Transcript Argumentative Writing - COMMClub

Argumentative Writing
Reasoning Critically
Inductive and Deductive Reasoning
Inductive & Deductive Reasoning
• To think, read and write critically, you need to
distinguish sound reasoning from faulty
reasoning. Induction and deduction are the two
basic reasoning processes. They are natural
thought patterns people use everyday to help
them think through ideas and make decisions.
Inductive Reasoning
• Inductive Reasoning moves from particular
facts or instances to general principles.
Suppose you go to the Registry of Motor
Vehicles to renew your driver’ license and have
to stand in line for two hours. A few months
later you return to get new license plates and
once again you have to stand in line for two
hours. You mention your annoyance to a couple
of friends who say they had exactly the same
experience. You conclude that the registry is
inefficient and indifferent to the needs of its
patrons. You’ve arrived at this conclusion by
• Means of induction.
Inductive Reasoning
•Inductive reasoning moves from specific to the general. It begins
with specific evidence- facts, observations, or experiences- and moves
to a general conclusion.
•Inductive conclusions are considered reliable or unreliable, not
true or false. Because inductive thinking is based on a sampling of
facts, an inductive conclusion indicates probability- the degree to which
the conclusion is likely to be true- not certainty.
•An inductive conclusion is held to be reliable or unreliable in
relation to the quantity and quality of the evidence on which it is
based.
•Induction leads to new ‘truths.’ It can support statements about the
unknown based on what’s known.
Deductive Reasoning
• Deductive reasoning is the process of
reasoning from general claims to a specific
instance. Suppose you know that students who
don’t study for Professor Sanchez’s history
tests tend to do poorly. If your friend tells you
she didn’t study, you can make a reasonable
conclusion about her grade. Your reasoning
may look like this:
• Premise 1: Students who don’t study do poorly
on Professor Sanchez’s exams.
• Premise 2: My friend didn’t study.
• Conclusion: Therefore, my friend probably did
poorly on the exam.
• Deductive arguments have three parts: two
premises and a conclusion. This three part
structure is known as a syllogism.
• The first and second premises of a deductive
argument may be statements of fact or
assumptions. They lead to a conclusion, which
is the point at which you want to think as
precisely as possible because you’re into the
realm of validity.
• A deductive argument is valid when the
conclusion logically follows from the premises;
a deductive argument is invalid when the
conclusion doesn’t logically follow from the
premises. For example:
Valid Deductive
Argument
Invalid Deductive
Argument
• P 1: When it
snows, the streets
get wet.
• P 1: When it
snows, the streets
get wet.
• P 2: It is snowing.
• P 2: The streets
are getting wet.
• Conc: Therefore,
the streets are
getting wet.
• Conc: Therefore,
it is snowing.
• Here’s the problem with the invalid deductive
argument: It has acceptable premises because
they are facts. However, the argument’s
conclusion is wrong because it ignores other
reasons why the streets might be wet. For eg.,
the street could be wet from rain, from street
cleaning trucks that spray water, or from people
washing their cars. Therefore, because the
conclusion doesn’t follow logically from the
premises, the argument is invalid.
•Deductive reasoning moves from the general to the specific. The
three part structure that makes up a deductive argument, includes two
premises and a conclusion drawn from them.
•A deductive argument is valid if the conclusion logically follow
from the premises.
•A deductive conclusion may be judged true or false. If both
premises are true, the conclusion is true. If the argument contains an
assumption, the writer must prove the truth of the assumption to
establish the truth of the argument.
•Deductive reasoning applies what the reader already knows.
Though it doesn’t yield new information, it builds stronger arguments
than inductive reasoning because it offers the certainty that a
conclusion is either true or false.
What is a written Argument?
• When you write an argument, you attempt to
convince a reader to agree with you on a topic
open to debate. You support your position,
proposal, interpretation with evidence, reasons
and examples- factual, logical data, not
opinions.
How do I develop an assertion
and a thesis statement for my
argument?
• An assertion is a statement that expresses a
point of view on a debatable topic. It can be
supported by evidence, reasons, and examples
(including facts, statistics, names, experiences,
and experts). The exact wording of the
assertion rarely finds its way into the essay, but
the assertion serves as a focus for your
thinking. Later, it serves as the basis for
developing your thesis statement.
• Topic: Wild animals as domestic pets.
