Writing Logically, Thinking Critically

by Cooper, Sheila; Patton, Rosemary

• ISBN13: 9780321414311
• ISBN10: 0321414314
• Edition: 5th
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2007-01-01
• Publisher: Longman

Summary

This concise, accessible text teaches how to write logical, cohesive arguments and how to evaluate the arguments of others. Key Benefits: Integrating writing skills with critical thinking skills, this practical book teaches how to draw logical inferences, identify premises and conclusions and use language precisely. Readers also learn how to identify fallacies and to distinguish between inductive and deductive reasoning. Ideal for any composition class that emphasizes argument, this text includes coverage of writing style and rhetoric, logic, literature, research and documentation. Key Topics: Research Documentation Argument

Table of Contents

Guide to Readings	xiii
Preface	xvi
Thinking and Writing---A Critical Connection	1	(26)
Thinking Made Visible	1	(1)
The Power of Writing Persuasively	2	(2)
The Advent of E-Mail	3	(1)
Critical Thinking	4	(7)
Critical Thinking as Self-Defense	5	(1)
An Open Mind---Examining Your World View	5	(4)
Media Literacy	9	(2)
Audience and Purpose	11	(1)
Writing Assignment 1 Considering Your Audience and Purpose	12	(1)
Writing as a Process	13	(9)
Strategies for Generating Ideas	14	(1)
The First Draft	15	(1)
The Time to Be Critical	16	(1)
One Writer's Process	17	(1)
Reason, Intuition, Imagination, and Metaphor	18	(4)
Writing Assignment 2 Your Writing Process	22	(1)
He or She?	23	(1)
What You Can Expect from This Book	24	(1)
More Than One Approach	24	(1)
Collaboration	24	(1)
Sharpening Sentence Skills and Increasing Coherence	24	(1)
Enjoying the Challenge of Thinking and Writing	25	(2)
Summary	25	(1)
Key Terms	26	(1)
Inference---Critical Thought	27	(27)
What Is an Inference?	28	(2)
How Reliable is an Inference?	28	(2)
What Is a Fact?	30	(2)
Facts and Journalism	30	(2)
What Is a Judgment?	32	(5)
Achieving a Balance Between Inference and Facts	37	(4)
Facts Only	38	(1)
Selecting Facts	39	(1)
Inferences Only	40	(1)
Reading Critically	41	(1)
Writing Assignment 3 Reconstructing the Lost Tribe	42	(3)
Making Inferences---Analyzing Images	45	(4)
Making Inferences---Writing About Fiction	49	(2)
Writing Assignment 4 Interpreting Fiction	51	(3)
Summary	53	(1)
Key Terms	53	(1)
The Structure of Argument	54	(27)
Premises and Conclusions	55	(1)
Distinguishing Between Premises and Conclusions	56	(1)
Standard Form	57	(3)
Ambiguous Argument Structure	60	(2)
Writing Assignment 5 Creating a Political Handout	62	(1)
Standard Form, Essay Organization, and Revision	63	(1)
Writing Assignment 6 Responding to an Editorial	64	(1)
Argument and Explanation---Distinctions	64	(4)
Logical Relationships Between Ideas---Joining Words and Coherence	68	(3)
Choice of Joining Words	69	(2)
Revising for Coherence	71	(1)
Hidden Assumptions in Argument	71	(10)
Dangers of Hidden Assumptions	73	(1)
Hidden Assumptions and Standard Form	74	(4)
Hidden Assumptions and Audience Awareness	78	(1)
Summary	79	(1)
Key Terms	80	(1)
Written Argument	81	(36)
Focusing Your Topic	81	(6)
The Issue	81	(1)
The Question at Issue	82	(1)
The Thesis	83	(2)
Two Kinds of Thesis Statements	85	(2)
Shaping a Written Argument---Rhetorical Strategies	87	(3)
The Introduction	87	(1)
The Development of Your Argument	88	(1)
How Many Premises Should an Argument Have?	89	(1)
The Conclusion	89	(1)
A Dialectical Approach to Argument	90	(8)
Addressing Counterarguments	90	(1)
How Much Counterargument?	91	(1)
Refutation and Concession	91	(1)
Rogerian Strategy	92	(5)
When There Is No Other Side	97	(1)
Logical Joining of Contrasting and Concessive Ideas	98	(2)
The Concessive Sentence	99	(1)
More on Coherence	100	(1)
Sample Essays	101	(8)
Four Approaches to Writing Arguments	109	(1)
Writing Assignment 7 Arguing Both Sides of an Issue	110	(2)
Writing Assignment 8 Taking a Stand	112	(1)
Writing Assignment 9 Exploring an Argument in Depth---An Alternative	113	(1)
Writing Assignment 10 Collaborating on a Complex Issue---A Group Approach	114	(3)
Summary	115	(1)
Key Terms	116	(1)
The Language of Argument---Definition	117	(26)
Definition and Perception	117	(2)
