Recognising

and
Evaluating
Arguments
Aim of critical thinking
 Develop a healthy scepticism
towards whatever you read
 Be open-minded
 Look at different points of view
 Respect evidence and reasoning
 Be willing to change your point of
view or position when reasoning
leads you to do so.
To be a critical thinker?

 Question what you read.

 Have the ability to make
thoughtful judgements based on
certain criteria.
 Identify assumptions.
 Critical thinking also involves,
identifying, evaluating, and
constructing arguments.
 Part 1
Recognising
arguments
 What is an argument?
 How is an argument constructed?
 How well is it constructed
 Part 2
Evaluating arguments

 Fact or opinion?
 Is there logic and structure?
 Is the argument emotionally
manipulative?
 Is the argument credible?
 Aim of Critical Thinking
Why is it
necessary to
recognise and
evaluate
arguments,
including our
own and other
people’s?
 WHAT is this person trying to
convince me of or prove?

 WHAT is this person’s

intention and have they been
successful in realising it?

 HOW is this person justifying

their particular position?
 An argument ????!!!!!!!

 Usually defined as a disagreement

between two or more people

YOU feed the cat!

NO! I fed the cat
yesterday, YOU feed
the cat!
 What is an argument?
 A series of connected statements
intended to establish a proposition.

 An attempt to justify, support, or

prove a conclusion.

What is an argument?
 The argument!

 Dark chocolate contains

a substance called
‘flavonoids’, which can
help reduce high blood
pressure. Therefore,
eating dark chocolate is
good for your health.
 What are arguments?
An argument has three parts:
1. The issue:
HEALTH PRPERTIES OF DARK CHOCOLATE’
2. The conclusion:
EATING DARK CHOCOLATE IS GOOD FOR
YOUR HEALTH
3. The reasons supporting the conclusion:
DARK CHOCOLATE CONTAINS FLAVONOIDS,
A SUBSTANCE THAT HELPS REDUCE HIGH
BLOOD PRESSURE
THREE PARTS OF AN ARGUMENT
 What are arguments?
 Once the issue is defined the conclusion is stated

 The writer may agree or say yes or no to an issue, or

they may outline an argument for or against an issue.

for example:
EVERYONE WITH HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE SHOULD
EAT DARK CHOCOLATE

THOSE WITH HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE SHOULD NOT

EAT DARK CHOCOLATE

The conclusion
 Recognising Arguments
Ask two questions:

1. Is there an attempt to
convince me of something?

2. Are reasons given to

convince me of it?
 Argument by force…

 Conclusions
with supporting
evidence are
more valid and
credible than
conclusions
Here is my supporting evidence!
Everyone with high blood
offering no
pressure SHOULD eat dark
chocolate !!!
evidence at all.
 Indicator words in arguments
Premise indicator words Conclusion indicator words
• because ... • therefore ...
• since ... • thus ...
• for the reason that ... • hence ...
• on the grounds that ... • it shows that ...
• it follows that ... • it indicates that ...
• it proves that ...
• this reveals ...
 Using indicator words in an argument

Example:
A substance called
‘flavonoids’, which is found
in dark chocolate, helps to
reduce high blood
pressure. Since tests on
patients, who consumed 20
grams of dark chocolate a
day, revealed reduced
blood pressure levels, it
follows that eating dark
chocolate is good for your
health.
 ARGUMENT
IDENTIFICATION

- Reasons / Support
Evidence / Premises
- Belief / Position
Judgement / Conclusions
 Practice
 Example:
 If you want my opinion, feminism is
responsible for many of the problems
within relationships today, because gender
roles have become blurred and women and
men do not have a clear idea of their role
in life.
 Try to identify the conclusion and the
reasons in the above passage.

Conclusion? Reasons?
 3 features of arguments
Feature 1.
 Arguments consist of propositions or
claims – statements which are either TRUE
or FALSE
 Canberra is the capital of Australia

 All women want to be mothers

 Men produce testosterone, which makes

men more aggressive than women.

