Spring 2011 English 102

Instructor: Jim Roth Office Number: 211-T

School e-mail: jroth@scc.spokane.edu Office Phone: 533-7058

School web site: ol.scc.spokane.edu/jroth Course Theme: “I wish I knew”

ð Please check the online course calendar regularly for calendar changes.

REQUIRED TEXTS:

1. The Miniature Guide to Critical Thinking—Concepts and Tools by Paul and Elder

2. Macbeth by William Shakespeare

3. Lord of the Flies by William Golding

4. My Course Packet sold in our bookstore.

You will need all of the above texts to participate in the course. The Course Packet and The Miniature Guide to Critical Thinking will be needed by the beginning of Week #2. Dates for Macbeth and Lord of the Flies will be announced later.

OTHER: Reliable Internet Connection

USB Thumb Drive

MANDATORY PREREQUISITES

Please read the following list carefully. If your answer is “no” to any of these six “musts,” please find an alternative course immediately.

ü Completion of English 101 or equivalent with a grade of 2.0 or better.

ü Willingness and ability devote an average of at least 10 hours per week to the course. Time spent in class is considered part of this total.

ü Willingness to share your writing with others and constructively critique others’ writing.

ü Willingness to participate actively in class discussions.

ü Regular attendance or contact beginning with the first three days of the quarter.

ü Completion of a satisfactory diagnostic essay written within the first three days of the quarter, one that meets entry standards for Advanced English Composition 102.

è (If your beginning-of-the-quarter diagnostic essay does not meet the minimum entry requirements of the course, you will have to find an alternative writing course to upgrade your skills.)

ACTIVITIES LIST—a sampling of what we will read, study, watch, do, and write about

· Various exercises and activities in the Course Packet

· Critical Thinking activities assigned from The Miniature Guide to Critical Thinking

· The play Macbeth by William Shakespeare

· The novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding

· Selected short stories by various authors

· Selected poems by various authors

· Film(s)—to be announced later

· A variety of essays accessed through our SCC Library databases.

· An interview with a very senior citizen

· An original college-level research paper that conforms to either MLA or APA guidelines.

Course Overview

This section of English 102 is a hybrid expository writing course providing both in-class and online opportunities to learn. A typical week will include one day for conferences and online activities, one computer lab day (typically Fridays), and three classroom days. Writing assignments will include short in-class writing experiences (ICWE’s), in and out-of-class essays, journal writing and a college-level research paper. Our course goal is to become better prepared for the demands of upper-division college and professional writing.

Catalog Description

This course teaches students research skills by emphasizing the development of critical reading habits, investigative proficiency, and the writing of expository and persuasive prose including documented research essays. Students work to understand academic audiences, increase their clarity and objectivity, and adhere to standard formats. Prerequisite: English 101 with a 2.0 or better.

Course Website

The Course Website < http://ol.scc.spokane.edu/jroth > has a variety of useful handouts, links, and information, but most particularly an updated Web calendar. You are responsible for knowing what the class plans are, so please consult the Web calendar often, as it is updated regularly. There is also a link to ANGEL where you can check your grades in the class.

Portfolio Folder

Please keep all returned assignments in your portfolio folder. Being able to produce a returned, graded assignment is the ONLY WAY to verify that you have completed the assignment if my records indicate otherwise.

First Three Days Attendance Requirement

In order to be eligible to receive a course grade of .7 or higher, a student must have attended regularly the first three days of the quarter or have make arrangements with the instructor in advance. Students who do not meet the first-three-days attendance requirement will be withdrawn from the course.

Classroom Admission Tickets “You’ve got a ticket to write.”

Occasionally you will need to show a “ticket” at the door to attend class that day. A required “ticket” might be a printout of an essay we’ll be discussing that day, a completed free-writing assignment, an annotated piece of literature, or a completed rough draft ready for peer review. These “tickets” work like any other: if you do not have the appropriate ticket, you cannot gain admission to the class that day. You will know what tickets you need by checking the Web calendar often.

My Attendance Policy

I do not take attendance because I believe that at the college level, attendance is the student’s responsibility. Unlike earlier required school participation, enrolling in college is a choice you freely, so it is up to you whether to take advantage of it or not. However, a student who misses too many classes may become ineligible to pass the course because excessive absence brings into question whether the student attempted the course.

Classroom Conduct and Behavior

No student has the right to interfere with another student’s opportunity to learn. To this end, I expect all of my students to act as responsible, socially-skilled adults or they will be asked to leave the class and/or drop the course. In addition, please turn off all electronics, including cell phones. If you wish to make a call or text a friend, please do so outside of class. In addition, the SCC Arts and Sciences Division requires all of its students to read the Division Dean’s letter explaining faculty and student responsibilities, as well as the Division’s position regarding Academic Integrity and plagiarism. Your first assignment is to read the Dean’s letter before the end of the first week.

Making Up Late Assignments

To allow for the unexpected, I will throw out your lowest in-class writing or activity (one same-day assignment). Assignments with a due date later than the date they were assigned cannot be submitted late for any reason unless you make arrangements in advance. However, one of these assignments can receive half credit if it’s submitted within one calendar week of the due date. These make-up guidelines do NOT apply to the journal assignment (journal check-points), the oral presentation, or any facet of the research paper.

Plagiarism

Plagiarism is the intentional or unintentional representation of someone else’s words and ideas as your own. It is academic theft and will not be tolerated. Any act of plagiarism, intentional or not, will mean failure of the assignment. More than one instance of plagiarism will mean failure of the course.

