business communication

11/12/19, 3(24 PMLaureate International Universities

Page 1 of 6https://laureate-au.blackboard.com/bbcswebdav/pid-8331282-dt-c…A%20Revision/MGT502/4.%20Web%20Content/module%2002/index.html

MODULE 2.1MODULE 2.1

Critical Thinking and Forming an Argument

Critical ThinkingCritical Thinking

Critical thinking requires you, the student to critically analyse the subject or problem

(along with possible solutions) at hand, to evaluate and reconstruct it. Through

analysing the underlying assumptions, perspectives and information, you will develop

clarity and precision which lead to a better understanding of the problem.

All humans have biases and prejudices which affect their thinking, but by applying

critical thinking some of the effects can be mitigated. This process involves recognising

assumptions, questioning them, gathering and evaluating relevant information,

drawing well-formed conclusions and testing them.

At university, critical thinking relates to the way you assess the resources and

information you come across: considering multiple perspectives and arguments,

challenging existing knowledge and keeping an open mind.

Forming an ArgumentForming an Argument

An academic argument is a claim or a stance that is justified and supported by

evidence. Arguments are used to support a perspective or a position with merit,

persuade others to take a particular course of action, convince others that something is

true/likely to be true/probable, show a problem with a theory or an approach, or to

reason with others to get them to change their mind.

Every argument consists of premises and a conclusion. The premises are particular

statements that provide the reasons or evidence supporting the conclusion which is

the claim the writer is making. A good argument is one that presents a conclusion and

then gives good reasons for accepting it. For an argument to be good, it must conform

11/12/19, 3(24 PMLaureate International Universities

Page 2 of 6https://laureate-au.blackboard.com/bbcswebdav/pid-8331282-dt-…A%20Revision/MGT502/4.%20Web%20Content/module%2002/index.html

to the following criteria:

The premises are acceptable or reasonable.

The evidence or reasons are relevant to the claim.

The evidence or reasons provide sufficient grounds to accept the claim.

Even though an argument might be convincing it doesn’t mean it is good. Marketing

messages, for example, are designed to convince without giving good reasons. On the

other hand, if an argument is bad it doesn’t necessarily mean that the conclusion is

false. A bad argument is one in which the premises do not give good reason to accept

the conclusion. Hence, the conclusion may be true, but there doesn’t seem to be

sufficient evidence.

Forming an argument is a process that starts by choosing and understanding the topic.

In the second step, the writer chooses a position; what is the conclusion in the

argument? The third step focuses on gathering evidence to support the conclusion;

what are the premises? When deciding what evidence to use, both sides of the

argument should be considered in order to find flaws. The fourth step involves

presenting the argument logically. When the argument has a logical structure the

reader understands the relevance of the evidence and is able to follow the reasoning

towards the conclusion. Therefore, as the evidence doesn’t speak for itself, it’s crucial

to explain how each piece of evidence supports the conclusion and what makes it

credible. Ordinarily, a few strong and well-developed arguments are stronger and more

persuasive than many weaker and undeveloped ones.

In the last step, the writer should provide counterarguments in anticipation of

objections. The writer should go into more detail about both sides of the topic and

claim to compare and contrast the views. Counterarguments should be presented, so

that they can be discredited – or even used as evidence of why the writer’s claim is the

correct one. At the end of the argument, the writer should either restate the original

claim or give one final reason as evidence.

11/12/19, 3(24 PMLaureate International Universities

Page 3 of 6https://laureate-au.blackboard.com/bbcswebdav/pid-8331282-dt-…A%20Revision/MGT502/4.%20Web%20Content/module%2002/index.html

Image sourced from https://www.thoughtco.com/write-an-argument-essay-1856986

References:References:

Flinders University. (2013). Writing an Argument. Retrieved from http://www.flinders.edu.au/slc_files/Documents/Blue%20Guides/Writing%20an%20Argument.pdf

Morley-Warner, T. (2010). Academic writing is... – A guide to writing in a university context. Australia: CREA Publications.