The above statements, despite their reliability, are propositions

 2nd feature of arguments
Feature 2.
 An argument consists of a GROUP of propositions

or claims.
 E.g. 1: All women want to be mothers.

 The above is NOT an argument as it is a SINGLE

statement.

 E.g. 2: Every woman has the right to decide

whether to become a mother. Some women
decide that motherhood is not for them.
Therefore, only some women want to be mothers.

Combined with an additional proposition, the

single statement can become an argument.
 3rd feature of arguments
 The propositions or claims in an argument are so related
that one of them is intended to be supported by the others.

 E.g 1:Not all women wish to experience motherhood, and a

woman’s right to choose whether she wants to or not
should be respected. Therefore, no one is justified in
claiming that all women want to be mothers.

 In the above, the writer is giving two reasons/pieces of

evidence to demonstrate that not all women want to be
mothers.
 3rd feature of arguments
 E.g 2:Not all woman want to be
mothers. Some people think
mothers should stay at home and
not work. Motherhood is not valued
in our society.

 The above is an example of loosely

connected statements which do not
share a logical relationship.
 (The main proposition) Not all women want to be
mothers. (further propositions that support the preceding MAIN
proposition) (1) Some women prefer to concentrate on
their careers. (2) Other women choose not to
become mothers because they believe there are
too many people already in the world. (3)
Furthermore, a woman’s right to decide whether
or not to have children should be respected by
the rest of society.

The further 3 propositions logically proceed from the main

proposition and offer support for it.
 Not all women want to be mothers.
Some people think mothers should
stay at home and not work.
Motherhood is not valued in our
society.

 The above propositions are NOT logically

connected. Each one would need further
SUPPORTING propositions in order for
each one to be an argument.
 What is an argument?

 An argument consists of a
statement or proposition
with evidence or reasons
to support it.
Definition of an argument
 Purpose of an argument
 In an argument, the writer is
attempting to make his or her claim
ACCEPTABLE by SUPPORTING the
claim with a body of LOGICAL
EVIDENCE OR REASONING.
 Purpose of an argument
Below is an example of a claim being made
with reasoning/evidence used to support it.

Example:
Not all women wish to experience
motherhood because some women do
not experience a maternal urge to do
so, prefer to concentrate on their
careers and education, or feel that the
world is over-populated and do not want
to add to that burden.
 Extended Argument
 This is the multi paragraph argument
OR
 The argumentative essay
 Elements of extended arguments
include:
 Signal words - such as furthermore,
­furthermore, in addition,
moreover etc.
 Premises – which are statements that support the main
claim
 Support for premises – which includes supporting
statements that extend on the premises being
established
 Conclusion/thesis – which is reiteration of the main
claim
Components of extended arguments
 Thesis: central point of essay
 Thesis also gives the essay purpose
and direction
 2nd component of extended
arguments
 Main Points:- these are the principal
support assertions given to prove the
thesis.
 Thesis proposition directs reader’s
attention to the main points.
 Supporting details can be in the form
of
a. Facts & Examples
b. Compare/contrast OR cause/effect
 Examples
 Example 1:

 Thesis Proposition: Eating dark chocolate

can be good for your health

 What will likely follow: Facts and examples

that support this claim

 Facts/Examples: research by Curtin Uni.

and research by Professor John smith.
 Examples
Thesis proposition: It is a good idea to get a university
education nowadays.

What will likely follow: Facts and examples that support

acquiring a university education.
Thesis proposition:
women are more likely to suffer from eating
disorders than men.
Thesis proposition:
Gender is a cultural construction and biology has no
influence on a person’s gender identity.
 3rd component of extended
arguments
 This refers to the organisation or
structure

