Reasons in Arguments

Structure of arguments: Reasons Learning outcome: Identifying reasons in arguments Explain the way the reasons support the conclusions Applying the language of reasoning

So far we have learned that…. Arguments are set of statements containing reasons supporting a conclusion. Conclusions are the primary claims of arguments; the claims we are trying to get others accept. Reasons are the supporting claims. They support the conclusions. So, both conclusions and reasons are types of claims. Now, let us identify reasons in arguments and understand the different ways they might support the conclusions. Reasons are claims that intend to support the conclusions. These claims are also called PREMISES

A premise is simply any claim to put forward as

support for the conclusions

Key terms Conclusions, reasons, claims, premises, independent reasons, combined reasons

It is very likely that in your previous assignments when you were asked to find conclusions in arguments, you also located the reasons (also called premises) that supported the conclusions. Hence, finding conclusions and reasons in arguments are not totally separated tasks; we might say you need to recognize one of them to locate the other. The task of identifying premises is to find reasons that the author is giving us to convince us that his conclusions is true ( valid, congruent, well sound, well grounded, reliable, etc.). Finding conclusions, reasons and other argument elements require a careful and generous reading of what the author is saying. Here we will bring some tips to do this more quickly and effectively

Improving your reading speed and reading

comprehension skills will definitely sharp up your

critical thinking since you will spend less time in

decoding symbols and more in reasoning and evaluating

their validity.

Remember that arguments can appear in speeches and the time for

processing is significantly shorter.

This is specially true in

debates

As we said, identifying reasons takes good reading speed and good reading comprehension but here we will give you some guides to find the reasons of the argument. After you have found the main conclusion of the argument, you should: 1. Ask what the facts, data, information or accounts are given by writer or

speaker to support the conclusion. 2. Keep in mind that premises can be of any subject matter. They can be

controversial or unanimously agreed. 3. Be aware that in many writings or speeches, arguments can be embedded

with other types of language that are not relevant to the main issue of the argument.

Let us see an example in the next slide.

4- As there are some words that act as conclusion indicators, there are also some words that may precede reasons (but this is not a guaranteed). They can be called “reasons indicators” and they mark the writer´s or speaker´s move from reasons to conclusions or from conclusions to reasons. “Since”, “because”, and “is implied by” are some common examples. The writer or speaker may say these words after declaring the conclusion: My reasons is… My evidence for this is…. This is so because…

Example Example: Other reason indicators may be used at he beginning of a sentence containing both the premises and the conclusion. For example: We must be aware, though that word indicators (conclusion indicators and premise indicators) can be used with other meanings as well. The sentence “Since 2010, I have been a student at The Oxford School” does not express a conclusion in an argument because “since” is used to refer to a period of time. “Because” can be particularly tricky as it is frequently used before explanations. Remember that we said explanatory texts don't have the purpose of persuading; arguments do.

Independent or dependent (combined) reasons

In arguments, reasons can support the conclusions independently from each other or they can combine forces among themselves to support the conclusions. See these diagrams

Independent reasons Dependent (combined) reasons

Both combined and independent

reasons may appear in the argument

Let us see each instance closer: A. The train doesn’t leave until 4.24, but it can take up to 40 minutes to get

to the station, if the traffic’s bad. It’s 3.30 now. We need to leave for the station within ten minutes to be sure of catching the train.

In this argument we have three main reasons and one conclusion:

1. R1: The train leaves at 4.24.

2. R2: It can take 40 minutes to get to the station.

3. R3: It’s 3.30 now.

C : We need to set off within ten minutes to be sure of catching the train.

Questions : How do these reason operate to support the conclusion? Do they support the conclusion independently or do they work together?

Tip: When two or more reasons work together, if one of them is not true or is taken away, their support to the conclusion will weaken.

In [A] reasons 1, 2 and 3 work together. One needs to be true or to exist in order to validate the effect of the other.

So, this is type argument.

B. Short-range flights may have become cheap, but rail travel makes a lot

more sense. Flying is responsible for ten times the carbon emissions of rail travel per passenger/km, and twice as much stress. What is more, trains take you to the heart of a city, not to some far-flung:

This argument has three premises and a conclusion. The premises are not interdependent. Each of them gives a different line of reasoning to the conclusion.

This is a argument

C. Rajinder cannot be trusted to keep a secret. He was the only person apart

from me who knew about Jed and Jill getting engaged. I haven’t said a word to anyone, yet now the news is all round the college. And he spread another story about Jill that I told him in confidence.

This a type argument. The first three reasons depend on

each other. Obviously, if I had told several people, or if others had known besides Rajinder, it might not have been Rajinder who was to be blamed; and if the news hadn’t spread there would be no reason to suggest Rajinder had told anyone the secret. R4, on the other hand, does not have to be true for the conclusion to follow from the other three. Therefore, although R4 adds strength to the argument, it is separate from the other reasons: an additional reason for inferring that Rajinder cannot be trusted.

It´s Relevant It´s Certain

It´s pertinent

to the concusion.

What makes a reason, a

good reason?

It comes from a

credible

source.

Does it require an

expertise to validate?

It fits well with our

other beliefs.

Ask yourself…

What are claims?

What are premises?

What are some examples of reason indicators?

Are reason indicators always present in arguments?

In what ways are reasons and conclusions similar?

What makes a reason a “good reason”?

What is reading speed? In reading, what is the difference between decoding and comprehension.