The Foundation for Critical Thinking. (2017). Our Concept and Definition of Critical Thinking. Retrieved from http://www.criticalthinking.org/pages/our- conception-of-critical-thinking/411

Walden University. (2018). Writing a Paper: Developing Arguments. Retrieved from

https://academicguides.waldenu.edu/writingcenter/writingprocess/arguments3

Essential Resources:

RMIT University. (n.d.). Becoming a critical thinker. Retrieved from

https://emedia.rmit.edu.au/learninglab/content/becoming-critical-

thinker

This website explains how to become a critical thinker. It also provides links to

additional resources for those interested in knowing more about critical thinking

and critical reading.

11/12/19, 3(24 PMLaureate International Universities

Page 4 of 6https://laureate-au.blackboard.com/bbcswebdav/pid-8331282-dt-…A%20Revision/MGT502/4.%20Web%20Content/module%2002/index.html

The University of Melbourne. (n.d.). Reading critically. Retrieved from

https://services.unimelb.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0003/470244/Reading_critically_Update_051112.pdf

Concise instructions of how to read critically by analysing and evaluating the

material.

Agoos, S. (2016). 5 tips to improve your critical thinking. [Video file].

Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dItUGF8GdTw

Watch this short video for tips on how to improve critical thinking. It

considers the 5-step process used for better decision-making.

Flinders University. (2013). Writing an Argument. Retrieved from

http://www.flinders.edu.au/slc_files/Documents/Blue%20Guides/Writing%20an%20Argument.pdf

A thorough description of the process for writing an argument. Topics such as

what makes a good argument and what kind of language to use are also

included.

Ferrer, D. (n.d.). 15 Logical Fallacies You Should Know Before Getting

Into a Debate. Retrieved from https://thebestschools.org/magazine/15-

logical-fallacies-know/

This website lists 15 common informal fallacies that you are likely to encounter in

discussion or debate.

Learning Activity:

Learning Activity 1: Personal Journal – ReferencingLearning Activity 1: Personal Journal – Referencing

Go to your personal Reflective Journal and reflect on the questions

below for Module 2.1. This journal is for your own personal learning. It is

11/12/19, 3(24 PMLaureate International Universities

Page 5 of 6https://laureate-au.blackboard.com/bbcswebdav/pid-8331282-dt-…A%20Revision/MGT502/4.%20Web%20Content/module%2002/index.html

confidential and will not be available to anyone except you. Your journal will be

an important resource for preparing your submissions for assessments.

Consider your most recent piece of academic writing and the ways you used

other people’s ideas. Now, look at your references:

How many sources did you use?

Do the sources reflect a variety of opinions on the subject?

How many direct quotations did you use?

Were they longer than 15 words? If so, can you justify them?

Did you use in-text citations, too?

Is your paraphrasing genuine interpretation or just copy-paste?

Alternatively, reflect on the following questions about referencing:

Why does the original author need to be credited?

What function do in-text citations have and why isn’t a reference list

enough?

When might a direct quote be more appropriate than paraphrasing?

Why is Wikipedia not an academic resource?

Ethically, do you see parallels with downloading music illegally and not

referencing other people’s work?

Click on the personal journal link to begin.

Learning Activity 2: Wiki – Finding the Main ArgumentLearning Activity 2: Wiki – Finding the Main Argument

Watch the following video and search for an academic journal article of

interest to you.

The Seahorse Project. (2014, February 19). Finding the main argument in

Academic Writing [Video file]. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=PsT4N7UXe0U

While reading the chosen article try to identify the three things that constitute

the main argument: the main point, ideas that support the main point, and

evidence that supports the ideas.

Post your chosen article (or a link) along with the sections you’ve identified on the

Finding the Main Argument Wiki.

11/12/19, 3(24 PMLaureate International Universities

Page 6 of 6https://laureate-au.blackboard.com/bbcswebdav/pid-8331282-dt-…A%20Revision/MGT502/4.%20Web%20Content/module%2002/index.html

Note:Note: The Learning activities above are not part of summative/graded assessment;

however they are designed to prepare you for incremental graded assessment and

expand your learning.

These activities encourage a community learning experience between peers, and

provide opportunities for facilitators to offer formative feedback, throughout a module,

to the student cohort.