Week 4: Argument Reconstruction
Overview:
Welcome to Week 4.
Critical Thinking Questions:
• What does a good argument look like?
• When is information provided extraneous or misleading?
• What is the difference between implicit and explicit statements?
• What is Standard Form and how does it help in argument reconstruction?
• When are generalizations acceptable?
• How does diagramming arguments help in understanding the logic?
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Weekly Objective(s):
• CO3: Apply logical processes, including mathematical models and symbolic operations, to assess and evaluate problems. (Application)
o CO 3.3: Understand the process of argument reconstruction
• CO 4: Evaluate and analyze various forms of argument for rhetorical devices, fallacies, and possible pseudo-reasoning. (Evaluate)
o CO 4.1: Apply Standard Form to various arguments to understand how doing so helps reconstruct and analyze arguments.
o CO 4.2: Determine what information in any argument is relevant or necessary for the argument.
How does evidence relate to a thesis statement?
Evidence is the accumulation of details and logic that support and prove the thesis statement. As mentioned above, evidence works like spokes in a wheel, providing proof for the hub that is the thesis statement.
Evidence may take many forms. Statistics, testimony, anecdotes, reports, interviews, research studies, surveys, and observations may all be used as evidence to support a thesis statement. Solid logic is also another form of evidence. The reader / listener may be convinced of the validity of an argument primarily because the steps taken in its proof are logical and reasonable.
Without evidence (the spokes), the thesis statement (the hub) is not likely to be accepted. The two elements of an argument are inseparable
• Critical Thinking: A Concise Guide
Ch 5
• Argument Standard Form – Definition, Examples, Benefits
• Identifying Premises and Conclusions
Respond to two classmates
Last Completed Projects
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