ARQ

Reading Reflection #10: Overcoming Obstacles to Critical Thinking (4/20)

Melissa PrescottLeave a comment

To complete this reading reflection assignment, (1) Go to your personal blog, (2) Click on New -> Post, (3) Title the post Reading Reflection #10: Overcoming Obstacles to Critical Thinking, (4) Select the Category box for Reading Reflection Assignments, and (5) Add a few descriptive tags. Remember to respond to all prompts below.

Based on your reading of ARQ chapter 12: “What Reasonable Conclusions Are Possible?”, respond to the following prompts:

  1. Summarize your understanding of dichotomous (also called black and white) thinking. Provide an example of a well-known social issue in which this type of thinking is often used.
  2. According to ARQ, what are some dangers of dichotomous thinking? How does “grey thinking” and using “if-clauses” enable you to find the best possible solution to an issue or problem?

Self Reflection

  1. Based on the readings, discussions, and assignments you’ve completed for HONS 250, describe how your thinking has changed since the beginning of the semester.
  2. What have you learned about yourself as a result of taking HONS 250?
  3. What are some ways you will continue practicing your critical thinking skills beyond this semester?

Reading Reflection #9: Rival Causes and Statistics (due 4/13)

Melissa PrescottLeave a comment

To complete this reading reflection assignment, (1) Go to your personal blog, (2) Click on New -> Post, (3) Title the post Reading Reflection #9: Rival Causes and Statistics, (4) Select the Category box for Reading Reflection Assignments, and (5) Add a few descriptive tags. Remember to respond to all prompts below.

A. Based on your reading of ARQ chapter 9, “Are There Rival Causes?,” respond to the following prompts:

  1. What are rival causes and when how should you look for them (what questions should you use to find them)?
  2. Explain the difference between causation and association/correlation. Which is more difficult to demonstrate and why?
  3. Identify the conclusion and reason (cause) for the conclusion in the following passage. Name two potential rival causes (other possible causes) for the conclusion other than the one given.

Increased amounts of germs and bacteria on college campuses cause higher rates of illness in college students. College students are less likely to sanitize living areas and common areas on campus, which in turn creates excessive germs on surfaces and in the air leading to more sickness in students.

      • Conclusion:
      • Reason/cause:
      • Rival (other possible) causes:
      • Evaluation (How strong is the original argument? What’s missing?):

B. Based on your reading of ARQ chapter 10, “Are Any Statistics Deceptive?”, summarize how the following types of statistics can be deceptive. What are some strategies you can use to determine how reliable each type is?

    • Unknowable and biased statistics
    • Confusing averages
    • Measurement errors
    • Concluding one thing, proving another
    • Deceiving by omitting information

C. Read the following passage. Identify the conclusion, and reasons, and evaluate the evidence (in this case the statistics) used to support the writer’s argument.

The home is becoming a more dangerous place to spend time. The number of home-related injuries is on the rise. In 2005, approximately 2300 children aged 14 and under died from accidents in the home. Also, 4.7 million people are bitten by dogs each year. To make matters worse, even television, a relatively safe household appliance, is becoming dangerous. In fact, 42,000 people are injured by televisions and television stands each year. With so many accidents in the home, perhaps people need to start spending more time outdoors.

    • Conclusion:
    • Reasons/causes:
    • Evaluate the evidence (the statistics):

Reading Reflection #8: Evidence Part 2 (due 4/6)

Melissa PrescottLeave a comment


To complete this reading reflection assignment, (1) Go to your personal blog, (2) Click on New -> Post, (3) Title the post Reading Reflection #8: Evidence Part 2, (4) Select the Category box for Reading Reflection Assignments, and (5) Add a few descriptive tags. Remember to respond to all five prompts below.

Based on your reading of ARQ chapter 8, “How Good is the Evidence: Personal Observation and Research Studies?,” respond to the following prompts:

  1. Briefly describe the scientific method (you may have to Google it). What are the main characteristics of the scientific method, as mentioned in this chapter, that contribute to the reliability and dependability of research data and results?
  1. What are some ways that surveys or questionnaires can be unreliable? What are some things to look for to verify the reliability of survey information?
  1. What are some pros and cons of research studies? Explain how some research findings can be problematic.
  1. What are three questions you can use to evaluate research studies? Where (in an article) should you look to find answers to these questions?
  1. Find a scholarly, peer-reviewed research article to use for Short Formal Assignment 4: Scholarly Article Analysis. Skim through the article to prepare for Assignment 4. Write (or copy and paste) the APA citation for the article here.

Reading Reflection #7: Evidence Part 1 (due 3/17)

Melissa PrescottLeave a comment

To complete this reading reflection assignment, (1) Go to your personal blog, (2) Click on New -> Post, (3) Title the post Reading Reflection #7: Evidence Part 1, (4) Select the Category box for Reading Reflection Assignments, and (5) Add a few descriptive tags. Remember to respond to all three prompts below.

