CHAPTER 7

ANALYSE ARGUMENT
To analyze an argument means to break it up into various parts to see clearly what conclusion is being
defended and on what grounds

Contents
I. DIAGRAMMING SHORT ARGUMENT ................................................................................................................................................................ 1
II. SUMMARIZING LONGER ARGUMENTS .......................................................................................................................................................... 3
III. STANDARDIZING....................................................................................................................................................................................................... 5

I. DIAGRAMMING SHORT ARGUMENT

Diagramming Short Arguments Diagramming is a quick and easy way to analyze relatively short
arguments (roughly a paragraph in length or shorter).
Six (6) basic steps:
1. Read through the argument carefully, circling any premise and conclusion indicators you see.
2. Number the statements consecutively as they appear in the argument (Don't number any
sentences that are not statements.)
3. Arrange the numbers spatially on a page with the premises placed above the conclusion(s) they
are alleged to support.
4. Using arrows to mean "is evidence for", create a kind of flowchart that shows which premises
are intended to support which conclusions.
5. Indicate independent premises by drawing arrows directly from the premises to the conclusions
they are claimed to support. Indicate linked premises by place in a plus sign (+) between each of
the linked premises, underlining the premises to the conclusions they are claimed to support
- Independent: the premise that supports the conclusion independently.
- Linked: 2gther w others. These are linked premises since both (in conjunction) are necessary to
prove the conclusion.
6. Put the arg ument's main conclusion at the bottom of the diagram.
Tips
1. Find the main conclusion first
2. Pay close attention to premise and conclusion.
3. Remember that sentences containing the word “and” often contain two or more separate
statements.
4. Treat conditional statements (if-then statements) and disjunctive statements (either-or
statements) as single statements.

1
Ngô Minh Tuyết Ngọc – BABAIU19066 4/5/2021
 5. Don't number or diagram any sentence that is not a statement.
6. Don't diagram irrelevant statements.
7. Don't diagram redundant statements.
Type 1: Diagram this argument: “Since Mary visited a realtor and her bank's mortgage department,
she must be planning on buying a home.”

1. Identify each claim and note any indicator words that might help identify premise(s) and
conclusion(s). → since
2. Number each statement and note each indicator word.
Since (1) Mary visited a realtor and (2) her bank's mortgage department, (3)she must be
planning on buying a home.”
3. Use arrows to represent the intended relationship btw claims
1 2

Type 2: 3
(1) Sandra can't register for her classes on Wednesday. After all, (2) Sandra is a sophomore
and (3)sophomore registration begins on Thursday.
- “After all”: generally a premise indicator
- This “and” serves to join 2 different claims
2 3

Type 3: (1) Jim is a senior citizen. So, (2) Jim probably doesn't like hip-hop music. So, (3) Jim
probably won't be going to the Ashanti concert this weekend.
(1)

(2)

(3)

2
Ngô Minh Tuyết Ngọc – BABAIU19066 4/5/2021
 Example 1: (1) Most Democrats are liberals, and (2) Senator AB is a
Democrat. Thus (3) Senator AB is probably liberal. Therefore, (4) 1 2
Senator AB probably supports affirmative action in higher education,
because (5) most liberals support affirmative action in higher
education.
- Thus, therefore → indicator conclusion 3 5

4
Example 2: (1) Cheating is wrong for several reasons. First, (2) it will
ultimately lower your self-respect because (3) you can never be proud of anything you got by cheating.
Second, (4) cheating is a lie because (5) it deceives other people into think that you know than you do.
Third, (6) cheating violates the teacher's trust that you will do your own work. Fourth, (7) cheating is
unfair to all the people who aren't cheating. Finally, (8) if you cheat in school now, you'll find it easier to
cheat in other situations later in life - perhaps even in your closer personal relationships.
(3) (5)

(2) + (4) + (6) + (7) + (8)

(1) → main conclusion

II. SUMMARIZING LONGER ARGUMENTS

The goal of an argument summary is to provide a synopsis of the argument that accurately restates
the main points (as briefly, clearly, and accurately as possible) in the summarizer’s own words.
Summarizing involves two skills:
- Paraphrasing
- Finding missing premises and conclusions

1. Paraphrase
- A paraphrase is a detailed restatement of a passage using different words and phrases
- Paraphrase qualities:
Accurate It reproduces the author’s meaning fairly and without bias and distortion.
Clear Clarifies what an argument is saying. It often translates complex and confusing
language into language that’s easier to understand.
Concise It captures the essence of an argument, and strips away all the irrelevant or
unimportant details and puts the key points of the argument in a nutshell.
Charitable - It is often possible to interpret a passage in more than one way.

3
Ngô Minh Tuyết Ngọc – BABAIU19066 4/5/2021
 - In such cases, the principle of charity requires that we interpret the passage as
charitable as the evidence reasonably permits (e.g. clarifying the arguer’s intent
in ways that make the arguments stronger and less easy to attack).

Example:

2. Finding missing premises and conclusions

- An argument with a missing premise or conclusion is called an Enthymeme.
- Two (2) basic rules:
+ Faithfully interpret the arguer’s intentions.
Ask: What else the arguer must assume – that he does not say – to reach his conclusion. All
assumptions you add to the argument must be consistent with everything the arguer says.
+ Be charitable: Search for a way of completing the argument that
(1) is a plausible way of interpreting the arguer’s uncertain intent and
(2) makes the argument as good an argument as it can be.

4
Ngô Minh Tuyết Ngọc – BABAIU19066 4/5/2021
 III. STANDARDIZING

- To analyze longer arguments, we can use a method called Standardizing

- Standardizing involves five (5) basic steps:

1) Read through the argument carefully. Identify the main conclusion (it may be only implied) and
any major premises and sub-conclusions. Paraphrase as needed to clarify meaning
2) Omit any unnecessary or irrelevant material.
3) Number the steps in the argument and list them in correct logical order
(i.e., with the premises placed above the conclusions they are intended to support).
4) Fill in any key missing premises and conclusions (if any).
5) Add justifications for each conclusion in the argument. In other words, for each conclusion or sub-
conclusion, indicate in parentheses from which previous lines in the argument the conclusion or
sub-conclusion is claimed to directly follow.
- Example:
“We can see something only after it has happened. Future events, however, have not yet
happened. So, seeing a future event seems to imply both that it has and has not happened, and
that’s logically impossible. “
 The argument is lacking a main conclusion.
Standardizing:
1. We can see something only after it has happened.
2. Future events have not yet happened.
3. So, seeing a future event seems to imply both that it has and has not happened (from 1-2)
4. It is logically impossible for an event both to have happened and not to have happened.
5. [Therefore, it is logically impossible to see a future event.] (From 3-4)
- Common Mistakes to Avoid:
1) Don’t write in incomplete sentences.
2) Don’t include more than one statement per line.
3) Don’t include anything that is not a statement.
4) Don’t include anything that is not a premise or a conclusion.

5
Ngô Minh Tuyết Ngọc – BABAIU19066 4/5/2021
 6
Ngô Minh Tuyết Ngọc – BABAIU19066 4/5/2021