Reasoning by criteria

From this week's discussion we learned about a lot of different types of arguments and ways to execute them.  Out of all the ones we were given, the one that I had the most trouble with was Reasoning by criteria.  Although i was able to participate in the first post and provide an example, i'll admit my example is unclear even to me.  I felt that with further research about this topic I would be able to better understand it.  What I found was that each criteria were actually just different types of premises.  Arguments are supported by their premises and in this example, the criteria are just as important.  They need to be established as valid and true in order to be in a strong and valid argument.  Criteria are also ways to shorten premises and conclusions and combine them together as well.  Just as with premises, we can assume criteria from reliable sources such as our friends to be true.  The outcome (or conclusion) to an argument is supported through its premises and criteria, so in order to create a solid conclusion, criteria must be appointed first.