LS526-01 Seminar 6 Unit 6 Seminar Dr. Vicki Hill Planning the Major Project Constructing a Thesis Using Deductive Logic Avoiding Logical Fallacies Sources

LS526-01 Seminar 6LS526-01 Seminar 6

Unit 6 SeminarDr. Vicki Hill

Planning the Major ProjectConstructing a ThesisUsing Deductive Logic

Avoiding Logical Fallacies

Sources include: KU Writing Center, Purdue OWL, University of Wisconsin-

Madison Writing Center


Step 1: Solidify Your TopicThe best papers arise from real interest and enthusiasm; therefore, the more you look around and read up on your topic, the more likely you are to find an angle that you are enthusiastic about. The first step in research is exploring the topic to see where you, as an individual, fit with it.


Step 2: Plan Your StrategyBefore you jump into finding the “right” Before you jump into finding the “right” sources to meet the requirements for a sources to meet the requirements for a project, you should understand that aproject, you should understand that an important element of researching a topic is planning your strategy. Students often make the mistake of choosing one or two broad search terms and then finding either too many sources or sources that are not specific enough. Your goal should be to find the very best sources you can, not just to meet the requirements. The best way to do this is to make some important decisions…


Which search terms will yield good sources?

This is often a trial-and-error process, but you will eliminate a good deal of error if you think about all of the points you plan to make in your assignment and all of the different ways of expressing your ideas. If your first round of search terms does not satisfy your needs, try some others. See what keywords are used in the sources you have already found, or go to a thesaurus for synonyms and antonyms of your original search terms.


Which Which databases and books should I should I focus on in my search for focus on in my search for information?information?

You can easily ignore some of the best sources if you do not know where to look. For most research topics, you will want to use a general periodical database, such as Academic Search Elite. You will also want to perform a general book search. In addition to these venues, you must seek out the most likely places to find information specific to your subject.


Step 3: Evaluate Your SourcesJust because a source exists does not mean that it is a credible or reliable source. Your reader is only going to respect your work if your findings are backed by solid support.

Guidelines for Assessing a Research Source: Does the website appear to be professionally

produced? Does the article sound like an objective news

report? Are there any authors or editors listed? Is there a publication or last updated date?


Step 4: Use Your Sources WellOnce you have located good sources, you will need to decide which of these sources will best support your various points.

Sometimes, a direct quote will work best to illustrate your point.

In other cases, you might paraphrase statistics to support a claim.

Plan your source placement strategy as you plan your overall paper structure and content.

Present your sources in a variety of ways.


Step 5: Document Your SourcesFinally, it is necessary to document your sources properly. If you do not, you are not following the rules of academic integrity and may, depending on the situation and the severity of the oversight, be downgraded, failed, or reported to a higher authority. The importance of proper documentation cannot be emphasized enough, and the general rule is that not knowing how is not an excuse.


Potential Mistakes in Academic Research:

Not giving yourself enough time to research

Using unacceptable websites or other problematic sources

Expecting to find sources that say everything you want

Assuming you can find everything in one or two searches in one database

Not using sources to find other sources


More potential mistakes in academic research:

Not taking the time to learn about the databases

Thinking too narrowly about your topic Taking sources at face value, especially

if you agree with them Using the first sources you find on the

topic Choosing poor key words and/or search

strategies


Develop a strong thesis statement… Make a debatable assertion that states the

conclusions that you have reached about your topic.

Make a promise to the reader about the scope, purpose, and direction of your paper.

Make sure the thesis is focused and specific enough to be "proven" within the boundaries of your paper.

Identify the relationships between the pieces of evidence that you are using to support your argument.


Assigned Topic: “Analyze Spain's neutrality in World War II”

Narrowed version of topic: “Franco’s role in the diplomatic relationships between the Allies and the Axis”

Avoids generalities such as “Spain” and “World War II”

Addresses instead Franco's role (a specific aspect of

"Spain") Diplomatic relations between the

Allies and Axis (a specific aspect of World War II).


The “controlling idea” for your thesis will emerge from your evidence.

As you consider your evidence, look for: patterns emerging data repeated in more than one source facts that favor one view more than another

These patterns or data may then lead you to some conclusions about your topic and suggest that you can successfully argue for one idea better than another.


Imagine that you discover, for instance, that Franco first tried to negotiate with the Axis, but when he couldn't get some concessions that he wanted from them, he turned to the Allies.

This information may allow you to conclude that Spain's neutrality in WWII occurred for an entirely personal reason: Franco’s desire to preserve his own (and Spain's) power.


Based on this conclusion, you can then write a trial thesis statement to help you decide what material belongs in your paper.As you work on your thesis, remember to keep the rest of your paper in mind at all times.

Your thesis may need to evolve as you develop new insights, find new evidence, or take a different approach to your topic.


You must be willing to reject or omit some evidence in order to keep your paper cohesive and your reader focused; or, you may have to revise your thesis to match the evidence and insights that you want to discuss. As you work, read your draft carefully, noting the conclusions you have drawn and the major ideas which support or prove those conclusions. These will be the elements of your final thesis statement.


