MODR 1730 Lecture 4: Analyzing Arguments
Document Summary
Look for argumentative discourse (the conclusion and its premises, delete everything else) It is often easier to look for the conclusion first. Once you know the conclusion it is easy to find the premises because you know what you are attempting to prove. Every premise and every conclusion has to be a claim. A claim expresses a complete thought in words. It is necessary to separate the claims to properly analyze the argument. There are two tests to identifying these two types of claims. The function criterion is more reliable because sometimes indicator words are not present in the claim, or they are ambiguous and do not actually indicate a premise or conclusion. There are only three structures of arguments, and this will always be true. Pcp (premises before and after the conclusion) The first structure is the most commonly used because it is the logical flow of knowledge. This is the structure followed when mapping arguments.