Logical Reasoning Paper

Research Paper Instructions

The paper will focus on a document of social and ethical significance. The main goal of the paper is to analyze the logical reasoning found in your chosen document, drawing on outside research and on logical concepts and skills from the course.

Length: 3000-3500 words

Format: APA (http://lynn-library.libguides.com/apa/format)

Sources: Your document, the course text by Lewis Vaughn, the course handouts, and at least 3 outside peer-reviewed sources (remember to cite all quotes and paraphrases using APA style and to include all works cited on your References page)

Choosing a document:

- Choose a document of social and ethical significance as the focus of your paper. This can be from any academic major or sphere of life (politics, business, sports, religion, etc.).

- Look for a document that is about 10-15 pages long. If you find something longer, you can use a section from it (e.g., a chapter from a longer book). If you find something shorter, you can use several related items as your topic (e.g., several posts from a blog or several ads from a political candidate).

Include the following sections in the paper in this order:

(1) Title page (2) Introduction – about 5% of the paper (3) Background – about 20% of the paper (4) Analysis of logical reasoning – about 70% of the paper (5) Conclusion – about 5% of the paper (6) References page

Introduction: Draw in the reader’s attention and introduce the document you will examine. Include a thesis stating your overall assessment of the logical reasoning found in your chosen document.

Background:

- Explain key facts, history, and context related to your chosen document and your main points later in the paper

- Use peer-reviewed research and citations from areas such as history, law, politics, business, communications, social science, religion, pop culture, and current events, insofar as these relate to your paper topic

- For example, if your document is a speech by Leonardo DiCaprio on climate change, briefly describe who DiCaprio is, where/when/to whom the speech was given, some basics of the climate change issue, what DiCaprio’s views and involvement have been in this area, and how his speech fits into the broader debate about climate change

Analysis of logical reasoning:

- Identify four or more instances where your chosen document displays either good or bad logical reasoning and discuss these one by one; for each instance, explain in detail why the logical reasoning is good or bad, drawing on logical concepts from the course text by Lewis Vaughn and the course handouts, as well as specific passages from your chosen document

- Use the paragraph options below (at the end of these instructions) to structure this section

- **In your analysis, do not focus on whether the final claims of your document are true, but on the kind of reasoning used to defend them.** For example, even if you fully agree with DiCaprio’s stance on climate change, you would assess whether he uses good or bad logical reasoning to defend this stance at specific points in his speech.

Conclusion: Signal the end of the paper and summarize your main conclusions.

Grading: Your grade for the paper will be based on your work in the following areas:

20% Background section Provide detailed, accurate, clear, and comprehensive information, citing peer-reviewed sources and following the other guidelines above

40% Analysis of logical reasoning Present detailed, accurate, clear, and compelling analysis of the logical reasoning in four or more passages of your document, following the guidelines above

20% Paper mechanics

Follow the instructions above for paper length, list of sections, introduction, thesis, and conclusion

10% Spelling, grammar, and writing style 10% APA format, citations, and References page

In addition to your grade, which will be based on the above criteria, I will complete a standard rubric associated with the paper on LiveText. The marks on the rubric will not directly affect your grade, but are meant to give you a rough sense of how you are doing in various areas of the writing process. The row for “Content Area” will relate to your analysis of logical reasoning section in the paper and the row for “Writing Strategy” will relate to your appropriate division of the paper into background section and analysis of logical reasoning. Late work: See the syllabus for information about late policies

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Sample paragraphs for analysis of logical reasoning

The paragraphs below show the kinds of things to discuss in the analysis of logical reasoning section of the paper. You can use the following paragraphs in any order, you do not need to use all of them, and you can use some of them more than once (for example, you could have two paragraphs examining different fallacies in your document). It is fine to use the exact words I give below if they fit the context of your paper, or you can put things in your own words. Obviously, remove the blanks _____ and text in brackets [ ], replacing them with appropriate information. Finally, each paragraph should normally end with a final transition sentence summarizing the main ideas of the paragraph. I did not give those here, but you can add them yourself.

Sample paragraph A: Inductive argument

One inductive argument occurs when the document discusses the topic of __________. The

premises of the argument are __________ and the conclusion is __________ [quote or paraphrase from

the document*]. Overall, this is a __________ argument [fill in the blank with strong or weak]. [Then,

give a clear account of why the argument is strong or weak. Cite the definition/description of strong or

weak from the course text/handouts and show in detail how the argument fits the relevant definition. You

may also want to discuss whether the argument is cogent.]