Course Grade

Course points can be earned in a variety of ways including in-class writing and activities (30%, out-of-class writing and activities, and the research paper. These categories have the following weights:

· In-class writing and activities 40% of the grade

· Out-of-class writing and activities 30% of the grade

· Research writing and activities 20% of the grade

· The Journal Assignment 10% of the grade

Your Final Grade

SCC uses the decimal grading system. ANGEL will calculate your grade using the category weights, expressing your running grade in percentage format. I will then convert your percentage grade to a decimal grade using the chart below. The decimal value will appear on your grade sheet and transcript.

Transfer-level Course Grade Scale—J. Roth

% to Decimal	Letter	% to Decimal	Letter	% to Decimal	Letter	% to Decimal	Letter

100--4.0	A	89—3.4	B+	79—2.6	C+	69—1.7	D+
99—4.0	A	88—3.4	B+	78—2.5	C+	68—1.7	D+
98—4.0	A	87—3.3	B+	77—2.4	C+	67—1.6	D
97—4.0	A	86—3.3	B	76—2.3	C+	66—1.6	D
96—4.0	A	85—3.2	B	75—2.2	C	65—1.5	D
95—4.0	A	84—3.1	B	74—2.1	C	64—1.4	D
94—3.9	A	83—3.0	B	73—2.0	C	63—1.3	D
93—3.8	A-	82—2.9	B	72—1.9	C-	62—1.2	D
92—3.7	A-	81—2.8	B-	71—1.9	C-	61—1.1	D-
91—3.6	A-	80—2.7	B-	70—1.8	C-	60—1.0	D-
90—3.5	A-					0.7—less	F

JOURNAL ASSIGNMENT

To write better, one must write often--there is no other way. Therefore, dedicating yourself to this assignment can do more to help your writing than anything I or any book can do. With this in mind, let us embrace the following assignment:

First, the journal assignment requires a special time set aside to write original sentences and paragraphs.

The goal is to write as many sentences and paragraphs as possible within the time limit (though I encourage everyone to spend even more time at this pursuit).

Simply writing lots of words, sentences, and paragraphs can lead to great improvement in your writing. The more words, the better.

And those words don’t have to be read by anyone else to help your writing skill grow. To understand how this works, compare writing in a journal to practicing the piano between piano lessons:

The piano teacher does not have to listen to each practice session in order for the student to improve; in the same way, someone else (an instructor) does not have to read the words written in the journal for the writer to improve. But in each case the student will improve in proportion to the practice time that he or she invests.

When you write in your journal, write about anything you want--but let the words flow quickly. Write about your day, what makes you angry, happy, write about your most embarrassing moments. Start a novel, write pretend letters to people in your life--the possibilities are endless.

Also, do not be too concerned about checking spelling and punctuation during your journal writing time. Better to keep going with an idea and wring the truth from it than to pause and check the dictionary.

Remember that I will not collect nor read in detail any of your entries, so you can be absolutely honest with yourself. You need not worry about correcting spelling/readability/sentencing errors nor be concerned that someone else will read what you have written. (After you have finished an entry, you can always go over it and clean it up for your own instruction, but that is up to you.)

As a side note, not only will journal writing improve one's written English, but it can also improve one's mood and emotional health. Studies have shown that regularly "venting" in a journal is as effective as taking antidepressants.

That's right—regular journal writing works every bit as well as popping Prozac.

SPECIFICS

Ø A minimum of fifteen minutes minimum per day—at least five days a week—beginning the second week of the course. A minimum of 45 separate entries by the end of the quarter.

Ø Please be sure to accurately number and date each journal entry.

Ø Keep all pages together in a notebook or on a USB thumb drive—I will ask you to show me your journal in progress at various times throughout the quarter.

Ø Please bring journal writing materials with you to each class. Often we’ll write a journal entry together.

Ø Note: Your journal must demonstrate that you have made an honest attempt to meet the requirements of this assignment. Journals that appear "fabricated" at the last minute will not be accepted.

Ø Write without too much concern for spelling or punctuation; the goal is to produce a large quantity of words. Stopping often to check spelling and punctuation blocks the flow of ideas onto the page.

Ø Write about anything you want. Write about events, ideas, people who are important to you. Write about that which really affects you emotionally.

Ø At first, expect to sit with pen in hand waiting for the ideas to come. If you are patient, in time your mind will begin to generate content that your pen can record. A fifteen-minute writing session can yield from half a page to several pages of writing depending upon your mood and perseverance.

Ø Stuck for an idea? Please visit the SQUIDOO website for lots of journal writing ideas and activities.

Ø No one but you will read the actual sentences you write—only the quantity you write will be checked.

Ø Above all, be kind to yourself, be positive, and be patient.

ESSAY PLANNING SHEET FORM

Directions:

Before you submit an essay, please fill in the following form by putting your essay's thesis sentence and your body paragraphs' topic sentences in the appropriate blanks.

When done, please copy-and-paste the completed form to the top of your final copy before submitting it.

In addition, I recommend you complete this form before you begin your first rough draft.

Please see the example for a demonstration.

