The power of critical thinking 7th ed., by Lewis Vaughn
In this textbook, in Appendix B, you will find a number of Essays for Evaluation. Please pick one of these essays, read it carefully a number of times, and then analyze its argument. Try and pick an essay on a topic that you actually find interesting – that will make you more motivated to write the paper and you have a choice of 21 different arguments, so there should be something there. Here are some of the main things you should focus on in your analysis:
1) What are the premises and the conclusion of the argument? Please be sure to identify them explicitly.
2) What specific argumentative strategies does the author use to put forth their position? Are they for the most part effective strategies, or does the author commit one or more fallacies?
3) Do you find the argument convincing? Why or why not? Is there a counterargument that could be made?
4) If there is anything else that you want to reference that may be relevant to the argument, feel free to do so, but don’t go off on too much of a tangent. Try to stick mainly to the argument of the essay that you choose.
Regarding the format of the paper, I am assuming that you know the basics of how to write a paper with a thesis statement and an argument, but if you are in any doubt as to how to structure your paper, please follow the five paragraph essay format. This means – an introductory paragraph that sets up the topic and ends with a clear thesis statement of what you want to argue for, then approximately three paragraphs, each of which elaborates upon a specific point that supports your thesis statement, and then a closing paragraph to wrap everything up and further explain the significance of your argument. If you need more information on this structure, please feel free to type “five paragraph essay” into Google and some good resources should come up. Keep in mind, the five paragraph essay structure does not necessarily need to be exactly five paragraphs. But it should be in that general ballpark. A good general guideline of length for this paper is 3 to 4 double-spaced pages in 12-point, Times New Roman font (1000 -1200 words).
