Argument:

What you

don’t know

already

Works Cited Page

Murphy, Barbara L & Estelle Rankin. 5 Steps to a 5 AP English Language.

New York: McGraw-Hill, 2002.

Induction

• DEFINITION: forming a generalization from a set of specific examples.

• EXAMPLE:

• Margo has 17 stuffed teddy bears, 3 stuffed cows, 11 monkeys, 4 camels, and 6 stuffed elephants

• Margo loves to collect stuffed animals

Deduction

• DEFINITION:

• Reaching a probable conclusion based on given premises (a proposition that is proven or taken for granted).

• Example:• All high school

seniors at this high school must write a research paper.

• Sean is a senior at this high school.

• Sean must write a research paper.

Deduction uses “syllogism”

Major premise: All A are C. “All lions are cats”

Minor premise: B is A. “Leonard is a lion.”

Conclusion: Therefore,

B is C

“Leonard is a cat”

You could also say, “Because Leonard is a lion, he is a cat.”

In this instance, you have suppressed one of the premises

You are confident that most people would agree that all lions are cats and can feel confident about leaving out the premise

BUT BE CAREFUL…

Logical fallacies

• are sometimes the result of leaving out or assuming that all believe a premise to be true.

• Are mistakes in reasoning

• Refer back to worksheet and quiz on logical fallacies

Possible problems with induction

• The generalization covers many unobserved persons, objects, etc.

• If the conclusion begins with ALL, any exception would invalidate the generalization

• Cited facts are incorrect

• Assumed connections are incorrect

• Assumption is a conclusion NOT supported by the evidence

Practice with induction

• Television network USBC’s drama series won this year’s Emmy for Best Dramatic Series.

• USBC won the Emmy for Best Comedy Series.

• USBC won the Emmy for Best Talk Show.

• Therefore, ______________________

Were there any weaknesses in your conclusion? See if you can spot and explain the error in this conclusion:

• The 43rd U.S. President is a Yale graduate

• The 42nd U.S. President was a Yale Law School Graduate

• The 41st U.S. President was a Yale graduate.

• The last seven presidents were college graduates

• Therefore, the President of the U.S. must have a college degree.

Problems with Deduction

• Not all of the given A falls into the given B category. There are exceptions.

• The given category B is incorrect

• The second statement is NOT true or is incorrect.

• The truth of the third statement is in question

Practice with Deduction

• Some Japanese cars are made in the U.S.

• Toyota is a Japanese car.

• Therefore, all Toyotas are made in the U.S.

• Can you spot the error?

More practice with deduction:

• No eagles are flamingos

• All flamingos are birds

• Therefore, no eagles are birds.

• What about the error here?

Problems with analogies:

• Accepting the totality of the analogy by never questioning that there are differences between the items being compared that could invalidate the argument or conclusion

• Exaggerating the similarities

Practice with analogies:• Are there any mistakes in the following

analogies?• Both the doctor and teacher must have

special knowledge. People select their own doctors; therefore, people should be allowed to pick their own teachers.

• Both 2 year olds and 10 year olds have 2 legs, 2 eyes, etc. 10 year olds can read and write. Therefore, 2 year olds should be able to read and write.

The prewriting process

1. Reread the prompt

2. Take a position

3. Know your topic

4. Thesis statement in first paragraph: “I agree”, “I disagree”, etc.

5. Know how you plan to developthe essay :personal anecdotespecific examplesstats and facts

6. Know how will you develop your evidence

7. Inductive or deductive technique?

8. How will you end your argument?1. Strong image

2. Idea of the future

3. Personal anecdote

Use this knowledge when writing, analyzing or developing

arguments

GOOD LUCK!