Your Name:__________________________________

Essay #2 Thesis Sentence:____________________________________

____________________________________________________________

Topic (Point) of First Body Paragraph:_____________________________

_____________________________________________________________

Topic (Point) of Second Body Paragraph:___________________________

_____________________________________________________________

Topic (Point) of Third Body Paragraph:_____________________________

_____________________________________________________________

Topic (Point) of Fourth Body Paragraph:_____________________________

_____________________________________________________________

Topic (Point) of Fifth Body Paragraph:_____________________________

ESSAY CHECK SHEET Essay # _______________________________

STRUCTURE	YES	NO
Does the essay conform to the assignment?
Does the essay attempt to make a point?
Is the thesis sentence easy to locate? (Hopefully, it’s the final sentence of paragraph #1.)
Is the thesis sentence written properly? (announcement?)
Does each body paragraph contain a clear topic sentence?
Are the body paragraphs logically related and sequenced?
Are there structural problems with any of the body paragraphs? Unity? (details that don’t belong) Coherence? (details out of order) Faulty logic? (fallacies and sophistries) Are there transitions and are they effective?

CONTENT	YES	NO
Do the body paragraphs fully develop the essay’s thesis? (overall completeness)
Is each body paragraph sufficiently developed? (paragraph completeness) (Does each body paragraph provide adequate quality and quantity of details?) If not, which ones need more attention?
Is the thought in the essay easy to follow? (Does the essay use effective transitions to move from point to point?)
Is the introductory paragraph engaging? Would it make a reader want to read on?
Does the final paragraph contain a comfortable and appropriate conclusion?

DELIVERY	YES	NO
Does the essay reflect thorough revision and editing?
Does the essay conform to MLA/APA guidelines for margins, line-spacing, citations, etc?
As the reader, do you feel comfortable in the essay writer’s care?
Are there distracting mechanical errors? If so, which? Sentence fragments? Comma splices? Run-on sentences? Words commonly confused (Homonyms) errors? Subject-verb agreement errors? Singular/plural errors? Pronoun confusion (unclear antecedent?) Shift in person (“it” or “they” to “you”) Diction (Wording) problems? Wordiness? Clichés? Punctuation? Spelling? Other?
If the essay contains other people’s property—their words, ideas, illustrations, and the like), are documentation (MLA or APA) guidelines correctly followed?
If applicable, does the essay have a Works Cited (MLA) or References (APA) page(s)?

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS:

English 99/101/102

FIND-and-FIX EDITING ADVICE #1

Seasoned writers do not use the words “you” and “your” without reason because doing so can inadvertently identify their readers with the situation discussed in the their essay.

For example, let’s say I write the following for the college newspaper:

“Hard economic times can drive an instructor to risk harassment by begging in front of the Lair. This is unfair because it is really the economy that’s to blame. If you feel that you are being harassed, you should notify your . . . .”

Noticed how the above switches from third person (an instructor) to second person (you, your)? In switching to second person (you, your), I have inadvertently called all of my readers begging instructors. This error is called “unnecessary shift in person,” and it is nagging how easy it is to do without noticing.

If you are a little rusty on what “person” means, please double-read the following:

Most languages including English have three "persons" or points of view, and we often identify these “persons” through pronouns.

In the first person, the speaker or “voice” is I, me, my, mine, we, us, our, ours

The second person is the use of you, your, yours

And the third person members are he, him, his, she, her, hers, it, its, they, them, their

FThe rule to remember is unless the meaning of a sentence clearly requires a change, stay in the same “person” throughout the sentence and the paragraph.

So let’s fix it:

“Hard economic times can drive an instructor to risk harassment by begging in front of the Lair. This is unfair because it is really the economy that’s to blame. Instructors who feel that they are being harassed should notify their . . . .”

Now there is no “unnecessary shift in person” because all of the words are members of the “third person.”

Let’s take a look at another common problem. See if you can discover what’s wrong now (Hint: check for agreement of singulars and plurals):

“Hard economic times can drive an instructor to risk harassment by begging in front of the Lair. This is unfair because it is really the economy that’s to blame. If an instructor feels like they are being harassed, they should notify their . . . .”

That’s right: The problem now is an error called “shift in number” because words and their replacements need to agree in “number”--in other words, singular words need to be replaced with singular pronouns and plural words need to be replaced with plural pronouns. So when we begin with a third person singular subject such as an instructor and replace it with plurals such as they, their, and them, we commit the error because plurals (they, their, and them) do not agree in number, and therefore cannot be replaced, with singular words such as instructor.

I’ve tossed and turned many sleepless nights trying to figure out why writers do this, and all I’ve come up with is that they probably switch from singular to plural to avoid the “he or she” or “him or her” mess. For an example of this mess, please see the following which actually agrees in person and number:

“Hard economic times can drive an instructor to risk harassment by begging in front of the Lair. This is unfair because it is really the economy that’s to blame. If an instructor feels like he or she is being harassed, he or she should notify his or her . . . .”

Clumsy and awkward, is it not? So here’s what to do:

Whenever possible, begin with a third person plural subject so that you can use they, their and them as replacements. In other words, try to avoid beginning sentences and paragraphs with singular words such an instructor, a student, a parent; instead, begin with their plural counterparts-- instructors, students, parents. This change solves the problem, as in

“Hard economic times can drive instructors to risk harassment by begging in front of the Lair. This is unfair because it is really the economy that’s to blame. If instructors feel like they are being harassed, they should notify their . . . .”

Now not only are the words all in the same person but also the same number.

One last problem to solve—the dreaded sweeping generalization. Here’s what it looks like:

“It is unfortunate that instructors hate criticism. If they would just listen to their colleagues and their students, they would not only become better instructors but . . . .”