 Structure of extended arguments:-

a. Introduction:
i. Background information
ii. Statement of issue or problem
iii. Approach to issue or problem
iv. Thesis proposition
 Structure of extended arguments
b. Body:-
i. Main points and other details that
support thesis
ii. Possibly a refutation of opposing
viewpoints

c. Conclusion
i. Summary/restatement of thesis
 Critical Thinking
 This is a thought process in which you decide to

a. accept
b. reject
c. suspend judgement

YOU decide!
Do you accept, reject, or suspend judgement of
what the writer has written or argued about a
particular issue?
 Critical Thinking
 A process that emphasises -

a. A rational basis for beliefs – yours

AND the writer’s.
b. Critical thinking is based on
employing a set of standards or
criteria when analysing and
evaluating a text.
 Summary

 An argument consists of a statement

that comes with supporting reasons

 The thesis of an argument comes from

the topic and the author’s attitude
toward the topic. Therefore, the thesis
proposition is a statement composed of
the topic of the essay and the author’s
attitude toward the topic.
 Summary
 It is important to correctly identify the thesis of the
essay so that evaluation can be done.

 Knowing how an extended argument is structured

helps readers to follow the development of ideas.

 It provides a kind of map to keep the reader oriented

to the thesis and main points.

 It also helps the reader to avoid confusing

nonessential information, for eg background, with
essential information, for eg main points.
Take a Break!
Part 2: Evaluating
Arguments
Evaluating types of statements
 Why evaluate?

 Because in the majority of articles, the

purpose of the writer is to convince or
persuade the reader to accept a particular
viewpoint or opinion, and to argue for one
side of an issue.

 Therefore, most writing contains subjective

elements which the reader needs to
separate from any factual content.
 How to evaluate
 Distinguish between facts and
opinions
 Facts – statements that can be
verified or proven true
 Factual statements from reliable
sources can be accepted
 Opinions – statements that express
feelings, attitudes or beliefs that
are neither true nor false
 Opinions
 Can be unsupported (and usually
controversial) claims that people tend to
have opposing views on.

For example:
All men are violent

All women are emotional

 Therefore, readers can accept or reject the
writer’s opinion or point of view.
 Informed opinions (based on reliable,
expert evidence) are more valid than mere
opinions.
Example of opinion statements
 Opinion: All young people drive
recklessly
 Argument: all young people drive
recklessly because they do not value
human life as much as older people.

(N.B. This is a poor argument

because of the premise. Can you
determine what is wrong with it?)
2. Recognising generalisations
 A generalisation involves drawing a
sweeping conclusion from a small sample
of cases.

 This may occasionally be justified but

must be well-founded and based on a
reasonable sample.

 An over-generalisation is one based on

too small a sample to justify the
generalisation.
2. Recognising generalisations
 Eg 1: Some people say that calling
people names because of the way they
look is offensive. My friend is very
overweight and people call him names
for being fat. He says he doesn’t mind
as he finds horrible things to say back.
This shows that there is no harm in
calling people names as they can just
retaliate if they want to.
2. Recognising generalisations
 Eg 2: Clinical trials showed the drug
to be very successful. However, one
patient had a severe allergic reaction
to the new drug. This means that
doctors need to be aware that some
people may react negatively to the
drug.
 Although only one example is
provided, it is sufficient for a well
worded generalisation.
 3. Determining adequacy of data &
evidence
 Types of evidence:
 Personal experience/observation/
 questionnaires
 Statistical data
 Examples
 Analogies – Comparisons
 Informed opinions
 Historical documentation
 Experimental/scientific evidence
 Evaluating Evidence
 Valid evidence:
Meets the agreed requirements on forms of
evidence
Must be complete & based on sound reasoning
and research.
 Eg: Clinical trials on the effects of consuming dark chocolate on
high blood pressure levels confirm that eating dark chocolate is
good for your health. Curtin university researchers’ trialled 200
people, who ate 20gms of dark chocolate a day, over a period of
30 days. Of the 200, 196 people showed a reduction in their
blood pressure levels. In addition, historical ethnographic
information also discusses the supposed health benefits of dark
chocolate. For example, cacao gatherers in the 1700’s consumed
cacao beans on a daily basis, and ethnographic research shows
they often lived to well over 80 years of age. The ethnographers
could only put this down to the high consumption of the cacao
bean, the main ingredient of dark chocolate.
 Evaluating Evidence
 Currency of information
a. Recently published
b. Updated recently
c. Produced in a new edition taking
latest research into account
d. Generally relevant information
which is stable over time
 Evaluating Evidence
Relevance & Irrelevance
 Relevant evidence: Necessary for
good understanding of issues being
discussed
 Supports the conclusion

