- In order to figure out how reliable a person’s reasoning is, you must first be able to identify the issue they are presenting. What are the two primary types of issues discussed in the book? How can you tell the difference between these two types of issues?
There are two main types of issues discussed in the book: the descriptive issues and the prescriptive issues. Descriptive issues are the questions that are asked in response to what is happening in the World around us. This may be things like a pattern or a topic someone becomes curious about. This is in contrast to prescriptive issues in which questions are asked regarding the ethics and morality of a certain action or situation. It is not always a clear-cut answer as to which of the two types of issues a writing piece is.
- You must also be able to identify the conclusion that the person is presenting. What are some questions you can ask yourself to try to determine the author’s conclusion? Describe the clues to can help you locate the conclusion.
There will not always be a clear, stated conclusion. It sometimes takes some piecing together to understand. There are a couple of questions that can be asked in order to really understand what the whole purpose of a piece was about. First off, you must ask what the issue is being discussed. This is important for knowing what realm your conclusion is about and what it may or may not state. You must also ask if there are indicator words that will point you to a conclusion. If there are words that signify wrapping up, the conclusion may likely follow. This is not a question, but it is important to understand that the conclusion will never present new information but will draw a conclusion from the information already provided. The last question to ask would be to understand what the author’s background looks like. This not only will confirm credibility but may give insight into what side the author may take. If you know what side they will likely have, you can locate the conclusion more easily. Most of these questions should be asked alongside an active effort to look in common spots. This could be the purpose summary at the beginning of a long text, or at the very end when the piece is wrapping up.
- How does the book define an argument? What are the necessary components of an argument? What are some characteristics of an argument?
There are three main components of a strong argument presented by the book: intent, varying quality, and the inclusion of a conclusion and reasonings. The last one is most central to being considered an argument as it is defined as being a combination of a conclusion and reasoning. These allow others to gain perspective not only into what topic you are arguing for or against, but also what your stance on it is. Without valid points or evidence, there is no basis for an argument. Intent is very important because you need to be able to have others who can produce a reaction, whether it is agreeing with you or not. A certain amount of quality is necessary in order for others to personally validate what you are saying. If my argument is “the sun is not necessary for life”, I have no facts, no evidence, and overall a very poor-quality argument. If my argument is “I believe that there is no other life in space” and proceed to give facts from various, credible source, I may have a quality argument then.
- What is the main question to ask yourself when you’re trying to find an author’s reasons that support a particular conclusion? What are some indicator words (words that suggest a reason) to look for?
The main question (although simple), is very effective. That question in its simplest form is “why?”. Why does the author believe in what they are advocating for? This will help you to identify the reasonings. If you understand what their conclusion is, you can begin looking for any evidence in the writing that supports that conclusion. It is important to keep an open mind when determining this and to give the evidence a chance to actually make a point instead of dismissing it right away. There are a couple of identifying words that will help point you in the right direction. These include “is supported by”, “for the reason that”, “studies show that”, and more that indicate a following statement of evidence.
5. Identify (a) the overall issue discussed, (b) the author’s conclusion, and (c) the author’s reasons that explain why we should believe the conclusion.
The general issue discussed is how important intellectual humility is as a functioning person in society. The author believes that intellectual humility can make interactions between people more constructive and positive. This is based on many reasonings they list that are meant to support this conclusion. These reasonings include scholarly studies about arguments between gun victims and advocates and a study on self-rated bias. There are also other reliable evidence sources including Google’s VP in charge of hiring and a Stanford psychologist.