No problem with person or number here; now we have a sloppy thinking problem affectionately known as a sweeping generalization. Here’s why: by not qualifying the word instructors, the writer is claiming that all instructors hate criticism. You might argue that the writer really didn’t mean “all” instructors; nevertheless a good critical reader assumes that if you wrote “all,” you meant “all”; and if there exists even one instructor who doesn’t hate criticism, this claim is untrue.

Here’s how to fix it: unless you absolutely mean it, avoid using unqualified plurals such as instructors, students, parents. To go along with this, also avoid zero and one-hundred-percent words such as all, none, everyone, no one, always, never.

The good news is that we can easily fix a sweeping generalization by qualifying the plural with mid-range words such as many, some, most, few, often, seldom. Let’s apply this:

“It is unfortunate that many (or some or a few) instructors hate criticism. If these instructors would just listen to their colleagues and their students, they would not only become better instructors but . . . .”

Here’s what to do now:

Take the rough draft of your essays--and all of your writing from now on--through a special revision where you . . .

Find and fix unnecessary shifts in person, particularly sentences that switch to you

Find and fix sentences that begin with singular words and, instead, begin them with plurals so that you can avoid the “he or she,” “him or her” mess

Find and replace zero and one-hundred-percent words such as all, none, and everyone with mid-range qualifiers such as many and some.

AN OVERVIEW OF RHETORICAL STRATEGIES

A rhetorical strategy is simply a way of organizing your essay. Remember that the thesis sentence sets the essay's overall structure, but once the thesis is established, writers use a blend of the following strategies to develop the essay. For example, a writer might contrast two jobs by narrating an on-the-job experience for each, or persuade the reader to adopt a position on a controversial issue by first defining key terms.

TYPES OF STRATEGIES

NARRATION

Types:	Entertainment, Instructive
General Purpose:	To tell a story
Organization:	Chronological
Paragraphing Advice:	Change paragraphs when event, location, time, speaker changes.

General Hints:	Use dialog sparingly; spend words on the key event in the sequence; use past tense.

DESCRIPTION

Types:	Objective, Subjective
General Purpose:	To paint a word picture for the reader.
Organization:	Spatial
Paragraphing Advice:	Change paragraphs when location, part, or position changes.

General Hints:	Spatial logic includes left to right, right to left, top to bottom, bottom to top, etc.

DEFINITION

Types:	Various
General Purpose:	To explain the meaning(s) of a term.
Organization:	Usually emphatic—most important last
Paragraphing Advice:	Change paragraphs when quality/attribute changes or when switching from description of quality/attribute to example.

General Hints:	Remember: First classify the term. Next determine what makes it unique from other members of its class (the differentiation). Then focus the essay on the term's unique qualities (its differentiation).

CLASSIFICATION/DIVISION

Types:	Individual members into sub-groups (classification); a single unit into component parts (division).
General Purpose:	To show diversity of large group; to show by inference similarities and differences among sub-groups; to show how component parts relate to each other to form the whole object.
Organization:	Inclusivity, Exclusivity,
Paragraphing Advice:	Change paragraphs when sub-groups or parts change.

General Hints:	Be sure to apply both logic tests (inclusivity and exclusivity) to your outline before beginning the draft.

PROCESS ANALYSIS

Types:	Informational, Directional
General Purpose:	To tell how something happens or works; To give step-by step directions to the reader.
Organization:	Chronological
Paragraphing Advice:	Change paragraphs when steps in the process change.

General Hints:	The tendency is to assume the reader knows more about the process you're describing than he/she really does.

COMPARISON/CONTRAST

Types:	Comparison, contrast, combination of the two.
General Purpose:	To clearly show specific similarities and/or differences between subjects.
Organization:	Divided by subject (“block”), Alternating (point-by-point)
Paragraphing Advice:	Change paragraphs when subject or point of C/C changes. A similarity between subjects often can be covered in a single paragraph or section.

General Hints:	If subjects are basically alike, work with differences. If subjects are basically different, work with likenesses. Limit your outline to two or three points of comparison/contrast.

CAUSE-EFFECT or CAUSAL (not casual) ANALYSIS

Types: Causes or effects of an event, casual chain.
General Purpose:	To tell what caused an event or situation to occur (causes). To present possible outcomes of an event or situation (effects). To show a progression of events (a causal chain—like dominos).
Organization:	Most often emphatic
Paragraphing Advice:	Change paragraphs when events change.

General Hints:	DO NOT confuse this with process. Process tells HOW; Cause-Effect tells WHY. If you feel you might write a process essay by mistake, do not present your causes/effects in chronological order.

	The three types of causes are CONTRIBUTORY, NECESSARY, and SUFFICIENT. Avoid assigning too much importance to a particular cause by confusing these.

	Avoid the POST HOC error.

PERSUASION (ARGUMENTATION)

Types:	Develop your reasons; Refute your opponent's.
General Purpose:	To lead the reader to adopt your position on a controversial issue.
Organization:	Emphatic; refute then develop.
Paragraphing Advice:	Change paragraphs when points of evidence or argument change.


General Hints:	Argumentation often is considered more formal and less emotional, relying more heavily on research, statistics, and expert corroboration. Persuasion tends to be less formal and more emotional, relying on common sense reasoning.

CRITICAL THINKING

If we want to find solutions we can trust, we need to apply Critical Thinking skills to the problem.

