Writing Logically Thinking Critically

This concise, accessible text teaches students how to write logical, cohesive arguments and how to evaluate the arguments of others.

 

Integrating writing skills with critical thinking skills, this practical book teaches students to draw logical inferences, identify premises and conclusions and use language precisely. Students also learn how to identify fallacies and to distinguish between inductive and deductive reasoning. Ideal for any composition class that emphasizes argument, this text includes coverage of writing style and rhetoric, logic, literature, research and documentation.

Guide to Readings

Preface

Chapter 1 Thinking and Writing–A Critical Connection

Thinking Made Visible  

Critical Thinking  2

    An Open Mind–Examining Your World View

    Hedgehogs and Foxes

Writing as a Process

    Invention Strategies–Generating Ideas

    The First Draft  

    The Time to be Critical

Audience and Purpose

    E-Mail and Text Messaging

Writing Assignment 1  Considering Your Audience and Purpose

Reason, Intuition, Imagination, and Metaphor

Reasoning by Analogy

Summary

Key Terms

 

Chapter 2 Inference–Critical Thought

What Is an Inference?

    How Reliable is an Inference?

What Is a Fact?

    Reliability of Facts in a Changing World

What Is a Judgment?

Achieving a Balance Between Inference and Facts

    Facts Only

    Inferences Only

Writing Assignment 2  Reconstructing the Lost Tribe

Reading Critically

Making Inferences–Writing about Fiction

Writing Assignment 3 Interpreting Fiction

Making Inferences–Analyzing Images

    Persuading With Visual Images

    Examining Ads

    Vivid Warnings

    Visual Images and the Law

Summary

Key Terms

 

Chapter 3 The Structure of Argument

Premises and Conclusions

Distinguishing Between Premises and Conclusions

Standard Form

Writing Assignment 5  Creating a Political Handout

Ambiguous Argument Structure

Hidden Assumptions in Argument

    Dangers of Hidden Assumptions

    Hidden Assumptions and Standard Form

    Hidden Assumptions and Audience Awareness

Summaries

    Strategies For Writing a Summary

    An Example of a Summary

Writing Assignment 5  Summarizing an Article

Argument and Explanation–Distinctions

Summary

Key Terms

 

Chapter 4 Written Argument

Focusing Your Topic

    The Issue

    The Question at Issue

    The Thesis

Shaping a Written Argument–Rhetorical Strategies

    The Introduction

    The Development of Your Argument

    How Many Premises Should an Argument Have?

    The Conclusion

A Dialectical Approach to Argument

    Addressing Counterarguments

    How Much Counterargument?

    Refutation and Concession

    Rogerian Strategy

    When There is No Other Side

Logical Connections–Coherence

    Joining Words

    More On Coherence

Sample Essays

A Two-Step Process for Writing a Complete Argument

Writing Assignment 6  Arguing Both Sides of an Issue

Writing Assignment 7  Taking a Stand

Summary

Key Terms

 

Chapter 5 The Language of Argument–Definition

Definition and Perception

    Who Controls the Definitions?

    Defining Ourselves

    Shifting Definitions

    Definition: The Social Sciences and Government

Language: An Abstract System of Symbols

    The Importance of Concrete Examples

    Abstractions and Evasion

    Euphemism and Connotation

Definition in Written Argument

    Appositives–A Strategy for Defining Terms Within the Sentence

    Appositives and Argument

    Punctuation of Appositives

    Extended Definition

Writing Assignment 8  Composing an Argument Based on a Definition

Inventing a New Word to Fill a Need

Writing Assignment 9  Creating a New Word

Summary

Key Terms

 

Chapter 6 Fallacious Arguments

What Is a Fallacious Argument? 

    Appeal to Authority 

    Appeal to Fear 

    Appeal to Pity 

    Begging the Question 

    Double Standard 

    Equivocation  

    False Analogy 

    False Cause 

    False Dilemma 

    Hasty Generalization 

    Personal Attack 

    Poisoning the Well 

    Red Herring 

    Slippery Slope 

    Straw Man  

Writing Assignment 10  Analyzing an Extended Argument 

Key Terms 

 

Chapter 7 Deductive and Inductive Argument

Key Distinction

    (1) Necessity Versus Probability

    (2) From General to Specific, Specific to General

The Relationship Between Induction and Deduction

Deductive Reasoning

    Class Logic

    Relationships Between Classes

    Class Logic And The Syllogism

Hypothetical Arguments  168

    The Valid Hypothetical Argument

    The Invalid Hypothetical Argument

    Necessary and Sufficient Conditions

    Hypothetical Chains

    Hypothetical Claims and Everyday Reasoning

Inductive Reasoning

    Generalization

    The Direction of Inductive Reasoning

    Testing Inductive Generalizations

    Thinking Critically About Surveys and Statistics

Writing Assignment 11  Questioning Generalizations

Writing Assignment 12  Conducting a Survey: A Collaborative Project

Summary

Key Terms

 

Chapter 8 The Language of Argument–Style

Parallelism

    The Structure of Parallelism

    Logic of the Parallel Series

    Emphasizing Ideas With Parallelism

Sharpening Sentences, Eliminating Wordiness

    Concrete Subjects

    Active and Passive Verbs

    Passive Verbs and Evasion

    When the Passive is Appropriate

    Consistent Sentence Subjects

Summary

Key Terms

 

A Quick Guide to Evaluating Sources and Integrating Research into your Own Writing

Where to Begin

Evaluating Online Sources

Checking for Bias

Three Options for Including Research

Blend Quotations and Paraphrases into Your Own Writing

 Make the Purpose Clear

Punctuation and Format of Quotations

Omitting Words From a Direct Quotation–Ellipsis

Plagiarism

A Final Note

 

Additional Readings

“Living with Less,” Graham Hill

“The Conservative Case for Gay Marriage,” Ted Olsen

“You Are What You Speak,” Guy Deutscher

“The Order of Things,” Malcolm Gladwell

Text Credits

Index