Compose an essay that analyzes and evaluates the use of logic and rhetoric in the reasoning process of your selected argumentative text. Refer to the sample in chapter 8 of the module textbook to have an idea of how to develop your evaluation. Consistently apply the terms and concepts throughout chapters 1-7 to your evaluation. In other words, you must use the language of logic and situate your evaluation within the established knowledge of the discourse.
Required Terms
Your evaluation essay is expected to use and discuss accurately the following terms and concepts of logic and rhetoric as they pertain to your text’s argument, at minimum.
- Reasoning
- Premises
- Claim/Conclusion/Thesis
- Argument
- Cogent/Fallacious
- Valid/Invalid
- Inductive/Deductive
- 1 Logical Fallacy (optional)
- Describe use of language to manipulate perspective (Refer to chapter 7). Analyze and discuss two instances of language manipulation in your text. Identify the type of language manipulation and explain what it purports to evade, suppress, or hide.
Caveat
It is important to keep in mind that you are not evaluating the argument based on what you think of it or whether or not you agree with the conclusion. Your evaluation should focus only on issues concerning logical and rhetorical application. Leave your personal opinions and beliefs aside (but not those of the author!).
ESSAY OUTLINE
Introduction (20%)
- Give sufficient background information on issue (if issue has given rise to different positions, then it would be a good idea to briefly describe these positions in order to provide further context for your article’s position or claim)
- Introduce source (author, title of article, and source of article), concisely describe argument, namely the conclusion
- Thesis statement – a statement that sums up your evaluation of the overall argument (It would be a good idea to use terms like cogent or fallacious in your thesis statement.)
(Body) Evaluation (70%)
Compose three (3) premise-evaluation paragraphs in which you analyze and evaluate each premise in its own paragraph. Follow this pattern of development for each premise-evaluation paragraph.
- First have a topic sentence that clearly states what premise is under evaluation here. You can provide a short quote that expresses the gist content of this premise. Follow up the quotation with a more detailed explanation
- Is the premise warranted? Explain and support with details.
- Does the premise consider all relevant information? Explain.
- Examine the logical connection between the premise and the conclusion. Is it inductive or deductive reasoning?
- If inductive, what type? enumeration, analogy, or statistical? Explain with supporting details.
- If deductive reasoning, identify the form of deductive reasoning, rewrite the argument in that form.
- Is the reasoning (be it inductive or deductive) valid or invalid? Explain. If invalid, what is the fallacy?
Compose another (4th) body paragraph that analyzes the rhetoric of the article in terms of how it uses language to manipulate persuasion. Use Chapter 7 discussion as a reference.
- Analyze and discuss at least two instances of language manipulation discussed in chapter 7.
- Identify the types of language manipulation by giving their formal names as they appear in the chapter. Provide textual evidence of their examples from the article.
- Explain the aims of these manipulations – what do they purport to do?
Conclusion (10%)
Give an explanation of why the author or some people make this kind of argument or conclusion concerning the issue. Refer to the discussion of psychological impediments to cogent reasoning in chapter 6, and describe one or two impediments as probable reasons for the expression of the argument (of your text).
Research
None required
20% Rule
Essay may directly quote sources no more than 20% of its total length.
Essay Length Minimum
1,500 words
Weight
25% of final grade