Steven Schafersman offers a worthwhile definition of Critical Thinking:

Critical thinking means correct thinking in the pursuit of relevant and reliable knowledge about the world. Another way to describe it is reasonable, reflective, responsible, and skillful thinking that is focused on deciding what to believe or do. A person who thinks critically can ask appropriate questions, gather relevant information, efficiently and creatively sort through this information, reason logically from this information, and come to reliable and trustworthy conclusions about the world that enable one to live and act successfully in it.

Schafersman, Steven. "Introduction to Critical Thinking." 1991. 07 Apr. 2006 <http://www.freeinquiry.com/critical-thinking.html>.

Critical Thinking is a process or a series of steps, so let’s use the following Holes in the Hedge example to see the process clearly:

The Holes in the Hedge Analogy

Imagine that not too far from our house is a huge two-block enclosure surrounded by a high, thick, green hedge. Because of the hedge’s size, we cannot see what’s inside the two-block enclosure, though we have heard all sorts of rumors.

One morning our curiosity gets the best of us. We head out to our garage, grab our pruning shears, and make our way to the mystery enclosure.

Once we arrive, we find we only have time to cut one hole in the hedge, just wide enough to see through.

After a few minutes of clipping, we have our viewing hole.

Because of the thickness of the hedge walls, we can see straight ahead through the hole but not to either side.

We take a look and see only a lawn mower and a rake lying against a shed wall in the distance.

If we walk away at this point convinced that the entire enclosure is full of only gardening tools, we have failed as critical thinkers.

Fortunately for us, we continue to be curious, so the next morning we repeat the process, this time cutting a hole a little farther along the hedge.

Through this new viewing hole, we are able to see the side of a swimming pool and crystal-clear water under a diving board.

If we walk away after this second view convinced that the entire enclosure contains only gardening tools and a swimming pool, we have again failed as critical thinkers because a great deal of the enclosure is still hidden from us.

To move our example along, let’s assume we continue each morning to cut more viewing holes in the hedge until we can view the entire enclosure through the holes we have cut. Only then will we have a trustworthy sense of what lies within the enclosure.

Any assumption of what the enclosure holds before we have looked through all the necessary holes would deny the complexity of the enclosure and reflect thinking that is superficial, incomplete, and untrustworthy (NON-critical).

Now let’s apply our Holes in the Hedge Analogy to critical thinking:

We put an issue inside the hedge and then cut as many viewing holes or perspectives as we need to see it completely. In this case, viewing holes are perspectives or points of view.

Here’s an example:

Let’s take the disease AIDS and put it in the enclosure.

Some viewing holes or perspectives we would cut would be the financial implications of AIDS, the ethical/moral implications, the social implications, the physical/health implications, the history, the causes, and so on.

Each of these perspectives or points of view would yield different information about the issue leading to a greater understanding of its complexity.

After evaluating this information, we could form a well-reasoned critical opinion of the issue.

As educated people, we are obligated to use good critical thinking skills when examining an issue, and good critical thinking skills obligate us to view an issue through as many perspectives as necessary to understand its complexity before we make assumptions or voice opinions.

CRITICAL THINKING IDEA GENERATORS

POINTS OF VIEW/PERSPECTIVES/ APPROACHES (Holes in the hedge):

--Religious --Ethical/moral

--Legal --Financial

--Social --Physical/biological/health

--Psychological/emotional

SIX GOOD FRIENDS:

WHO? WHAT?, WHEN?, WHERE?, WHY?, HOW?

RHETORICAL STRUCTURE QUESTIONS:

Cause--effect: Process analysis:

--What caused it? --How does it work?

--What does it cause? --How do I do it?

--What could it cause?

--Who does it affect?

Persuasion: Description:

--Why should I support it? --What does it look like?

--Why should I oppose it?

Classification:

--To what group does it belong?

--What qualities does it share with other members of its group?

--How does it differ from other members of its group?

--What sub-groups make it up?

Comparison--contrast:

--What other thing(s) is it like?

--What other thing(s) is its opposite?

Definition:

--What is its definition?

--What terms must be understood to understand it?

Exemplification:

--What are examples of it?

Evaluation:

--Is it worth my time? Why or why not?

LOGIC and CRITICAL THINKING HELP

FALLACIES AND SOPHISTRIES

Mastery of the critical thinking process is indispensable to one’s well-being and success, not only in college but throughout life. One skill that critical thinkers find valuable is the ability to distinguish between reasoned evidence to support a point and evidence that is flawed and misleading. And so we plunge into a brief primer on informal logic, a world of fallacies and sophistries to be detected and avoided.

We’ll begin with a few definitions and move on to some tricks to be wary of and some errors to avoid.

Critical Thinking is the process of correctly understanding and then evaluating an idea.

Reasoning is a logical progression through an idea.

Logic is a mathematical (testable) approach to reasoning.

A fallacy is an error in reasoning.

A sophistry is a planned attempt to mislead.

Evidence or proof is any support for a point (idea, opinion).

An assertion is an idea that is claimed to be true.

An appeal is a faulty type of evidence.

An argument is a systematic presentation of an idea.

Validity: a logical progression of an argument—not necessarily the truth.

--------

To present or evaluate an idea, follow these steps:

Ø Define terms,

Ø Locate or state the main point,

Ø Outline or present the argument,

Ø Check the support.

Syllogisms Made Simple

A syllogism is a three-step argument. Here’s an example:

Major Premise: All humans will die.

Minor Premise: Ralph is a human.

Conclusion: Ralph will die.

Sounds logical, huh? Try this one:

Major Premise: All ducks have feathers.

Minor Premise: This creature has feathers.

