IDIS001 ANALYTICAL SKILLS
Term 1 2015-2016
Keep this document. Read it carefully. Consult it before asking questions
about what you are supposed to do.
Instructors
John Williams, SOSS, ext 0209 Room 0458 SOSS johnwilliams@smu.edu.sg
Mark Nowacki, SOSS, ext 0869 Room 4061 SOSS nowacki@smu.edu.sg
Steven Burik, SOSS, ext 0866 Room 4059 SOSS stevenburik@smu.edu.sg
Our TAs will introduce themselves to you by email.
You give reasons for what you do and think every day. You argue. You often
argue about things that matter to you. For example you might argue that you are
the best candidate for promotion, about whether your company should invest in
China, about the best way to help a friend or about what the right thing to do is in
an ethical dilemma. The list is up to you.
We will teach you how to get better at reasoning and arguing. Topics
covered include evaluating arguments, constructing arguments, reconstructing
arguments, formalizing arguments, clarifying meaning and identifying common
mistakes in argument (fallacies). At the end of the course you should be able to
(1) identify the structures of real-life arguments in order to decide if they are good
or bad, and (2) argue logically about things that matter to you. This course is
specifically designed to improve writing, thinking and oral presentation skills that
are applicable to all areas of academic study and relevant to working life. Careful
application in this course will deepen your capacity to critically evaluate everyday
practical scenarios and will help you ‘think outside the box’.
2. Assessment
Collaborative Mid-Term Exercise
Presentation Team Component
Presentation Individual Component
Examination
Participation
35%
10%
10%
30%
15%
3. Exercises
There are no graded exercises. However there is a website full of self-study
exercises and answers and explanations organized in segments that go with
each class. This website is important and should be visited weekly. Simply go to
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www.analyticskills.org
and enter Username: idis and Password: 001.
Since later skills build upon earlier ones, it is important to not to neglect
exercises for a particular class and to attempt the exercises in the same
sequence as corresponding classes. You should feel free to consult your TA with
any help you may need. We expect you to attempt these exercises as we will
sometimes go through them with you in class.
4. Video Classes
All materials for a class will be posted in eLearn before that class. Some of our
classes will be videos, in which your instructor will go through a powerpoint
presentation. You can see which these are in 12. Course Schedule, below. You
are expected to study the video carefully and to attempt the corresponding
exercises before class. In the class we will recap the topic, answer questions
and if necessary, go through the exercises with you. The videos will be posted in
eLearn.
5. Collaborative Mid-Term Exercise (35% of final grade)
This is a weekend take-home exercise held at the end of week 9. You may work
on this in groups. The question paper will be available on eLearn from 5pm
Friday in week 9 in a folder marked ‘Mid-Term Exercise’ in the combined
groups. The answers, on a bubble-sheet, are due on the Monday of week 10,
5pm. Late submission will be penalized by one letter grade. Do not hand in
the question paper. Hand in the bubble sheets to a drop-box on the 4th floor of
SOSS. This drop-box will be marked with your group number and your
instructor’s name. It is on your right as you exit the main lift on the 4th floor of
SOSS. Bubble sheets will be distributed in class in week 9. If for some reason,
you have to miss class in week 9, there will be spare bubble sheets available in a
box outside your instructor’s room. We will give you a format of the mid-term
exercise showing the topics to be covered by section, with the allocation of
marks, and sample questions and answers, in week 7. In weeks 11 or 12 we will
give you the answers. Should you need explanations of these, consult your TA
first.
6. Team Presentation on Fallacies (20% of final grade)
These are team research projects. Your TA will organize you randomly into nine
teams. Students who are not presenting are expected to participate in the
discussion that follows the presentation. Each team shall research and then
teach the class, three fallacies from the list of eighteen below. Your TA will
assign the fallacies to the teams later on.
