Repairing arguments is a way of solidifying a claim. The three requirements to repairing an argument are that the premises added would make the argument stronger, the premise is plausible, and the premise is more plausible than the conclusion.
I haven’t pumped gas in a month. My car will not run.
This claim is a repairable argument. The unstated premise needed to make this argument stronger would be that the car’s fuel indicator is at empty. This piece of information could link how gas is the cause of the car not running. This premise added about the fuel indicator is also plausible, because we can physically see the indicator being at empty. If this statement of the fuel indicator being at empty was not there, we could assume that there is something else wrong with the car such as the battery is dead. We do not need to add that all cars without fuel do not run because that is common sense. The statement that all cars with no gas do not run would not make the argument any stronger than it is.
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I like how you made your example clear and direct, and your explanation of how to strengthen an argument was excellent. Arguments like that just need more detail, and by adding more premise, we are doing just that. There could be many reasons that the car is not running, and the fact that you have not pumped gas for so long is almost irrelevant. By adding your premise regarding the gauge being low, it helps add to the strength of the argument. However, even then, your argument still needs improvement, and adding even another premise might help that. You need something to further draw lead to the conclusion that your car will not run.
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