Conclusion: This creature is a duck.

Humm, something is wrong with that one. We can use Venn Diagrams to test individual syllogisms.

A faulty conclusion such as the second one above is often referred to as a non sequitur, which is Latin for “doesn’t follow.”

So we can see that a way exists to test the validity of an argument. Aristotle believed that most any idea could be broken into a series of syllogisms and then tested for validity. This is time-consuming work, however, because converting a multi-layered idea expressed in language to a series of mathematical (geometric) steps is not an easy process.

Fortunately, there are simpler ways to determine an idea’s validity—and that is to examine the quality of proof or evidence. Let’s take a quick look at some examples of faulty evidence or proof.

FALLACIES AND SOPHISTRIES

FALLACIES OF IRRELEVANCE

ü Appeal to Ignorance

ü Appeal to Authority

ü Appeal to Pity

ü Appeal to Force

ü Appeal to Popular Attitudes (to the Masses) (“The Bandwagon”)

ü Fallacy of Stress

FALLACIES OF EVIDENCE

ü Post hoc (false cause)

ü Begging the Question

ü Loaded Phrases and Questions

ü Hasty Generalization

ü Faulty Generalization

ü Either/Or

SOPHISTRIES

ü Ad Hominem

ü Tu Quoque

ü Straw Man

ü Red Herring

ü Trivial Objections

ü False Analogy

ü Poisoning the Well

ü Circumstantial Attack

ü Ignoring (Shifting) the Burden of Proof

The first set is a group of Fallacies called Appeals. Remember, appeals have flaws—they do not represent trustworthy evidence.

APPEAL TO IGNORANCE: Reasoning that since there exists no evidence that an idea or claim is false, it therefore must be true.

Example: The Better Business Bureau has never received a complaint about Bob’s Radiator Repair Service; therefore, his business does reliable work.

Advice: This conclusion cannot be drawn simply because no evidence can be found to disprove it. Lack of evidence against an idea is not support for an idea.

APPEAL TO AUTHORITY: Reasoning that an authority or prominent personality in one field is also an expert in another field.

Example: Celebrity endorsements of products. These folks may be expert actors and athletes, but they are not necessarily experts at evaluating razor blades, cars, burgers, soft drinks, shoes or candidates. Advertisers hope, however, that we will transfer the star’s authority or popularity to the product being sold.

Advice: Authorities are credible only in their own fields; check their credentials before accepting their claims.

APPEAL TO PITY: Evoking sorrow, sympathy, or pity to win a point or support an idea.

Example: A student says to an instructor: "Oh, please, I’ve just got to pass this course or my student loan will be cancelled and I’ll have to return to the orphanage and those horrible things will be done to me again! All I need’s a 2.0 to save me from that cruel fate!"

Advice: Acting out of pity is not necessarily a valid reason for action.

APPEAL TO FORCE: Using physical intimidation and threats to win a point. Any attempt to coerce someone to comply.

Examples: Boss to employee: "You know I’m right, so if you keep disputing my position, I’ll just have to get someone else to do your job."

Parent to child: Johnny, clean your room immediately or ELSE!

Advice: Though perhaps effective, force and intimidation are not reasoned support for one’s position.

APPEAL TO POPULAR ATTITUDES: Sometimes called Appeal to the Masses, this is an attempt to win a point by appealing to popular attitudes and prejudices, rather than by providing adequate support. Also in this group is something called the Bandwagon Appeal, which asks us to accept that something is true because many or all people believe it.

Examples: Since 88% of the people polled believed in UFOs, they must exist.

Since most Americans believe that the war in Iraq was a bad idea, the war in Iraq was a bad idea.

This truck is the #1 selling truck in America, therefore, it’s the best one to buy.

Common popular attitudes that are used as manipulators:

· Sex sells

· Patriotism (love of country)

· Dislike of the unusual, unfamiliar

· Offering easy answers and clearly drawn sides to complex issues (Pro Wrestling).

Advice: Cultures (and their values), religions, governments, and peer groups, and majorities can be incredibly strong forces shaping our behaviors and choices. Certainly, too, their message is that theirs is the RIGHT way, not simply one of many options. No matter what their claim to authority, these entities can mislead and be misled.

FALLACY OF STRESS: Often referred to as quoting out of context, this is stressing a word or phrase to unfairly alter its meaning.

Example: Consider the imperative “EAT YOUR SOUP.” Sound innocent enough, but say this sentence three times, each time stressing a different word. Note that each change projects a very different meaning. Try it: “EAT your soup,” “eat YOUR soup,” “eat your SOUP.” See the difference?

Example: How about this statement arguing against equal rights for all citizens: “The Declaration of Independence states that ‘all MEN are created equal.’ If our Founding Fathers had meant for this to include women, this document would have mentioned women as well.”

Say it aloud and stress the word "men." Do you feel the change in meaning?

When candidates claim that they were "quoted out of context," this is what they mean--that, when quoted by another, their words were given a stress that was unintended our absent in the original. Quoting out of context can also mean leaving out words from the original to change its meaning.

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Example: Original comment from a famous historian named Dr. Jones: I encourage you to vote for candidate Griswald if you want to send the worst possible candidate to Washington, D.C.!

Candidate Griswald’s use of this: Concerning my campaign, even Dr. Jones, a noted historian, said, “I encourage you to vote for Griswald . . . .”

Advice: Use a quotation only in context even though it may be very tempting to stress only the part you want.

