© 2008 Townsend Press Fourth Edition John Langan Fourth Edition John Langan T EN S TEPS TO B UILDING C OLLEGE R EADING S KILLS

Chapter Ten: The Basics of Argument THIS CHAPTER IN A NUTSHELL A critical thinker learns to recognize the point of an argument and the support for that point. A critical thinker learns how to evaluate the support given for a point. A critical thinker learns how to look at supporting evidence and draw logical conclusions.

What is Snoopy’s argument in the cartoon above? In other words, what point is he making? What is his support for his point?

What is Snoopy’s argument in the cartoon above? In other words, what point is he making? His point is that dogs are superior to cats. What is his support for his point? There is no support. To make a good argument and prove a point, you must offer real support (unlike Snoopy).

EVALUATING ARGUMENTS A critical thinker can look at an argument— a point and its support—and decide whether the support is solid or not.

EVALUATING ARGUMENTS Point: Our meal in that new restaurant was unpleasant. Below are a point and two sets of details. Which set of details supports the point? Support A: 1. Our meal took forty-five minutes to arrive. 2. The chicken we ordered was tough, and the rice and vegetables were cold. 3. The dessert choices were limited to stale cake and watery Jell-O. Support B: 1. We had to wait fifteen minutes for the food to arrive. 2. The chicken we ordered was too juicy, and the vegetables were buttery. 3. The dozen dessert choices did not include my favorite, carrot cake.

EVALUATING ARGUMENTS Point: Our meal in that new restaurant was unpleasant. Below are a point and two sets of details. Which set of details supports the point? Support A: 1. Our meal took forty-five minutes to arrive. 2. The chicken we ordered was tough, and the rice and vegetables were cold. 3. The dessert choices were limited to stale cake and watery Jell-O. Support B: 1. We had to wait fifteen minutes for the food to arrive. 2. The chicken we ordered was too juicy, and the vegetables were buttery. 3. The dozen dessert choices did not include my favorite, carrot cake. The details provided in Support A describe an unpleasant meal.The details in Support B — a short wait, tasty food, and many dessert choices — describe what many people would not see as an “unpleasant” meal.

PRACTICE IN EVALUATING ARGUMENTS Recognizing Point and Support Look at the four items below. Which of the items is the point, and which three are logical support for that point? A. The roof on this house is leaking. B. The house is not in good shape. C. There are signs of termites in the basement. D. The furnace is constantly breaking down.

A. The roof on this house is leaking. B. The house is not in good shape. C. There are signs of termites in the basement. D. The furnace is constantly breaking down. PRACTICE IN EVALUATING ARGUMENTS Recognizing Point and Support Look at the four items below. Which of the items is the point, and which three are logical support for that point? Support  Point  Support  Sentences A, C, and D each describe a major problem with the house. Sentence B does not describe any specific problem. It refers only generally to problems, so it is the point.

PRACTICE IN EVALUATING ARGUMENTS Point: That woman on the news was courageous. Read the point and the three items of “support” below. Which of the three items provides logical support for the point? Support: A.She collected bags of canned and boxed food for months and then brought it to the Golden Door Soup Kitchen to be used for Thanksgiving. Thanks to her efforts, the soup kitchen was able to feed five hundred more people this year than last. That number includes over a hundred children. B. She had at hand all the facts and figures to back up her statements, citing three different studies by experts in the field. She handled the reporter’s questions with ease and confidence. C. When she saw the child being attacked, she went to his aid without a moment’s hesitation. She ran up shouting “Let him go!” and then kicked the ferocious pit bull as hard as she could. When the dog released the child, she grabbed the boy and pushed him to safety, even as the dog turned on her. Identifying Logical Support I

