Possibly the hardest educational skill to learn is argument. It takes years to effectivly learn how to construct an argument. There are some good software products around that assist in the 'mapping' and construction of arguments. Have a look at this research project from the University of Dundee in the UK. It's called Araucaria v3.
Araucaria is a software tool for analysing arguments. It aids a user in reconstructing and diagramming an argument using a simple point-and-click interface. The software also supports argumentation schemes, and provides a user-customisable set of schemes with which to analyse arguments.
Also, there are some good links to debates within the field and other products on Tim Van Gelder's Austhink (which is based here in Carlton, Melbourne).
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