POST HOC (ERGO PROPTER HOC): Translation: After the fact, therefore because of the fact. Assuming or claiming that Event A caused Event B simply because Event A happened just before Event B.

Example: The farmer and his wife on the train (told in class).

Or how about this excerpt from an opinion essay concerning the rise in juvenile crime rates:

Juvenile crime rose right after women began leaving the home and entering the workforce; therefore, it’s obvious that mothers going to work were responsible for this increase.

Maybe, maybe not, but a time relationship between events (one happening just before the other) is not enough proof of a cause-effect relationship. There are such things as coincidences.

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How about this one: The number of teenage pregnancies in America began to rise shortly after the terrorist attacks of 9/11. Isn’t it therefore obvious that acts of terrorism make teenagers horny?

Ice cream causes polio.

Advice: Be cautious when assigning causes to events. Assume a coincidence unless the cause-effect relationship can be logically established.

BEGGING THE QUESTION: (Circular Reasoning)

The person advancing the argument asks you to grant as true an assumption that has not been proven (supported by evidence).

· In other words, the one advancing the argument "begs" that you accept the premise without offering proof.

· Or the arguer assumes to be true what he or she is trying to prove.

· Or a leap from an assumption to a fact without adequate proof.

· Also, using a source to support itself. (Defining a term by using the term itself.)

Example: See if you can spot the problem in the following: People who want to spend millions on improving the slums believe that if we clean up the slums, slum dwellers will suddenly become responsible, productive citizens. This is obviously false: if slum dwellers were responsible and productive, they wouldn’t be living in slums in the first place.

It is difficult to spot the error in the above statement, but we can probably sense that something just doesn’t feel right. Here’s why: In simplified words, it’s arguing that slums are caused by shiftless people because shiftless people cause slums. But outside support for this assumption is not provided, so the argument goes around in circles. It “begs” us to grant that slum dwellers are irresponsible and unproductive without supporting this fundamental premise.

Example: Candidate Smith was once affiliated with an organization that occasionally posted racist comments on its Website. I don’t think it’s very wise to support a racist for office.

See the fallacy? The first sentence offers no defensible evidence to support the premise that Candidate Smith is a racist (being “affiliated” is not necessarily the same as supporting). However, the second sentence jumps to the conclusion that he or she is. In other words, we are being “begged” to accept as true a premise for which no legitimate support has been provided.

Advice: Begging the Question or Circular Reasoning is probably the most difficult fallacy to spot easily. Unfortunately, it is also one of the most widespread critical thinking errors. To simplify a defense against this error, remember and insist upon two things:

· Allow no argument to support itself; the proof of an idea can never be the initial premise.

· Always demand (and provide) legitimate support for any assumption. Never accept any assumption true without examining the evidence.

HASTY GENERALIZATION: Any generalization drawn from too small a sample.

Example: Pretend we overhear this in the hallway: Of the thirty students in my math class, twelve are men, ten of whom failed the last exam while all of the women passed. This indicates that, on average, women are better math students than men.

Advice: Too small a sample to make that determination. Generalize only with great care.

FAULTY GENERALIZATION: Any generalization drawn from a biased sample.

Example: Our survey of the nation's Lexus SUV owners indicates that most of these owners drive their SUV’s to go sight-seeing between 3 and 5 p.m. on Sundays. This indicates that most Americans enjoy a leisurely drive on Sunday afternoons.

If you look at the above claim closely, you will notice that, though only the nation's Lexus SUV owners have been surveyed (quite a large sampling), the generalization is made concerning the entire country. It well might be that only those who own a Lexus SUV enjoy or can afford to take a Sunday sight-seeing drive. See the unintended bias?

Example: Research the 1948 United States presidential election pitting Truman (who won) against Dewey. Check out what the pre-election polls indicated (these polls taken by calling random names in telephone books--what were then called "City Directories")--then check out the result. Look for the famous photo that Truman is holding the morning after the election.

Advice: If the sample is biased, the generalization may be faulty. Generalize only with great care.

EITHER/OR REASONING: Ignoring possible alternatives by attempting to simplify an idea or choice.

Example: Let's say we hear this from an instructor: Dirk's grades are very low this quarter; either he lacks the ability to do college work or he is lazy.

Do you see the either/or dead-end? Other explanations exist: Perhaps Dirk was having family problems, had to get a job, did not meet a prerequisite, etc.

Advice: Consider all valid options before making a decision or judgment.

AND NOW THE REALLY NASTY ONES--IF USED INTENTIONALLY, these are SOPHISTRIES

AD HOMINEM (against the person): Attacking an opponent rather than an opponent's position on an issue.

We all have many personal examples of this.

Example: Overheard in a legislative meeting: No, I will not support the legislative bill. It's being supported by Senator Griswald, and there is not a more dishonest person in Congress. If he supports it, I oppose it!

See the attack against the person, rather than his/her side of the issue?

Advice: Hesitate to use this attack to win. If it is used on you, request that your opponent STICK TO THE ISSUE.

TU QUOQUE (you're one, too!): Attempting to support or justify actions or beliefs because something else or someone else is just as bad.

Example: Heard in a debate about legalizing marijuana: America should legalize marijuana. After all, alcohol is legal, and it's responsible for many more deaths than marijuana. If alcohol is legal, marijuana should be, too.

See the Tu Quoque? The argument is that alcohol is at least as bad as marijuana; therefore, marijuana should be legalized since alcohol is legalized.

Advice: insist that your opponent STICK TO THE ISSUE.

