Odds and ends from the last EOC practice…

premise A premise is a statement that an argument claims will induce or justify a conclusion. In other words: a premise is an assumption that something is true. In logic, an argument requires a set of (at least) two declarative sentences (or propositions) known as the premises along with another declarative sentence (or "proposition") known as the conclusion. This structure of two premises and one conclusion forms the basic argumentative structure.

premise - examples Propositions or premise The sun is shining. There are no clouds in the sky. Conclusion: It will not rain today. Students are not scoring well on their practice EOCs. Every day, in every class, students are reviewed for the EOC. Conclusion: Overdoing the preparation and practice is not improving practice EOC scores.

Logical fallacy A logical fallacy is a flaw in reasoning. Logical fallacies are like tricks or illusions of thought, and they're often very sneakily used by politicians and the media to fool people. Don't be fooled!

Logical fallacy examples Slippery Slope: This is a conclusion based on the premise that if A happens, then eventually through a series of small steps, through B, C,..., X, Y, Z will happen, too, basically equating A and Z. So, if we don't want Z to occur, A must not be allowed to occur either. If we ban Hummers because they are bad for the environment eventually the government will ban all cars, so we should not ban Hummers.

Logical fallacy examples False Authority – using a biased, suspicious, or incredible source to defend a conclusion. A false authority fallacy occurs when people offer themselves (or other suspicious authorities) as sufficient warrant for believing their claims. Ashton Kutcher uses that type of camera, so it must be the best.

Logical fallacy examples A Post Hoc is a fallacy with the following form: A occurs before B. Therefore A is the cause of B I had been doing pretty poorly this season. Then my girlfriend gave me this neon laces for my spikes and I won my next three races. Those laces must be good luck...if I keep on wearing them I can't help but win!

Logical fallacy examples The Bandwagon is a fallacy in which a threat of rejection by one's peers (or peer pressure) is substituted for evidence in an "argument." This line of "reasoning" has the following form: Person P is pressured by his/her peers or threatened with rejection. Therefore person P's claim X is false. Jennifer tells her friends she loves Band of Horses at lunch. Her friends tell her she likes “old people’s” music and that only rap music is cool. Jennifer pulls her jacket over her Band of Horses concert tee and agrees with her friends that Nas and Dr. Dre are the best music acts ever.

Logical fallacy examples Hasty Generalization: This is a conclusion based on insufficient or biased evidence. In other words, you are rushing to a conclusion before you have all the relevant facts. Even though it's only the first day, I can tell this is going to be a boring course.

Logical fallacy examples Ad hominem: This is an attack on the character of a person rather than his or her opinions or arguments. Green Peace's strategies aren't effective because they are all dirty, lazy hippies.

Logical fallacy examples Non sequitur in formal logic, is an argument in which its conclusion does not follow from its premises. In a non sequitur, the conclusion could be either true or false, but the argument is fallacious because there is a disconnection between the premise and the conclusion. Bill lives in a large building, so his apartment must be large

Logical fallacy examples Red Herring: This is a diversionary tactic that avoids the key issues, often by avoiding opposing arguments rather than addressing them. The level of mercury in seafood may be unsafe, but what will fishers do to support their families?

Logical fallacy examples Video Examples

Inductive and Deductive Reasoning Let's look at inductive reasoning first. Inductive reasoning moves from the particular to the general. It gathers together particular observations in the form of premises, then it reasons from these particular premises to a general conclusion. The most common form of inductive reasoning is when we collect evidence of some observed phenomena (e.g. examining 10,000 dogs for fleas), then we draw a general conclusion about all such phenomena based on our collected evidence (e.g. whether all dogs have fleas).

Inductive and Deductive Reasoning Deductive reasoning moves from the general to the particular. It takes a general premise and deduces particular conclusions. A "valid" deductive argument is one in which the conclusion necessarily follows from the premise. (All dogs have fleas. This is a dog. Therefore this dog has fleas.) The premise may not be "true" but the form of the argument is nevertheless "valid.” (If all dogs do have fleas, and if this is a dog, then this dog must necessarily have fleas.)

Inductive and Deductive Reasoning Video Explanation

Mood A mood shows the writer’s attitude toward what he/she is saying. Indicative Mood states an actuality or fact. We will go to see a movie this Sunday. I’ll follow you. Some verbs are in the imperative mood, which expresses commands or requests. Though it is not stated, the understood subject of imperative sentences is you. Let’s go to see a movie this weekend! Make me an omelet. (You make me an omelet.) Subjunctive Mood expresses a doubtful condition (contrary to fact) and is often used with an "if" clause. If I were you, I wouldn’t buy a house. I wish I were more organized.

Subjunctive Mood The subjunctive mood is the verb form used to express a command, a wish, a suggestion or a condition that is contrary to fact. A verb in the subjunctive mood may have a different form to one with the same subject which is not in the subjunctive mood. Always use were instead of was. I was in your position two years ago. (not in the subjunctive mood) If I were in your position, I would do the same. (subjunctive mood) I wish it were still in use. (subjunctive mood - "it was" becomes "it were“) The board recommended that the motion be passed immediately. (subjunctive mood - "motion is passed" becomes "motion be passed") She suggests that Mark work full time from Saturday. (subjunctive mood - "Mark works" becomes "Mark work")  

parallel construction Parallel structure means using the same pattern of words to show that two or more ideas have the same level of importance. This can happen at the word, phrase, or clause level. The usual way to join parallel structures is with the use of coordinating conjunctions such as "and" or "or.“ Mary likes hiking, swimming, and bicycling. Mary likes to hike, to swim, and to ride a bicycle. Mary likes to hike, swim, and ride a bicycle. Not Parallel: The production manager was asked to write his report quickly, accurately, and in a detailed manner. Parallel: The production manager was asked to write his report quickly, accurately, and thoroughly.

propaganda Propaganda, a term used commonly to describe deceptive persuasive techniques. Video Examples