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Critical Thinking Chapter 2

The document discusses issues, conclusions, opinions, and how to identify each. An issue is a question or controversy that prompts discussion, while a conclusion is the main point or message the author wants the reader to accept. Opinions are claims without supporting evidence. Descriptive issues ask about facts, while prescriptive issues concern what should be done. To find the conclusion, look for indicator words, likely locations like the beginning or end, and avoid examples, statistics, and other non-conclusion elements.

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102 views12 pages

Critical Thinking Chapter 2

The document discusses issues, conclusions, opinions, and how to identify each. An issue is a question or controversy that prompts discussion, while a conclusion is the main point or message the author wants the reader to accept. Opinions are claims without supporting evidence. Descriptive issues ask about facts, while prescriptive issues concern what should be done. To find the conclusion, look for indicator words, likely locations like the beginning or end, and avoid examples, statistics, and other non-conclusion elements.

Uploaded by

Vbaluyo
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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What are the Issue and the

Conclusion?
Chapter 2
What is an Issue?

- an issue is a question or controversy that is responsible


for the conversation or discussion. It is the stimulus for
what is being said.

What is a Conclusion?

- a conclusion is the message that the speaker or writer


wishes you to receive and accept.
- are ideas that required other ideas to support them.

What is an Opinion?

- are claims that something is true or ought to be done


but there are no supporting statements.
Kinds of Issues:
A. Descriptive Issue
- are those that raise questions about the accuracy of
descriptions of the the past, present or future.
- these questions demands answers that attempt to describe
the way the world is, was or is going to be. Examples of
these are the following:
* Do obese people have more emotional problems than
nonobese people?
* What causes AIDS?
* Who won the presidential debate?
* How much will college cost in the year 2010?
* Can a child’s IQ be raised by a stimulating environment?
* Does watching violence on TV make us relatively
insensitive to crime on the streets?
B. Prescriptive Issue

- are those that raise questions about what we should do or


what is right or wrong, desirable or undesirable, good and
bad. These issues are ethical, or moral issues.
- these questions demand answers that suggest the way the
world ought to be… prescriptive answers. Social
controversies are often prescriptive issues. Examples of are
the following:
* Should capital punishment be abolished?
* Is it desirable to fluoridate drinking water?
* What ought to be done about unemployment?
* Should people be required to retire at a certain age?
How is the issue determined?
- the issue may be identified in the body of the text, usually right at
the beginning or it may even be found in the title.
- There are cases where the issue is explicitly stated but in cases
where it is not explicitly stated the question must be inferred from
the conclusion. The conclusion must be identified before
identifying the issue. This is where the challenge occurs since
finding the conclusion is a frequently difficult step.
- We could not critically evaluate until we find the conclusion.
Searching for the Author’s Conclusion:

- in identifying the conclusion, ask “What is the writer or speaker


trying to prove?” or “What is the communicator’s main point?”
The answer to this question will be the conclusion.
- in searching for the conclusion, look for the statement or set of
statements that the writer or speaker wants you to believe. The
basic structure of persuasive communication or argument is: This
because of that. This refers to the conclusion while that refers to
the support for the conclusion. This structure represents the
process of inference.
- conclusions are inferred, they are derived from reasoning and
requires other ideas to support them.
Example:
We oppose a mandatory retirement age. We believe that age is an
inappropriate and unreasonable basis for determining whether an
individual can do a job.
Clues to discovery: How to find the Conclusion:
Clue no.1: Ask what is the issue is.
- because a conclusion is always a response to an issue, it will help
you find the conclusion if you know the issue.

Clue no.2: Look for indicator words.


- the conclusion will frequently be preceded by indicator words that
announce a conclusion is coming. Here’s a list:

Therefore Instead
Thus We may deduce that
But Points to the conclusion that
So The point I’m trying to make is
Hence In my opinion
In short The most obvious explanation
It follows that It is highly probable that
It is believed that In fact
Shows that The truth of the matter is
Indicates that Alas
Suggests that As a result
Proves that It should be clear
Yet
Clue no.3: Look in likely locations.
- conclusions tend to occupy certain locations. The first two places to
look are at the beginning and at the end. If you a reading a long,
complex passage and are having a hard time seeing where it is going,
skip ahead to the ending.

Clue no.4: Remember what a conclusion is not.


- conclusions will not be any of the following:
* examples
* statistics
* definitions
* background information
* evidence
Passage A
But now, more than two years after the voters overwhelmingly approved the lottery, it
has been proven that the game is not a sure success; in fact, it can be considered a
failure.
First of all, during the campaign for the passage of the lottery, the public was
repeatedly told that the proceeds would go toward curing the financial ills of both
higher education and local primary and secondary schools. It was on this premise that
the lottery received the overwhelming support from the public. Not until it was
approved, however, was it widely conceded that lottery profits would go into the
general fund instead of the state’s education budget. Less than half of the lottery’s
profits goes to education.

Passage B
When mothers smoke during pregnancy, it is highly probable that their children will
read with less comprehension when they attend school. A recent study of 10,000
children born in the 1970s suggests that there is a small but statistically significant
reduction in the reading comprehension scores of children whose mothers smoked
when they were pregnant.
Your Thesis and Effective Writing:

- since your readers will be looking on your thesis or


conclusion, help them them be giving the clarity it
deserves. Emphasis what your central message would
be. Leave no doubt about what is actually is. Making
your conclusion easy does not only make it easier for
your readers to understand what you say but can also
improve your logic in writing.
- an effective way to emphasize the conclusion is to
insert it at the beginning or end and precede it with an
indicator word.
Passage 1
Day care centers and babysitters are becoming more and more popular as greater
numbers of women enter the workforce. Although mothers may enjoy working outside
the home, they might be harming their children when they hand them over to someone
else for care during work hours.
This current trend means that some women return to their workplace very soon after a
child has been born. Although job requirements may prompt this hasty return to the
workforce, women must reevaluate their priorities. Having a child is a major
responsibility, and women must realize that children must come first.
Who can provide the love and attention that young children desperately need for their
emotional and physical development? While a babysitter might feel affection for a
child, only a mother could offer her child unconditional love and encouragement. Also,
children do not get as much individual attention at day care centers.
While a job might provide extra money for a household, mothers must realize that their
children are more valuable than money. Therefore, mothers should stay at home with
their children.
Passage 2
When people consider the subject of false or repressed memories, many seem to
discount hypnosis as a plausible procedure. The media has printed numerous stories of
the false accusations resulting from hypnosis.
In fact, hypnosis is a credible method of treatment in a variety of areas. Hypnosis can
be used for medical treatment as a method of relaxation. Hypnotized patients learn to
focus their attention on particular aspects of their environment and ignore the rest.
Furthermore, psychologists also use hypnosis to treat neurotic symptoms, phobias, and
memory problems.
The existence of one negative use of hypnosis has clouded the beneficial aspects of the
procedure. Although a very few cases of false memories have arisen from hypnosis, it
is still often a useful treatment procedure.
Passage 3
Alumni from Harvard, like the rest of us, are concerned about the risk of coronary
heart disease. Together with cancer, these two complex diseases account for 70% of
male deaths.
Researchers in a Palo Alto, California, sports medicine facility recently contacted
Harvard alumni in an attempt to identify factors that might reduce coronary heart
disease. They identified vigorous exercise as a critical factor in preventing death from
this disease.
Several other research groups cautioned those who conducted the Harvard alumni
study to be cautious about jumping to the conclusions concerning the benefits of
exercise. But after collecting data for several more years, the Palo Alto group
concluded that vigorous exercise does indeed help prevent coronary heart disease.

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