STRAW MAN: Introducing a weaker, look-alike argument, disproving it, and then hoping the opposition and the audience will believe that the real issue was disproved.

Example: Imagine you are at a debate concerning the theory of evolution. The anti-evolution speaker says:

When considering the theory of evolution, we must remember that Darwin, its proponent, studied nearly 150 years ago when scientific equipment was very basic. In addition, Darwin generalized to the entire world by studying only one small, isolated island. Added to this is the fact that Darwin had very little formal education and absolutely no access to computers. Therefore, we can see that Darwin's theory of evolution must remain suspect.

The Straw Man is this: When Darwin lived, what scientific equipment he used, where he studied, his lack of formal education, and his not having access to computers are not the issue in question? The issue is his theory of evolution.

Example: Imagine we hear: When examining Senator Smith's new economic proposal, we must examine her voting record in the Congress. Senator Smith has never hesitated to vote for increased-spending initiatives. This should certainly weigh heavily on whether we support her economic proposal.

Again, is the issue Senator Smith's previous voting record or is the issue her new economic proposal? Her voting record is a Straw Man.

Advice: When you feel a straw man being employed, insist that those involved stick to the issue.

TRIVIAL OBJECTIONS: obscuring an issue by raising unimportant, petty objections.

Example: Let's say that someone invents a new light switch, one that will reduce electricity by a whopping 40%, but that the new switch will require a little larger hole be cut in the wall to install it. A trivial objection might be to complain about the inconvenience of having to cut the present hole a little larger. That is trivial compared to the economic and environmental benefit of saving 40%.

FALSE ANALOGY: An analogy occurs when two objects or events (A and B) are shown to be similar. Once this analogy is introduced, the premise is that since A has a certain property, B must have the same property. Take for example the parables of Jesus. Jesus compared God to an earthy father and then proposed that just as an earthy father would care for his children, so, too, would God care for humans.

An analogy becomes “false” when A and B are in fact different in a way that really matters. This screams for an example. A really goofy one is that since the air we breathe and water we drink share the same quality of being colorless, they must, therefore, both quench our thirst. Wikipedia has this one: Since the sun and a banana are the same color, they must, therefore, be the same size.

Examples:

The Web site OneGoodMove.org offers this one: Employees are like nails. Just as nails must be hit in the head in order to make them work, so must employees.

Advice: Before accepting that the two situations (A and B) are alike in the way that is being proposed, be sure that the two are analogous in a way that supports that comparison. So instead of accepting the new comparison and, therefore, risk being sidetracked by discussing it, first be sure that the two (A and B) are in fact the same in a way that really applies.

RED HERRING: Attempting to trick an opponent into arguing a weaker side issue rather than the real issue. One who is losing a debate but needs to buy some time often uses this.

Example: We are listening to a debate about whether women deserve equal pay for equal work. We hear: In a discussion of whether women should receive the same pay for the same work as men (equal pay for equal work), we must ask ourselves if it is fair that women demand the same pay as men while still expecting men to open doors for them, help them with their coats, heavy objects, etc. It seems that women want not only equal but preferred treatment.

See the trick? The speaker knows his position on the issue is weak (that women do not deserve equal pay for equal work), so he is attempting to mislead--misdirect--his opponent toward a discussion of men and women in social settings. His hope is that his opponent will chase the scent of the Red Herring--the social issue--and spend valuable time discussing that.

Advice: Insist that your opponent stick to the issue.

As a comeback, the other person in the debate might say, As much as I would enjoy discussing the social expectations women may have for men, I am here to discuss the issue of equal pay for equal work. Could we please return to that?

POISONING THE WELL: This takes several faces, but in general it is any attempt to sway an audience against an opponent by spoiling the issue under discussion or attacking the opponent.

Example: How's this for introducing an opponent: These are my views, and now my opponent who, by the way, was a member of the liberal Southern Democrats for America, will give you his.

The above is an attempt to “poison the well water” of the debate before an opponent’s turn to speak. The goal is to prejudice the audience against an opponent’s message before he or she gets a chance to deliver it.

CIRCUMSTANTIAL ATTACK: Relying only on past circumstances to predict future behavior. Try this:

Example: Heard from a candidate for election: If my opponent Ms. Burke is elected, she surely will support the big corporations; after all, she worked for Boeing and General Electric Corporation in the late 1990's.

Perhaps, but it also might be that Ms. Burke’s earlier experiences with big corporations disillusioned her. If this is the case, she may well vote against big corporations’ interests in the future.

Advice: Insist that your opponent stick to the issue.

IGNORING THE BURDEN OF PROOF: Making a claim and then asking an opponent to disprove it. A popular saying in ancient Greece was (S)he who asserts, must prove.

Example: This country is going down the toilet, and if you don't think it is, then prove me wrong!

Advice: (S)he who asserts, must prove means that the burden of proof lies with the asserter and no one else. If you assert something (claim something is true), you are obligated to back it up. It is not up to your opponent to disprove it. The concept of "Innocent until proven guilty" is a good example of this rule put into practice.

English 102 Name:___________________

Let’s play NAME THAT FALLACY!

Directions: Using the Logical and Critical Thinking—Fallacies and Sophistries chapter in our course packet along with your common sense, identify the errors in the following examples. Many of these examples may represent more than one error.

1. A TV Commercial: “I'm not a doctor, but I play one on the hit TV series. You can take it from me that when you need a fast acting, effective and safe pain killer there is nothing better than PainAway 2000. That is my considered medical opinion.”