includes existence. 4. God exists.
Essential Features of Standard Form Arguments 1. Each premise, sub-conclusion, and conclusion must be numbered. 2. Every premise, sub-conclusion, and conclusion must be expressed in a complete sentence. 3. Underline the last premise before each sub-conclusion. 4. Underline any premise or sub-conclusion immediately preceding the main conclusion. 5. Each sub-conclusion and conclusion must be preceded by three dots ("therefore"). 6. The last line must encapsulate the main conclusion of the argument. That's it! If you get all these correct, your argument is in standard form.	Stylistic Features of Good Standard Form Arguments 1. All premises and conclusions should fit together in a logical way. 2. No irrelevant premises will be included. 3. The premises and conclusion will be reworded so that the logical connection between them is clear. 4. Don't use flashy language; use concise literal words. 5. Don't include indicator words, or evidence/proof type statements. ("That just goes to prove..."). 6. Any implicit premises should be included.
The argument below is in standard form, but it may be difficult to see the logical connections because of the particular wording and irrelevant phrases. 1. Our concept of God is the most perfect entity which could possibly be, and our concept does exist. 2. What is pretty obvious is that a non-existent thing is less perfect than an existing thing. 3. Our concept of God necessarily includes the property of existence. 4. God really does exist.
Even a C student should be competent at making a standard form arguments, and recognizing when an argument is in standard form. An A or B student will also be able to make their standard form arguments stylistically superior.	Click here to get more practice! Coming Soon!