PRACTICE IN EVALUATING ARGUMENTS Point: That woman on the news was courageous. Read the point and the three items of “support” below. Which of the three items provides logical support for the point? Support: A.She collected bags of canned and boxed food for months and then brought it to the Golden Door Soup Kitchen to be used for Thanksgiving. Thanks to her efforts, the soup kitchen was able to feed five hundred more people this year than last. That number includes over a hundred children. B. She had at hand all the facts and figures to back up her statements, citing three different studies by experts in the field. She handled the reporter’s questions with ease and confidence. C. When she saw the child being attacked, she went to his aid without a moment’s hesitation. She ran up shouting “Let him go!” and then kicked the ferocious pit bull as hard as she could. When the dog released the child, she grabbed the boy and pushed him to safety, even as the dog turned on her. Identifying Logical Support I These details tell us she is kind and generous, not courageous. These details show her mastery of her subject and skill at being interviewed, not her courage. The woman described here puts herself in danger to help a child. She had to be courageous to do this.

PRACTICE IN EVALUATING ARGUMENTS Point: English 102 was an extremely hard course. Below is a point followed by five statements. Which three of the statements provide logical support for the point? Support: A. The course included a research paper, five essays, three oral reports, and two major exams. B. The course was required for my major. C. The teacher called on students without warning and deducted points when they didn’t know the answer. D. The teacher has been at the school for over twenty years. E. On average, I had to do at least three hours of homework for every hour of class. Identifying Logical Support II

PRACTICE IN EVALUATING ARGUMENTS Point: English 102 was an extremely hard course. Below is a point followed by five statements. Which three of the statements provide logical support for the point? Support: A. The course included a research paper, five essays, three oral reports, and two major exams. B. The course was required for my major. C. The teacher called on students without warning and deducted points when they didn’t know the answer. D. The teacher has been at the school for over twenty years. E. On average, I had to do at least three hours of homework for every hour of class. Just because a course is required does not make it difficult, so B is not logical. Similarly, how long a teacher has been at a school does not make a course difficult, so D is not logical. A, C, and E each describe a difficulty experienced in taking the course. Identifying Logical Support II

PRACTICE IN EVALUATING ARGUMENTS Read the three items of support below. Then decide which one of the four statements at the bottom is the logical point of the three items. Support: Before underground plumbing, city people dumped raw sewage out of their windows and into the streets. In the days when city vehicles were horse-drawn, manure was piled high in the roadways. Before trash collection was available, pigs were set loose in city streets to eat garbage thrown there. What point is logically supported by the evidence above? A. Cities of the past were probably pleasant places to live. B. Cities of the past were not all that different from today’s cities. C. Cities of the past were troubled with crime. D. Cities of the past were very dirty. Determining a Logical Point

PRACTICE IN EVALUATING ARGUMENTS Read the three items of support below. Then decide which one of the four statements at the bottom is the logical point of the three items. Support: Before underground plumbing, city people dumped raw sewage out of their windows and into the streets. In the days when city vehicles were horse-drawn, manure was piled high in the roadways. Before trash collection was available, pigs were set loose in city streets to eat garbage thrown there. What point is logically supported by the evidence above? A. Cities of the past were probably pleasant places to live. None of the details suggest that cities were pleasant places to live. B. Cities of the past were not all that different from today’s cities. The support states that cities of the past were dramatically different places to live, with raw sewage, manure, and pigs in the streets. Determining a Logical Point

PRACTICE IN EVALUATING ARGUMENTS Read the three items of support below. Then decide which one of the four statements at the bottom is the logical point of the three items. Support: Before underground plumbing, city people dumped raw sewage out of their windows and into the streets. In the days when city vehicles were horse-drawn, manure was piled high in the roadways. Before trash collection was available, pigs were set loose in city streets to eat garbage thrown there. What point is logically supported by the evidence above? C. Cities of the past were troubled with crime. The supporting statements make no mention of crime. D. Cities of the past were very dirty. That cities of the past were very dirty is supported by the details: raw sewage, manure, and garbage in the streets and roadways. Determining a Logical Point

CHAPTER REVIEW In this chapter, you learned the following: A good argument is made up of a point, or a conclusion, and evidence to back it up. To think through an argument, you need to decide if each bit of evidence is relevant and logical. Critical thinking also includes looking at evidence and deciding what logical point, or conclusion, can be drawn from that evidence.