diff --git a/pyro/infer/inspect.py b/pyro/infer/inspect.py
index dffb6fd6fd..9bb5ca2520 100644
--- a/pyro/infer/inspect.py
+++ b/pyro/infer/inspect.py
@@ -549,6 +549,12 @@ def render_model(
     :returns: A model graph.
     :rtype: graphviz.Digraph
     """
+    assert model_args is None or isinstance(
+        model_args, tuple
+    ), "model_args must be None or tuple"
+    assert model_kwargs is None or isinstance(
+        model_kwargs, dict
+    ), "model_kwargs must be None or dict"
     relations = get_model_relations(model, model_args, model_kwargs)
     graph_spec = generate_graph_specification(relations, render_params=render_params)
     graph = render_graph(graph_spec, render_distributions=render_distributions)