Controlling the Discourse	117	(1)
Defining Ourselves	118	(1)
Definition and the Social Sciences	119	(1)
Language: An Abstract System of Symbols	119	(9)
The Importance of Specificity	122	(3)
Abstractions and Evasion	125	(1)
Euphemism and Connotation	126	(2)
Definition in Written Argument	128	(7)
Appositives---A Strategy for Defining Terms Within the Sentence	128	(1)
Appositives and Argument	129	(1)
Punctuation of Appositives	130	(1)
Extended Definition	131	(4)
Writing Assignment 11 Determining Your State's Position on Gay Marriage	135	(1)
Writing Assignment 12 Composing an Argument Based on a Definition	135	(5)
Stipulating Personal Meaning	140	(1)
Plato	140	(1)
Shakespeare	140	(1)
Ambrose Bierce	140	(1)
Inventing New Words to Fill a Need	140	(1)
Writing Assignment 13 Creating a New Word	141	(2)
Summary	142	(1)
Key Terms	142	(1)
Fallacious Arguments	143	(28)
What Is a Fallacious Argument?	143	(20)
Appeal to Authority	144	(1)
Appeal to Fear	145	(1)
Appeal to Pity	145	(1)
Begging the Question	146	(2)
Double Standard	148	(1)
Equivocation	149	(1)
False Analogy	150	(1)
False Cause	151	(1)
False Dilemma	152	(2)
Hasty Generalization	154	(1)
Personal Attack	154	(1)
Poisoning the Well	155	(1)
Slippery Slope	155	(1)
Straw Man	156	(7)
Writing Assignment 14 Analyzing an Extended Argument	163	(8)
Key Terms	168	(3)
Deductive and Inductive Argument	171	(36)
Key Distinctions	171	(3)
Necessity Versus Probability	171	(1)
From General to Specific, Specific to General	172	(2)
The Relationship Between Induction and Deduction	174	(6)
Deductive Reasoning	180	(10)
Class Logic	180	(1)
Relationships Between Classes	181	(1)
Inclusion	181	(1)
Exclusion	181	(1)
Overlap	182	(1)
Class Logic and the Syllogism	183	(1)
The Subject and the Predicate	184	(1)
Truth, Validity, and Soundness	185	(1)
Guilt by Association	186	(1)
More on Syllogisms	187	(3)
Inductive Reasoning	190	(13)
Generalization	190	(1)
The Direction of Inductive Reasoning	191	(1)
Testing Inductive Generalizations	192	(1)
Criteria for Evaluating Statistical Generalizations	192	(2)
Hasty Generalizations	194	(1)
Thinking Critically About Surveys and Statistics	195	(1)
Mistaking Correlation for Causation	196	(2)
Considering the Source	198	(5)
Writing Assignment 15 Questioning Generalizations	203	(1)
Writing Assignment 16 Conducting a Survey: A Collaborative Project	203	(1)
A Note on Deduction, Induction, and Written Argument	204	(3)
Summary	205	(1)
Key Terms	206	(1)
The Language of Argument---Style	207	(16)
Verbal Modifiers	207	(4)
Dangling Modifiers	210	(1)
Parallelism	211	(4)
The Structure of Parallelism	211	(2)
Logic of the Parallel Series	213	(1)
Emphasizing Ideas With Parallelism	214	(1)
Sentence Focus---Techniques for Sharpening the Flow of Ideas	215	(6)
Concrete Subjects	216	(1)
Active and Passive Verbs	216	(1)
Passive Verbs and Evasion	217	(1)
When the Passive Is Appropriate	218	(1)
Sharp Paragraph Focus	218	(3)
Revision	221	(1)
Writing Assignment 17 Revising an Essay	221	(1)
Summary	221	(1)
Key Terms	222	(1)
Research, Summary, and Documentation	223	(22)
Research	223	(5)
Where to Begin	223	(1)
Check the Address	224	(1)
Refine Your Search	224	(1)
Don't Forget Books	224	(1)
Take Notes	225	(1)
Necessary Bibliographical Material	225	(1)
Three Options for Including Research	226	(1)
Integrate Research into Your Own Writing	226	(1)
Make the Purpose Clear	227	(1)
Punctuation and Format of Quotations	227	(1)
Omitting Words From a Direct Quotation---Ellipsis	228	(1)
Summary	228	(2)
Strategies for Writing a Summary	229	(1)
An Example of a Summary	229	(1)
Writing Assignment 18 Constructing a Summary and Response	230	(2)
Plagiarism	232	(4)
Documentation	236	(7)
What Information Should Be Documented?	236	(1)
How to Document Information	236	(1)
The MLA Style of Documentation for Printed Sources	237	(1)
Citations Within Your Text	237	(2)
List of Works Cited: MLA	239	(1)
The APA Style of Documentation for Printed Sources	240	(1)
Citations Within Your Text	240	(1)
Lists of Works Cited: APA	241	(1)
Electronic Sources	241	(1)
Citations Within Your Text	242	(1)
Lists of Works Cited: MLA	242	(1)
Lists of Works Cited: APA	243	(1)
Formatting Your Paper	243	(1)
Verb Tenses	244	(1)
A Reminder	244	(1)
Text Credits	245	(2)
Index	247