Whether it’s an ad for burger chains, the closing scene of a “Law & Order” spinoff, a discussion with the parents about your social life or a coach disputing a close call, arguments are an inescapable part of our lives. In this lesson, students will learn to create good arguments by getting a handle on the basic structure. The lesson will provide useful tips for picking out premises and conclusions and for analyzing the effectiveness of arguments.
Objectives
In this lesson students will:
- Discover the basic terminology of arguments.
- Learn strategies for reliably distinguishing between premises and conclusions.
- Explore the differences between arguments and explanations.
KEY TERMS:
- Argument: a conclusion together with the premises that support it
- Premise: a reason offered as support for another claim
- Conclusion: the claim being supported by a premise or premises
- Explanation: a statement or set of statements designed to show why something is true rather than that it is true