Identifying Arguments

Outline

 Meaning of Argument
 Identifying Statements
 Identifying Premises
 Identifying Conclusion
 Identifying the Arguments
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Meaning of Argument

The term argument means

presenting a reason to support
your claim on a subject
Reason = Premise
Claim on a subject = Conclusion
Premise + Conclusion = Argument
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1. Identifying Statements
Statements are the kind of sentences that can be facts, false
statement and also debatable statements

Statements
Ariana Grande lives here in Manhattan.
Melaka is a wonderful place.
The hottest time of the day is around 3pm
in the evening
Extreme caution needs to be exercised
when dealing with chemicals
Dominoes is open every night
The office is very clean
Riding the train is better than riding the
bus.
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Non-statements
Come here ( a command)
Wow, that’s wonderful! ( Exclamation)
Good evening ( Greeting)
Go straight, then turn left ( Instruction)
Let’s go to Dominoes tonight. ( Proposal)
Please help me clean the office. ( Request)
What if we ride the bus instead of taking the
train ? ( Suggestion)
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A statement is NOT :
1. A command
2. It does not have exclamation ( ! )
3. A greeting
4. An Instruction
5. A Proposal
6. A Request
7. A Suggestion
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Examples of Statements (pg119)

1. Facts – A true statement

• Open burning during the dry season is the main cause of haze.

• Australia has some of the most venomous snakes in the world

• Migrants are sometimes unwelcomed by their hosts country.

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Example 1

The story of Disney’s The Lion king draws direct

inspiration from Shakespeare’s Hamlet.

• Simba represents Hamlet, the successor of the King/

Mufasa. Simba later swears revenge on his evil uncle
Scar that represents Claudius.
• Simba’s best friend Nala represents both Ophelia, a
love interest, and Horatio, a best friend
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2. False Statement

• Tun Mahathir Mohamad was the second Prime Minister of

Malaysia

• The largest sea creature is the shark

• Nilai is the capital city of Malaysia

• Smoking is beneficial to peoples health

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3. Debatable statement
– open to discussion or argument-

• Women are worst drivers than men

• Gordon Ramsey is a better chef than Jamie Oliver

• Vaccination should not be mandatory

• A good education can bring happiness in life

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2. Identifying Premises.
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What is a premise?

A statement which supports a conclusion or claim.

A premise contains a specific details, such as example, reasons, cases or other

details.

It is to support a conclusion by proving or explaining.

There can be one or many premises in a single argument.

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Premises are normally introduced

by premise indicators

Since… Judging from… Because…

For… Given that… In as much as…

Seeing that… Considering that… On account of…

In view of… As indicated by… This is implied by…

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EXAMPLE

• Since friendship is based on trust, you must trust your friend.

• Fairdale will win the championship because they have the best team.

• The turnout for the last local election was at a record low. This is implied by the fact
that the voters were disappointed with the candidates.
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3. Identifying Conclusions
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What is a conclusion?

A conclusion is the main point of a passage or text.

It is supported by the premise(s).

It indicates what the arguer is trying to convince the reader or listener. What is
the argument trying to prove?

There can only be one conclusion in a single argument.

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Conclusions are normally introduced by conclusion

indicators

Accordingly… Consequently… As a result of…

It follows that… That is why/so… Therefore/ Thus/
Hence…
Means/ Implies Shows that… Suggests that…
that…
Proves that… We may infer that… Which shows that…
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EXAMPLE

1. Qiah is shorter than Haziq. Harith is taller than Haziq. Therefore, Harith is taller
than Qiah

2. Driving is safer than cycling. This is due to the fact that a cyclist faces a higher
risk of being hit by cars or other vechiles.

3. My son leaves his mobile phone everywhere. He has misplaced two phones in
the past 11 months. Hence, I do not think my son should be given another new
phone.
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“
 A Premise is statement which provides
= examples, reasons, cases that prove or explain a conclusion

 A conclusion is a statement
= supported by the premise ( main point of a passage or text)
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Identifying the Arguments

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What Is Argument?

= premise(s) +
conclusion
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REMEMBER!

An argument MUST have

premise(s) and conclusion.
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EXAMPLE
1. My son is careless and irresponsible. He
leaves his mobile phone everywhere. He
has misplaced two phones in the past 11
months. Furthermore, I am still paying
for the last phone he lost. Thus, I do not
think my son should be given another
new phone.
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Is It an Argument?
My son is careless and irresponsible. He
leaves his mobile phone everywhere. He
has misplaced two phones in the past 11
months. Furthermore, I am still paying
for the last phone he lost. Thus, I do not
think my son should be given another
new phone.
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Example 2
I do not think that my son should
be given another new phone
because I am the father and I
say so.
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Is it an argument?
I do not think that my son should be given another
new phone because I am the father and I say
so.
This sentence contain conclusion and premises, but
But the premise does not :
• Relevant
• Support the conclusion
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Try to build an argument:

 My wife is lazy. She cant even cook and clean the house.
Therefore I'm going to find a new wife.

 My friend betrays me. So I left him.

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Relationship between premise(s)

and conclusion in argument
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Exercises
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Statements

1.Frogs use their nostrils to breath ( FALSE)

2. Tomatoes are vegetable ( DEBATABLE)

3. Mandarin is the most spoken language in the world ( FACTS)

4. Child marriage is universally condemned ( DEBATABLE)

5.The earth is flat (FALSE)

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IDENTIFY THE PREMISES AND

CONCLUSION

Bill will pay the ransom. After all, he loves his wife
and children and would do anything to save them.

Premise 1 – He loves his wife and children and would do anything to save them.
Conclusion – Bill will pay the ransom.
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If the liquid is acidic, the litmus paper would have

turned red. However, the litmus paper has not turned
red. Therefore, the liquid is not acidic.

Conclusion – The liquid is not acidic.

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Philosophy requires a lot of hard thinking. If you

take a philosophy class, you will have to exercise
your brain extensively.

Conclusion – Philosophy requires a lot of hard thinking.

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Mak Senah has worked for you for thirty years but he
has never once taken a day off. You should give her a
raise.

Conclusion – You should give her a raise.

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All unhappiness is due to unsatisfied desires. All

satisfaction is due to satisfied desires. And no one
can satisfy all his or her desires. Therefore, one
must give up desires and be happy or one must
resign oneself to a life of unhappiness.

Conclusion – One must give up desires and be happy or one must resign
oneself to a life of unhappiness.
Identify is this an argument
or not?
The teacher is responsible and
friendly. He teaches English
very well. Therefore, he lives
near the school.
 Why?
The sentence is not an argument
as the concluding sentence is
not related with the premises.
The sentence describes the
personality of the teacher.
 Exercise 2
Create an argument
sentence with your own.
 Exercise 3

He studied hard for the examination.

He lives in Jitra, Kedah. He loves to
spend most of his time with the
books and educational activities.
Finally, he graduated from the
university successfully.
GROUP EXERCISE !