• Assertion: People should not be allowed to won
wild animals.
• Assertion: People should be allowed to own
wild animals.
• Topic: Private ownership of wild animals.
• My position: I think private ownership of wild animals
should not be allowed.
• Thesis: It is bad for private citizens to own wild animals
as pets. (The word bad is vague and the writer doesn’t
address how to stop private ownership of animals.)
• Thesis: To eliminate what few people realize are
increasingly dangerous situations for people and animals
alike, ownership of wild animals as pets by ordinary
people needs to be made completely illegal. (it’s better
but it suffers from lack of conciseness and from the
unnecessary passive construction ‘needs to be made’.)
• Thesis: To eliminate dangerous situations for both
people and animals, policymakers need to ban private
ownership of wild animals as pets.
Activity 1
Choose a topic from the list below and develop an assertion
and a thesis statement. You may choose any defensible
position. For example:
• Topic: Book censorship in high schools
• Assertion: Books should not be censored in high school.
• Thesis statement: When books are taken off high school
library shelves or are dropped from high school curricula,
students are denied an open exchange of ideas.
1. Watching television many hours each day
2. The commercialization of holidays
3. Taking body-building supplements
4. Grading on a pass/ fall system
Elements of an Argument
1. The issue
2. The claim
3. The evidence
4. The opposing claims
The issue
• An issue is a matter of public concern. Gun
control, abortion, affordable health care are
issues. An issue can be a problem that needs a
solution or a question that requires an answer.
Issues are often controversial; where issues are
involved, people take sides.
The Claim
• A claim is either an assertion or a statement of
what you believe to be true or a demand that
something be done. “He injured me with his car”
is an assertion. “He ought to pay my medical
bills” is a demand. Both of these claims require
proof if the injured person expects to convince a
court that he or she was injured and should get
paid. A claim is different from an issue, in that
an issue is a matter of public concern or
controversy, such as “gun control,” but a claim
is your position on the issue, the assertion or
demand you make, such as
• “gun control denies citizens the right to protect
themselves and ensures that only criminals will
have guns.” Many statements of claim will
either include words such as ought to, should,
need, and must or imply the idea that
something should or ought to be done.
• The following is a list of claims about the issue
of cheating:
• The student government should establish an
honour court to deal with cheating. (demand)
• We should re-examine our college’s policy on
cheating. (demand)
• The reasons the college students cheat are
more alarming than the cheating itself.
(assertion)
• The solution to cheating is everyone’s
responsibility. (assertion)
The Evidence
• Hard evidence: rational appeal
• Soft evidence: emotional appeal
• Hard evidence includes facts, examples, and
authoritative opinion and it makes a rational
appeal to readers to use their reasoning
powers. A non-smoking ad on television that
uses facts such as the percentage of smokers
who die from heart and lung diseases is using
hard evidence to get smokers to think about
their chances of survival if they do not give up
their habit.
Soft evidence
• Soft evidence includes moral considerations,
common sense observations, personal opinions
and social values. It makes an emotional
appeal to readers to listen to their hearts and
consciences. A non-smoking ad on television
that uses social values and common sense
might show attractive young people making
statements such as: “Even a smart guy looks
dumb with a cigarette in his mouth” or “I’m not
interested in kissing a woman who has
smoker’s breath.”
The Opposing claims
• If all you do is make a claim and support it, your
argument will be one-sided and therefore
unconvincing. A persuasive argument will
acknowledge differing opinions and answer
opposing claims.
Plan your Argument
The Four Essentials
Questions to Ask yourself
1. Define an issue.
1. What is my issue?
2. Make a claim.
2. What is my position? What
will I demand or assert?
3. Prove your claim.
3. What support will I use- both
rational and emotional appeals?
4. Answer opposing claims.
Who is my audience? What is
their position? What are the
opposing claims, and what are
my answers?
Structuring an Argumentative
Essay
• Establish that a problem exists and briefly state what can
be done about it. Make sure your intro. Includes the
following: a clearly defined issue, your claim or claims,
Introductory
and a thesis statement.
paragraph
Body
Paragraphs
• Support your claim(s) with enough evidence to convince
readers, and answer the opposing claims. It does not
matter which you do first.
• Summarize how readers may benefit from taking your
position, or call to action.
Concluding
Paragraph