Based on your reading of ARQ chapter 7, “The Worth of Personal Experience, Case Examples, Testimonials, and Statements of Authority as Evidence,” respond to the following prompts:

  1. In class we have been working on identifying arguments in written material. You’ll remember that an argument must have both a conclusion and reasons. The next step in evaluating information critically is looking for the evidence that supports the reasons. Summarize, in your own words, the textbook’s definition of evidence (don’t forget to provide an in-text citation).
  1. Provide a brief definition of each of the four different types of evidence discussed in this chapter (personal experience, case examples, testimonials, and appeals to authority). What is a strength and a potential problem with the validity and/or reliability of each of the four types of evidence?
  1. Go to www.theconversation.com, www.theatlantic.com, or quillette.com and look for an article that uses one of the four types of evidence discussed in this chapter. Briefly summarize the article and describe the evidence the author provides. How reliable do you think the evidence is, given the topic of the article, and why? Include an APA citation for the article (hint, the publication/journal title is The Conversation, The Atlantic, or Quillette).

Reading Reflection #4: Ambiguity and Assumptions (due 2/27)

Melissa Prescott1 Comment

To complete this reading reflection assignment, (1) Go to your personal blog, (2) Click on New -> Post, (3) Title the post Reading Reflection #4: Ambiguity and Assumptions, (4) Select the Category box for Reading Reflection Assignments, and (5) Add a few descriptive tags. Remember to respond to all seven prompts below.

Based on your reading of the ARQ chapter 4, “What Words or Phrases are Ambiguous?,” respond to the following prompts:

  1. How does the book define “ambiguity” and why is it important to identify any ambiguous terms before evaluating an argument?
  2. Why are dictionary definitions of key terms and phrases used in an argument often not sufficiently helpful in determining their meaning?
  3. ARQ stresses that not all ambiguous terms or phrases are equally important. How do you determine which ones are the most important to identify?

Based on your reading of the ARQ chapter 5, “What Are the Value and Descriptive Assumptions?,” respond to the following prompts:

  1. How do value and descriptive assumptions differ?
  2. Why is it important for people to be aware of what values they and others are assuming (a.k.a. of their value assumptions) when they argue about a social issue? Provide an example.
  3. Why do so few experts (such as politicians, scientists, professors, and television pundits) make value priorities explicit? Should individuals expressing their opinions on a social controversy make their value priorities explicit? Why should or shouldn’t they?
  4. Look at the table of “Typical Value Conflict and Sample Controversies” on page 57 of ARQ. Try to think of one more to add to this list, and an example of when the two values conflict. Write it down here and be prepared to share it in class.

Reading Reflection #3: Issues, Conclusions, and Reasons (due 2/18)

Melissa PrescottLeave a comment

To complete this reading reflection assignment, (1) Go to your personal blog, (2) Click on New -> Post, (3) Title the post Reading Reflection #3: Issues, Conclusions, and Reasons, (4) Select the Category box for Reading Reflection Assignments, and (5) Add a few descriptive tags. Remember to respond to all five prompts below.

Based on your reading of ARQ chapter 2, “What Are the Issue and the Conclusion?,” respond to the following prompts:

  1. 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 discusses in the book? How can you tell the difference between these two types of issues?
  2. 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.

Based on your reading of ARQ chapter 3, “What Are the Reasons?,” respond to the following prompts:

  1. How does the book define an argument? What are the necessary components of an argument? What are some characteristics of an argument?
  2. 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?

Read the article, “How ‘Intellectual Humility’ Can Make You a Better Person.”

  1. 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.

Reading Reflection #1: Critical Thinking (due 1/21)

Melissa PrescottLeave a comment

To complete this reading reflection assignment, (1) Go to your personal blog, (2) Click on New -> Post, (3) Title the post Reading Reflection #1: Critical Thinking, (4) Select the Category box for Reading Reflections  and (5) Add a few descriptive tags. Remember to respond to all prompts below.

Based on your reading of Asking the Right Questions (ARQ) Chapter 1: “The Benefit and Manner of Asking the Right Questions,” think about and respond to the following questions:

  1. What are some characteristics or values of a person who is a critical thinker? Which, if any, of these themes did we suggest for our Classroom Agreement on Tuesday?
  2. How do strong sense and weak sense critical thinking differ? Why is strong sense critical thinking usually so much more difficult than weak sense critical thinking?
  3. When we talk about an “argument” in this class, what do we mean? How is the book’s definition different from an argument we might have with our parents or friends?
  4. Why, do you think, is it so difficult to find the “right answer” to many questions about human behavior and society?

Based on your reading of “Why Questioning?,” think about and respond to the following questions:

  1. How does this chapter relate to your experiences? What role has asking questions had in your life?
  2. Why do you think children stop asking questions? Why do some people (like Bezos or Jobs) keep questioning?
  3. As a college student, what role does asking questions have in your education? What role does questioning have in your future profession and work environment?