Reading - Critical Reasoning

• All arguments contain at least one premise. A premise is information used by the author to support some claim or conclusion. That information may be a fact or an opinion. In the above example, sentence 3 is a premise because it helps to support the authors conclusion.

• Most (though not all) arguments contain a conclusion, the primary claim the author is trying to prove. In the above example, sentence 4 is a conclusion.

• Many arguments (though not all) contain background information, which provides context to allow us to understand the basic situation. In the above example, sentence 1 provides background.

• Some arguments contain a counterpoint or counterpremise— a piece of information that goes against the author s conclusion. In the above example, sentence 2 represents a counterpoint because it goes against the authors conclusion.

​- Part of the core of an argument; present in most arguments
- Represents the authors main opinion or claim; can be in the form of a prediction, a judgment of quality or merit, or a statement of causality
- Is supported by at least one premise
- Often signaled by words such as therefore, thus, so, and consequently (though note that harder arguments might use such a word elsewhere in the argument in an attempt to confuse us)

​Conclusion

- Part of the core of the argument; present in every argument

- Supports the authors conclusion

- Can be a fact or an opinion; can be a description, historical information, statistical or numerical data, or a comparison of things

- Often signaled by words or phrases such as because of since, due to, and as a result of

​Premise

​Structure of an Argument

​- Not part of the core; only present occasionally
- Opposes or goes against the authors conclusion in some way
- Introduces multiple opportunities for traps: believing that the conclusion is the opposite of what it is, mistakenly labeling a counterpoint the premise (and vice versa), and so on
- Often signaled by transition words such as however, yet, and but\ typically, the transition word will be found somewhere between the counterpremise and the conclusion (though the two sentences may not be right next to each other)

​Counterpoint

- Not part of the core; often present, but not always
- Provides context to help understand the core
- Almost always fact-based; can be in almost any form: historical information, numerical or other data, descriptions of plans or ideas, definitions of words or concepts, and so on

​Background

​Structure of an Argument

​Structure of an Argument

• Background - Premise - Counterpremise - Conclusion

• Premise - Premise

• Premise - Conclusion

• Conclusion - Premise​

​- Or any other combination

Subject | Subject

Some text here about the topic of discussion

Multiple Choice

What is the Structure of the following Paragraph?

Budget Fitness will grow its membership base by 10% in the next six months. Budget Fitness has recently crafted a clever ad campaign that it plans to air on several local radio stations.

• Background-Premise-Counterpoint-Conclusion

• Premise-Conclusion

• Conclusion-Premise

• Background-Premise

​	​
​Budget Fitness will grow its membership base by 10% in the next six months.	​This is prediction about the future. So this is a claim. It is not a fact. Therefore, it could be a Conclusion
B​udget Fitness has recently crafted a clever ad campaign that it plans to air on several local radio stations.	This is a fact. It is something that the company has already initiated. It is already set in motion. It could be a Premise. It supports the claim in the first sentence.​

Multiple Choice

What is the Structure of the Following Paragraph?

Last year, the Hudson Family Farm was not profitable. However, the farm will

be profitable this year. The farm operators have planted cotton, rather than

corn, in several fields. Because cotton prices are expected to rise dramatically this year, the farm can expect larger revenues from cotton sales than it

previously earned from corn.

• Premise-Counter-Premise-Conclusion

• Background-Premise-Conclusion

• Premise-Background-Conclusion

• Counterpoint-Conclusion-Premise-Premise

Last year, the Hudson Family Farm was not profitable.	​This is a fact. It has already occurred in the past. It could be background, counterpoint or premise.
​However, the farm will be profitable this year.	​The word This could be a Conclusion, in which case the earlier sentence was a Counterpoint.
​The farm operators have planted cotton, rather than corn, in several fields.	​Why should we care which crop has the farmer planted?
​Because cotton prices are expected to rise dramatically this year, the farm can expect larger revenues from cotton sales than it previously earned from corn.	​Now we see, why planting cotton will lead to more revenue than last year. The author has used this sentence to support his conclusion. Which means this is a Premise and so is the previous sentence.

Last year, the Hudson Family Farm was not profitable. However, the farm will be profitable this year. The farm operators have planted cotton, rather than corn, in several fields. Because cotton prices are expected to rise dramatically this year, the farm can expect larger revenues from cotton sales than it previously earned from corn.

Do you Spot any flaws i​n the author's reasoning?

Some text here about the topic of discussion

​There are several flaws, but the biggest one is the fact that revenues and profits are not the same thing!

A company can have lots of revenue and zero profit— or even lose money.

​Identify the Conclusion

​The owner of a small publishing company plans to lease a new office space that has floor-to-ceiling windows and no internal walls, arguing that the new space will enhance worker productivity. The owner cites a recent study showing that workers exposed to natural light throughout the day tended to report, on average, a higher level of job satisfaction than did those who worked in office spaces that used fluorescent lighting. Thus, the owner concluded, exposure to natural light has a positive effect on workers' job satisfaction

​	​
​The owner of a small publishing company plans to lease a new office space that has floor-to-ceiling windows and no internal walls,	​This is likely
​arguing that the new space will enhance worker productivity.	​This might be a
​The owner cites a recent study showing that workers exposed to natural light throughout the day tended to report, on average, a higher level of job satisfaction than did those who worked in office spaces that used fluorescent lighting.	​This seems to be a The workers will be more productive because the new space will provide exposure to natural light through the floor-to-ceiling windows
​Thus, the owner concluded, exposure to natural light has a positive effect on workers' job satisfaction	​This appears to be the

​Intermediate and Final Conclusion

The burglar is clumsy and often makes a lot of noise while robbing homes. As a result, he is more likely to get caught. Thus, in the near future, he will probably end up in jail.

Subject | Subject

Some text here about the topic of discussion

​	​
​The burglar is clumsy and often makes a lot of noise while robbing homes.	​This is a basic background
​As a result, he is more likely to get caught.	​This is a claim made based upon that premise: because he makes noise, he is more likely to get caught. This is a conclusion
​Thus, in the near future, he will probably end up in jail.	​This also contains a claim, and this claim follows from the previous claim: because he is more likely to get caught, there is a good chance he will end up in jail. This is also a conclusion
​Essentially, a premise supports a conclusion, and that conclusion then supports a further conclusion	​The first conclusion is called the intermediate conclusion (also known as the secondary conclusion). The second conclusion can be called the final conclusion

Therefore test

Is it the case that A (he's more likely to get caught) is true, THEREFORE B (he will probably end up in jail) is true?

​

Or is it the case that B (he will probably end up in jail) is true, THEREFORE A (he's more likely to get caught) is true?

Subject | Subject

Some text here about the topic of discussion

​Takeaways

• A premise is a piece of evidence (fact or claim) that supports the authors conclusion.

• A (final) conclusion is the authors main claim.

• An intermediate conclusion is both a conclusion and a premise; it supports the final conclusion.

• Background information helps to set the context for an argument.

• A counterpoint or counterpremise goes against the authors conclusion.

• We can use these building blocks to understand the structure of an argument.

• When we have more than one conclusion, we can use the Therefore Test to find the final conclusion. Either “A is true, THEREFORE B is true” or “B is true, THEREFORE A is true.”