* Note that the premises and conclusion may be directly stated in the document. Or, one or more of them may be implicit, in which case you need to provide them yourself. For example, it may be clear that three or four statistics are meant to show that taxes are too high for the middle class, even if the document never says, “Therefore, taxes are too high for the middle class.” In a case like this, you should supply the implicit conclusion yourself, explaining how it goes beyond the text of the document but is clearly intended by the author.

Sample paragraph B: Deductive argument

One deductive argument occurs when the document discusses the topic of __________. This

argument can be presented as follows:

Premise: __________.

Premise: __________.

Conclusion: __________.*

This is a __________ argument [fill in the blank with valid or invalid]. [Then, give a clear account of why

the argument is valid or invalid. Cite the definition/description of valid or invalid from the course text/

handouts and show in detail how the argument fits the relevant definition. If the argument involves one of

the standard argument patterns we studied (affirming the antecedent, disjunctive syllogism, etc.), bring

that in. You may also want to discuss whether the argument is sound. For the paper, it is fine to leave

arguments in English, but you are also welcome to translate them into symbolic form and/or use truth

tables if you would like (these will be covered in the third unit of the course).]

* The premises and conclusion will be quoted or paraphrased from the document. Include the number of premises you need. Note that the premises and conclusion may be directly stated in the document. Or, one or more of them may be implicit, in which case you need to provide them yourself. Be sure to supply any implicit premises or conclusion intended by the author so that you can fairly assess the argument.

Sample paragraph C: Fallacy in the document

One fallacy that occurs in the document is the fallacy of __________. This occurs in the part of

the document where [quote or paraphrase from the document ]. [Then, give a clear account of why the

cited passage involves the fallacy. Cite the fallacy definition/description from the course text and show in

detail how the passage you found fits the fallacy’s definition.]

Sample paragraph D: Looks like a fallacy, but is not

Some people may think that the document commits the fallacy of __________ when it [quote or

paraphrase from the document]. [Then, give a clear account of why the cited passage does not really

involve the fallacy. Cite the fallacy definition/description from the course text and show in detail how the

passage you found does not fall under the fallacy’s definition. This could be a case where some features

of the fallacy are present, but it is not a true instance of the fallacy. For example, maybe there is

emotional language, but it comes in the context of a well-supported argument so it is not the fallacy of

appeal to emotion. The course handout for Chapter 4 could also help with this kind of paragraph.]

Sample paragraph E: Trend in the document

One interesting trend that emerges in the logic of the document is that the document repeatedly

__________. [Here, you would identify a significant trend and provide evidence that it is present. A trend

could be the repeated use of a certain fallacy or fallacies, or some pattern in a number of inductive or

deductive arguments. This paragraph would go best toward the end of your paper, since you could refer

back to your earlier discussions as evidence. You may also want to say something about why the trend is

present—why the speaker repeatedly uses the same fallacy(s) or type of reasoning, given the nature and

context of the document.]

Sample paragraph F: Overall argument(s) of the document

Overall, the main conclusion of the document seems to be _______. Throughout the document as

a whole, this is supported by __________. [In this paragraph, you would describe the overall structure of

the argument(s) in the document: (a) There may be one large and complex argument that runs through the

entire document. In this case, describe the premises and conclusion of this argument and whether it is

inductive or deductive, following the models above. To do this, you will have to piece together the

premises and conclusion of this master argument as they are stated or implied throughout the document.

For example, maybe the conclusion of one paragraph is also a premise in the overall argument of the

entire document. Once you have sketched the overall argument, explain whether it is strong, weak, valid,

or invalid. (b) It is also possible that the document does not have one master argument, but is organized as

a number of smaller arguments all leading to the same conclusion. In this case, you could comment on

this larger structure, saying something about the smaller arguments and their characteristics (inductive,

deductive, etc.) and assessing whether the document’s main conclusion is ultimately well-supported.]

Note: For the paper, you are not required to include a paragraph like sample paragraph F on the overall argument(s) of your document. That is up to you. A paragraph of this kind can be tricky, but also very illuminating if you pull it off well!