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Fallacies of Irrelevance
Appeal to pity
Appeal to popularity
Argument against the person (Abusive, You Too, and Circumstantial)
Straw man
Missing the point (not covered by the textbook, so research is needed)
Red herring
Appeal to ignorance
Fallacies of Weak Induction
Hasty generalization (Small Sample and biased Sample)
Appeal to unqualified authority
False cause (After This, So Because of This, With This, So Because of
This and Mistaken Cause)
Causal slippery slope
Fallacies of Presumption
Begging the question (by Omission of premise, by Restatement, and by
Circular chain)
Complex question
False dichotomy (by Overlooking Alternatives and by Overlapping
Alternatives)
Miscellaneous Fallacies
Equivocation
Composition and division
Fallacy of accident
Semantic Slippery slope
Each team will take 20 minutes to teach three fallacies. Allow some time for
feedback and Q&A from the class. You must take the theory from the course
textbook and give new, novel examples of these fallacies, not from the course
textbook but from other textbooks (acceptable) as imagined (better) or as found
in real passages (best). Looking in the web is usually a bad idea, as much of the
material there is poor or unreliable. You should get the class involved. You may
give a quiz. The presentation must be serious and with no frills. No skits, or fancy
graphics. There is no dress code.
In the BC area of the Library (shelves of books the call numbers of which start
with ‘BC’) are whole shelves of books on reasoning, argument and critical
thinking. This is more reliable than much of what is on the web, which is usually a
mix of good, bad, ugly and boring.
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After you have given your presentation you may take three days to make any
improvements before sending them to your TA to be posted on eLearn for the
rest of the class.
Assessment: A mark of up to 10% will be awarded to the team as a whole for (a)
clarity of explanation (b) suitability of content (c) realism and originality of
examples and (d) general educational value of the presentation while each
team member will be judged separately by the same criteria.
7. Examination (30 % of final grade)
The exam is a two-hour closed-book exam. The venue will be announced on
OASIS. We will give you a format for the exam showing the topics covered and
marks allocated in week 13.
8. Class Participation (15 % of final grade)
To be decided by each instructor.
9. Consultation
The TA is the first line of support when seeking consultation. In the event that this
is exhausted, you may email your instructor questions or email a request for a
consultation. My consultations are in your instructor’s room as shown above. You
must in all correspondence, give your full name (as matriculated) and your
group number. You may also attend the weekly one-hour open consultation
session held by the TAs, starting in week 3. Your TA will announce the time and
venue by email.
10. Summative Activity
To wrap up the course in the last week of teaching (week 13) there will be a
summative activity that helps you put into practice all the critical thinking skills
that we have learned in this course.
11. Textbook
Ilya Farber, T. Brian Mooney, Mark Nowacki, Tan Yoo Guan and John N.
Williams, Thinking Things Through: An Introduction to Analytical Skills, Second
Edition 2011 McGraw-Hill. Available in Booklink.
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12. Course Schedule
Week
1
2 Video Class
3
4 Video Class
5 Video Class
6 Video Class
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
Topic
Introduction to Argument
and Reasoning
Argument Structure
(Arrow Diagrams)
Evaluating Inferences
Deep Diagramming
Forms of Argument
(Deduction & Induction)
plus Soundness &
Cogency
Categorical Syllogisms
(Venn Diagrams)
Argument Construction &
Communication Skills
Recess
Q&A Session with
Discussion of
Presentations
(Collaborative Mid-Term
Exercise falls in this
week)
Presentation: Fallacies
Presentation: Fallacies
Presentation: Fallacies
Summative activity and
recap
Revision
Final Exam
Chapters
Intro, 1
1,2
1,3
1,4
5
Various
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8
8
8
6,7
13. Make-up Dates
Make-up dates for any public holidays will be announced at the start of the
course.
14. Only One Ground Rule: Phones switched off. Strictly enforced!
15. Academic Integrity
All acts of academic dishonesty (including, but not limited to, plagiarism,
cheating, fabrication, facilitation of acts of academic dishonesty by others,
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unauthorized possession of exam questions, or tampering with the academic
work of other students) are serious offences.
All work (whether oral or written) submitted for purposes of assessment must be
the student’s own work. Penalties for violation of the policy range from zero
marks for the component assessment to expulsion, depending on the nature of
the offense.
When in doubt, students should consult the instructors of the course. Details on
the SMU Code of Academic Integrity may be accessed at
http://www.smuscd.org/resources.html.
16. Accessibility and Accommodations
SMU strives to make learning experiences accessible for all. If you anticipate or
experience physical or academic barriers due to disability, please let me know
immediately. You are also welcome to contact the university's disability support
team if you have questions or concerns about academic accommodations:
included@smu.edu.sg
END
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