Analyzing a Text and
Evaluating Arguments
Questions for Analysis
(Hacker p. 66)
• PURPOSE: What’s the thesis of the
article? What is the author’s point in
writing the article?
• STRUCTURE: How is the text
organized? What are the main ideas
and how do they relate to the thesis
and to each other?
• AUDIENCE: Who is the audience?
Questions for Analysis
• What strategies does the author use to
achieve the purpose? How does he/she
try to persuade the audience that
his/her argument is valid?
• What types of evidence does the author
use to support his/her thesis? How good
is this evidence? Is it observation,
inference, or a combination of both?
• Point of view, tone, metaphor, context
Questions for Analysis
• Does the author include opposing
views? Does he/she respond to
them effectively?
• Does the author leave any questions
unanswered?
• Does the author use faulty
reasoning or unfair arguments?
Logical Fallacies
• Deaths from overdoses in Metropolis
have doubled in the past three
years. Therefore, more Americans
than ever are dying from drug
abuse.
• Hasty Generalization
Logical Fallacies
• Politicians are corrupt.
• Asian students are exceptionally
intelligent.
• Stereotypes
Logical Fallacies
• If we can put humans on the moon,
we should be able to find a cure for
the common cold.
• False analogy (Both are scientific
endeavors, but other than that they
have little in common.)
Logical Fallacies
• Evidence: In a recent survey, 923 of 1,115
students questioned say they would
subscribe to wireless Internet access.
• Conclusion: The majority of students on our
campus would subscribe to wireless Internet
access if it were available.
• Is the evidence sufficient?
• Is the evidence representative?
• Is the evidence relevant?
Logical Fallacies
• Since Governor Cho took office,
unemployment of minorities in the
state has decreased by 7 percent.
Governor Cho should be applauded
for reducing unemployment among
minorities.
• False cause and affect assumption
Logical Fallacies
• Our current war against drugs has
not worked. Either we should
legalize drugs or we should turn the
drug war over to our armed forces
and let them fight it.
• Either… or fallacy
Logical Fallacies
• Violent crime is increasing.
• Therefore, we should vigorously
enforce the death penalty.
• Argument with a missing claim
Logical Fallacies
• Mary loves good food; therefore,
she will be an excellent chef.
• Non sequitur (“does not follow”)
Logical Fallacies
• The police do not give speeding tickets
to people driving less than five miles per
hour over the limit. Sam is driving fiftynine miles per hour in a fifty-five-mileper-hour zone. Therefore, the police will
not give Sam a speeding ticket.
• Argument with a questionable premise
• All members of our club ran in this year’s
Boston Marathon. Jay ran in this year’s
Boston Marathon. Therefore, Jay is a
member of our club.
• Conclusion does not follow
• All members of our club ran in this year’s
Boston Marathon. Jay is a member of our
club. Therefore, Jay ran in this year’s
Boston Marathon.
Emotional appeals:
can be fair and unfair
• Is it anti-American to be against
having a retail giant set up shop in
one’s community? Some people
would say so. On the other hand, if
you board up Main Street, what’s left
of America?
Emotional appeals:
• This progressive proposal to build a ski
resort in the state park has been carefully
researched by Western Trust, the largest
bank in the state; furthermore, it is favored
by a majority of the local merchants. The
only opposition comes from narrow-minded,
do-gooder environmentalists who care more
about trees than they do about people; one
of their leaders was actually arrested for
disturbing the peace several years ago.
How fairly does the writer
deal with opposing views?
• Does the writer fairly handle the
opposition? Does he/she concede
points when necessary and counter
others in a civil spirit? Does he/she
quote opposing views fairly and
accurately and not take words out of
context?
Opposing Views
• Washington, DC, residents are
lobbying for statehood. Giving a city
such as the District of Columbia the
status of a state would be unfair.
• Straw man fallacy
Misleading Quotes
• ORIGINAL:
• Johnson’s History of the American West
is riddled with inaccuracies and
astonishing in its blatantly racist
description of the Indian wars. (B.
Smith, reviewer)
• QUOTE
• According to B. Smith, Johnson’s History
of the American West is “astonishing in
its… description of the Indian wars.”
Even if you don’t see logical fallacies…
• Do you see any possible opposing
ideas/views that the author has
overlooked? Do you have any
questions that the author doesn’t
answer?