Issue and Conclusion CSIT 58 Chapter 2

What are they saying? The issue The conclusion Web pages, editorials, books, speeches, magazine articles, TV shows are designed to alter your perceptions or beliefs. First identify: The issue The conclusion

The Issue The issue is the question or controversy being addressed. Is Tide the best laundry detergent? Should you get a divorce? Should we have a flat tax rate? Are baseball players paid too much?

Descriptive Issues Descriptive issues are about facts. They raise questions about the accuracy of descriptions of the past, present or future. Does aspirin prevent heart disease? Do we have enough money to buy a new car? Are smog control devices effective in preventing pollution?

Prescriptive Issues Prescriptive issues are questions of right and wrong. Involve ethics, morals and values. Is there too much violence on TV? Is marriage better than living together? Should cloning human cells be outlawed?

Searching for the Issue May be clearly stated at the beginning or in the title. Sometimes must look for it. What is the author is reacting to? What is the author’s background? Find it in the conclusion

The Conclusion Look for a statement or set of statements the author wants you to believe. Conclusions are inferred; they are derived from reasoning. Conclusions are ideas that require evidence to support them.

Issue and Conclusion? Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart once quipped that though he couldn't define pornography, he knew it when he saw it. Will Internet filtering software ever have it that easy? Not anytime soon, and not without a lot of human intervention. The Internet is too vast and diverse, and the applications too indiscriminate in their quest for the obscene and the pornographic.

Issue and Conclusion? The issue and conclusion are clearly stated in the passage: Issue: Will Internet filtering software ever have it that easy? Conclusion: Not anytime soon, and not without a lot of human intervention. It’s not always this clear, you often have to figure it out.

Finding the Conclusion: Clue #1 Ask what the issue is. This is Circular: Find the issue by locating conclusion, find conclusion by locating issue?

Clue #2 Look for indicator words but proves that consequently shows that hence so indicates that suggests that in fact in short it follows that therefore the most obvious explanation thus the point I’m trying to make is it is highly probable that the truth of the matter is it should be clear that points to the conclusion that we may deduce that

Clue #3 Look in likely locations. The beginning The end

Clue #4 Remember what a conclusion is not. It will not be any of the following: Examples Statistics Definitions Background Information Evidence

Clue #5 Check the context of the communication Stand may be a predictable one Source can be biased Author’s background Organization belongs to

Clue #6 Ask the question, “and therefore?” The author may expect you to draw a conclusion from the information communicated. Common in politics Candidate X will be soft on crime.

Identify the Issue and Conclusion #1 For a better college learning environment, all classes should begin in the afternoon. Most students try to schedule afternoon or evening classes anyway; you rarely hear of a student who is upset at being closed out of the 8a.m. section of a class. Also, experts say that students who are alert learn more and learn more quickly. For example, at Southern State University, one group of students took an 8a.m. psychology course from Dr. Miller while another group took the same course from Dr. Miller at 2p.m. The students in the afternoon class had slightly higher average than those in the morning class. Changing the starting time for classes at universities to afternoon will help students.

Identify the Issue and Conclusion #1 Issue: Should starting times for classes be changed to help students learn? Found In: Changing the starting time for classes at universities to afternoon will help students. Conclusion: All classes should begin in the afternoon. Found In: For a better college learning environment, all classes should begin in the afternoon.

Identify the Issue and Conclusion #2 Corporate managers are always interested in techniques for increasing the productivity of their workers. One interesting suggestion made by productivity consultants is to pipe music into the work area. Several recent studies have explored the extent to which different types of music affect workers output. The primary hypothesis examined in the studies was that soft-rock music would prove the greatest aid to productivity. The research has found almost universally that country and western music is the greatest inducement to efficiency. Therefore, corporate officials should seriously consider playing country and western music as a stimulus to worker productivity.

Identify the Issue and Conclusion #2 Issue: Should music be played to improve worker productivity? Found In: Several recent studies have explored the extent to which different types of music affect workers output. Conclusion: Play country western music to improve productivity Found In: Therefore, corporate officials should seriously consider playing country and western music as a stimulus to worker productivity.

Conclusion vs. Opinion When someone claims something is true or ought to be done and provides no statements to support the claim, that claim is not a conclusion because no one has offered any basis for belief. It’s an opinion instead. End of Chapter 2 Lecture