Core Concepts in Critical Thinking, Part I

Critical Thinking
Across the
Curriculum Project

Critical Thinking Core Concepts

Contributed by: Lauren Miller and Michael Connelly, Longview Community College

Writing tips

When writing your own arguments, be aware of the many pitfalls and errors in reasoning that can be committed. In my experience as an instructor, the most common mistake made by people in writing an argument is that they fail to argue for anything. Many of the statements contained in the prose they produce are at worst irrelevant to their conclusion, and at best do not fully support the conclusion. This is, of course, if they even have a conclusion. If there is some semblance of an argument, then it usually has several missing premises or sub-arguments and/or has an invalid form. With this in mind as you write your own arguments, make sure that:

1. your conclusion is well stated and clear.

2. subordinate conclusions (if any) support the main conclusion.

3. your premises (reasons) support your conclusions.

4. the examples which illustrate your premises are not contradictory or questionable.

5. Any unfamiliar or important concepts are defined or explained- i.e. - using a word or term in a manner different from the usual (write to your audience).

Begin by writing down your argument in a very simplistic form - Identify the Statements which will serve as the Premises and arrange them in a logical order to lead to your conclusion. At this point you should be able to easily identify any missing premises or identify an invalid argument forms. (Fix them now). Then proceed to "flesh out" your argument with supporting claims and arguments if needed.

Suggested form of prose arguments:

(paraphrased from Cederblom and Paulsen, pg. 42)-

a. Introduction- start with a non-controversial premise if possible.

b. First Section- (paragraph)- Reasoning for premise A

c. Second Section- Reasoning for premise B

d. Third Section (etc.,) Reasoning for Premise C (and so on)

E. Final Section- Present main argument in prose form, showing how all of the premises link together.

A final warning: Make sure the conclusion you are arguing for is worth the trouble. In a recent e-mail some students asked me if there was any evidence or data to support the claim that "Women have more Common Sense than Men". Problem is, they never thought to ask if there is such a thing as "Common Sense" to begin with! (See our "Common Sense" test)

Suggested Activity:

Pick an argument and write a prose version of the given argument. Add in any needed premises or conclusions and give support for each of the premises. Follow the above pattern.

(for class review, depending on the number of people who actually did the assignment, divide them into groups based on which argument they chose, and have them collaborate on a single version of the argument. You can then compare in class this group version with the versions they came up with.

Copyright © 1996
Critical Thinking Across the Curriculum Project
Longview Community College , Lee's Summit, Missouri - U.S.A.
One of the Metropolitan Community Colleges
An Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer

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Inquiries to: michael.connelly@mcckc.edu
Last modified: 03/02/04