Student's Question of the Week
Q: How do I diagram the reasons and conclusions of an argument?
A: From the last question and answer, you may have noticed a certain pattern to logical reasoning. To determine if an argument is valid, it is necessary to identify the reasons and conclusion, and see if the reasons provide enough evidence to justify accepting the conclusion. It is an excellent practice to make this kind of evaluation simple by first diagramming the reasons and the conclusion, and then asking whether the conclusion follows from the reasons.
This link to Gyrus's Learning Skills section on Writing helps you to diagram arguments in order to check your logic. It provides some terms that are helpful in discussing or writing about your ideas. Links exist to an example created by SBCC's Joe White, Professor of Philosophy, and to other graphic organizers that fit other text styles.
Sources:
Cook, Ruth. Strategic Learning in the Content Areas. Madison: Wisconsin Dept. of Public Instruction, 1989.
Copi, Irving and Carl Cohen. Introduction to Logic. New York: Macmillan, 1990.
Ferrer, Mark, Doug Hector, Lee Anne Kryder, Gerry Lewin, George Michaels, Stan Nicholson, Jerry Pike, and Shirley Ronkowski. Gyrus: Rapid Online Course Development System. Angular Gyrus, Inc.: 1999-2001.
White, Joseph. Personal Interview. 8 May 2000.