What are the Issue and the Conclusion? UI100 13&76

Issue & Conclusion What are the issue and the conclusion of someone’s argument? Before we can evaluate someone’s reasoning, we have to first figure out the issue and the conclusion.

Turn to page 13 in your text

Issue & Conclusion Does the person who wrote these paragraphs want you to believe something? What does that person want you to believe?

If a person writes an editorial, magazine article, or book – that person is doing so because he/she want you to believe something.

Your job as a critical thinker is to discover what that is – that something that they want you to believe.

When looking at a situation that you may be trying to break down – there are two kinds of issues that you will typically encounter. kinds of issues

Issue & Conclusion Descriptive Issues: Those that raise questions about the accuracy of descriptions of the past, present, or future.

Examples: –W–What causes AIDS? –D–Do obese people have more emotional problems that non-obese people? –W–Who won the presidential debate? –H–How much will college cost in the year 2010? –C–Can a child’s IQ be raised by a stimulating environment?

These issues are all around you and they reflect our curiosity about patterns in the world.

Prescriptive issues: Those that raise questions about what we should do or what is right or wrong, good or bad.

Examples: –S–Should capital punishment be abolished? –I–Is it desirable to fluoridate drinking water? –W–What ought to be done about unemployment? –S–Should people be required to retire at a certain age?

These kinds of questions demand answers that suggest the way the world ought to be. These issues are moral or ethical issues.

Social controversies are usually prescriptive issues such as “should marijuana be legal?” or “does everyone have the right to own a gun?”

How do you determine the issue in an argument?

Sometimes the writer/speaker will tell you the issue. For example: –T–The question I am raising is whether taxes are too high in our country. –S–Should sex education be taught in the school? –W–Why isn’t our present educational system working?

If the question is not explicitly stated, the first step is to find the conclusions – which can be difficult to do. You must ask yourself, “What is the writer/speaker trying to prove?”

Turn to page 16 in your text

Issue & Conclusion How to find the conclusion: –A–Ask what the issue is –L–Look for indicator words

Turn to page 17 in your text Issue & Conclusion

Turn to page 18 in your text Issue & Conclusion

Always remember to –L–Look in likely locations –R–Remember what a conclusion is NOT

Always help your readers and listeners out by giving them your conclusion. Require yourself to declare a thesis.