Some writers may use evidence that is

NOT relevant to either the conclusion
or the subject! This may contradict
what the author set out to argue!
 Evaluating Evidence
 Reliability – Trustworthy evidence
 From a trustworthy source
 Recognised expert
 Reputable source – credible/high
degree of certainty; likely to give
accurate information; based on
research/first-hand experience;
recognised in the field as an expert
 Evaluating Evidence: Activity
 Gender is a combination of both biology
and social construction. Recent research
suggests that gender traits are not just a
result of social construction, but that biology
plays a role too. Previous research
generally supported the idea that gendered
behaviour was socially constructed and that
biology played no significant role. However,
Scientists have discovered that our brains
are wired differently, and therefore influence
our behaviour depending on whether we are
female or male. Therefore, we should
consider the role that biology plays in
gendered behaviour.
 Criteria for evaluating evidence
 Is the evidence from recent
material/information or from outdated
sources?
 Is the evidence sufficient to make any
conclusions?
 Is the evidence directly relevant to the
argument?
 Is it needed to substantiate the reasoning?
 Does it make a difference to the conclusion?
 If so, does it support or contradict it?
 Criteria for evaluating evidence
 Is the evidence consistent with other
evidence or is it contradictory?

 Is the evidence qualified and reliable

or is from an uninformed,
untrustworthy opinion?

 Is the evidence neutral and fair or is

there bias present?
 4. Evaluating persuasive material
 Recognise persuasive language
 This refers to the writer’s choice of facts
and language
 Bias – when a statement reflects a
partiality, preference, or prejudice for or
against a person or idea
 Questions to consider in recognising bias
a. What facts has the writer omitted?
b. What additional information is
necessary?
 Valid arguments

Example:
1. All human beings are mortal.
2. You are a human being.
3. Therefore, you are mortal.

This is a valid argument. Why?

 Reasons provide excellent grounds
for conclusion.
 Another example

1. You are a human being.

2. You are studying English in Australia.
3. Therefore, you will most likely finish your
degree

Is this argument valid?

a. No relationship between premises &

conclusion.
 Valid & Invalid arguments
 Point 1: For an argument to be valid,
the reasons must provide good grounds
for the conclusion.

 Point 2: The basic property of a valid

argument is that it never takes you
from true premises to a false
conclusion. So, if you have an argument
with true premises and a false
conclusion, the argument is invalid.
 Example

1. All humans are warm-blooded

animals.
2. All warm-blooded animals can fly.
3. Therefore, all humans can fly.

Is this a valid argument?

 Validity
 Validity is about the relationship between the
premises and the conclusion and whether the
premises provide grounds for the conclusion.
 Validity is not about actual truth or falsity of
premises or conclusions but about the logical
connection between them.
 Even if an argument is valid, we need to be
careful of accepting the conclusion as a valid
argument might contain a false conclusion.
 Example

1. Some women are maternal

2. Some women love children
3. Therefore, all women want to be mothers .

Is this a valid argument?

NO! Because it contains a false conclusion
Evaluating arguments – A guideline

1. Analyse the argument by

simplifying it and reducing it to a
list of statements.

2. Are the terms used clearly defined

and consistently applied?
Evaluating arguments – A guideline
3. Is the thesis clearly and directly
stated?
4. Are facts provided as evidence? If so,
are they verifiable?
5. Is the reasoning sound? Does one
point follow from another?
6. Are counterarguments recognised and
refuted or addressed?
7. What persuasive devices are used by
the writer?
 Summary
 To evaluate comprehensively:-

a. Look at the logic of the argument

b. Recognise emotional manipulation

c. Judge the writer’s credibility