The Following Assignment Tests The Students' Ability To Disc
The Following Assignment Tests The Students Ability To Discriminate R
The following assignment tests the student’s ability to discriminate real arguments from mere opinions, recommendations, or statements. Read 10 passages and decide whether they are arguments. Explain why you think they are or are not arguments. If you think a passage is an argument, write it in argument form, numbering the premise(s) and labeling each premise with a capital letter P, and the conclusion with a capital C. If the argument is an enthymeme, supply the missing premise or conclusion. Upload as a Word document.
Paper For Above instruction
The primary objective of this assignment is to develop students' critical thinking skills by enabling them to differentiate between genuine arguments and non-argumentative statements such as opinions, recommendations, or basic assertions. Through this exercise, students will learn to recognize the structural components of arguments, including premises and conclusions, and to understand rhetorical subtleties that distinguish persuasive reasoning from mere rhetoric.
The first step involves carefully analyzing ten passages—these could be statements, opinions, or arguments—provided as part of the assignment. Students are expected to determine whether each passage constitutes a genuine argument. An argument, in this context, is a coherent set of statements where premises provide support or reasons for the conclusion. Not all statements that assert a point are arguments; many are opinions, advice, or expressions without inferential support.
Once students identify whether a passage is an argument, they need to explain their reasoning clearly. This explanation should articulate why they believe it qualifies or does not qualify as an argument. This analytical process fosters understanding of argument structure and enhances critical evaluation skills.
For passages identified as arguments, students are asked to reconstruct the argument formally. This involves explicitly listing the premise(s) and the conclusion. Each premise is labeled with a capital letter P (e.g., P1, P2), while the conclusion is labeled with a C (e.g., C1). Most arguments are expected to be explicit, but some may be enthymemes—arguments with implicit premises or conclusions. For such cases, students are required to supply the missing premise or conclusion to complete the logical structure.
The final deliverable is a Word document that contains the analysis of all ten passages in this structured format. This exercise enhances abilities in formal argument analysis, critical thinking, and clarity in explaining reasoning processes.
Engaging students in this detailed examination of arguments prepares them for more advanced reasoning tasks and improves their capacity to evaluate claims critically in real-world contexts. Developing these skills is essential for academic success and for responsible participation in debates, policy analysis, and everyday decision making.
Ultimately, this assignment emphasizes the importance of reasoned argumentation as a foundation of effective communication and logical thinking, vital skills across disciplines including philosophy, logic, law, and the social sciences. By systematically identifying, analyzing, and reconstructing arguments, students gain insight into the mechanics of persuasive reasoning and develop a more discerning eye for evaluating various claims encountered in scholarly and daily life.
References
Fisher, A. (2011). Critical Thinking: An Introduction. Cambridge University Press.
Hurley, P. J. (2014). A Concise Introduction to Logic. Cengage Learning.
Nissen, J. F. (2017). The Logic of Argument. Routledge.
Toulmin, S. (2003). The Use of Argument. Cambridge University Press.
van Eemeren, F. H., & Grootendorst, R. (2004). A Systematic Theory of Argumentation: The pragma-dialectical approach. Springer.
Walton, D. (2006). Fundamentals of Critical Argumentation. Cambridge University Press.
Moore, B. N., & Parker, R. G. (2012). Critical Thinking. McGraw-Hill.
Govier, T. (2010). Logic and Argumentation. Wadsworth.
Pojman, L. P. (2006). Logic: The Art of Reasoning. Wadsworth.
Kuhn, D. (2005). Education for Thinking. Harvard University Press.