Sometimes you will not be able to identify these elements in your early drafts, but as you consider how your argument is developing and how your evidence supports your main idea, ask yourself… “What is the main point that I want to

prove/discuss?” “How will I convince the reader that this is

true?”

When you can answer these questions, then you can begin to refine the thesis statement.


Sample Assignment:Choose an activity and define it as a symbol of American culture. Your essay should cause the reader to think critically about the society which produces and enjoys that activity.

Inadequate Thesis:“The phenomenon of drive-in facilities is an interesting symbol of American culture, and these facilities demonstrate significant characteristics of our society.”

Analysis: This statement does not fulfill the assignment because it does not require the reader to think critically about society.


Improved Thesis:“Drive-ins are an interesting symbol of American culture because they represent Americans’ significant creativity and business ingenuity.”

Analysis: This statement is better because it is more precise, identifying two American characteristics that drive-ins appear to symbolize. However, this statement also seems to be one that few would argue with, so it is not really debatable.


More debatable and more interesting:“Among the types of drive-in facilities familiar during the twentieth century, drive-in movie theaters best represent American creativity, not merely because they were the forerunner of later drive-ins and drive-throughs, but because of their impact on our culture; they changed our relationship to the automobile, changed the way people experienced movies, and changed movie-going into a family activity.”

Analysis: This statement introduces a new idea, and it is genuinely debatable.


Even Better:“While drive-in facilities such as those at fast-food establishments, banks, pharmacies, and dry cleaners symbolize America’s economic ingenuity, they have also negatively affected our personal standards.”

Analysis: The shift in sentence structure (“factual” information in a dependent clause, with the arguable material as the independent clause) changes the focus of this statement and makes the debatable quality of the thesis more obvious.


Strongest thesis example:“While drive-in facilities such as those at fast-food restaurants, banks, pharmacies, and dry cleaners symbolize Americans’ business ingenuity, they have also contributed to an increasing homogenization of our culture, a willingness to depersonalize relationships with others, and a tendency to sacrifice quality for convenience.”

Analysis: This statement no longer presents a self-evident fact; all the points here will have to be proven with evidence in the body of the paper.


Deductive Logic – The Syllogism

Example:Major Premise: All men are mortal.Minor Premise: Socrates is a man.Conclusion: Therefore, Socrates is mortal.


Notice that the order of the syllogism is the reverse of the Toulmin argument:

Conclusion = Claim (thesis) Socrates is mortal.

Minor Premise = Evidence (specific observation) Socrates is a man.

Major Premise = Warrant (assumption) All men are mortal.


Major Premise: Non-renewable resources

do not exist in infinite supply.Minor Premise: Coal is a non-renewable

resource.From these two premises, only one

logical conclusion is available:Conclusion: Coal does not exist in

infinitesupply.


Often, deductive logic requires several premises to reach a conclusion.

Premise 1: All monkeys are primates.Premise 2: All primates are

mammals.Premise 3: All mammals are

vertebrate animals.

Conclusion: Monkeys are vertebrate animals.


Deductive logic allows specific conclusions to be drawn from general premises.

Major Premise: All squares are rectangles.

Minor Premise: Figure 1 is a square.

Conclusion: Figure 1 is also a rectangle.


Notice that logic requires decisive statements in order to work. Therefore, this syllogism is false:

Major Premise: Some quadrilaterals are squares.

Minor Premise: Figure 1 is a quadrilateral.Conclusion: Figure 1 is a square.

This syllogism is false because not enough information is provided to allow a verifiable conclusion. Figure 1 could just as likely be a rectangle, which is also a quadrilateral.


Logic can also mislead when it is based on premises that an audience does not accept. For instance:

Major Premise:People with red hair are not good at

checkers.Minor Premise: Bill has red hair.Conclusion: Bill is not good at checkers.

Within the syllogism, the conclusion is logically valid. However, it is only true if an audience accepts the Major Premise, which is very unlikely. This is an example of how logical statements can appear accurate while being completely false.


Logical conclusions also depend on which factors are recognized and ignored by the premises. Therefore, different premises could lead to very different conclusions about the same subject. For instance, these two syllogisms about the platypus reveal the limits of logic for handling ambiguous cases:Major Premise: All birds lay eggs.Minor Premise: Platypuses lay eggs.Conclusion: Platypuses are birds.

Major Premise: All mammals have fur.

Minor Premise: Platypuses have fur.Conclusion: Platypuses are mammals.


Understanding how syllogisms work can help you build a stronger argument by helping you foresee relational problems between your claim (conclusion) and your evidence and warrant (major and minor premises).Clear understanding of your own logic can also help you avoid logical fallacies (unreasonable argumentative tactics) that can arise from misguided or dishonest uses of legitimate argumentative strategies.


Hasty GeneralizationIn a single year, scores on standardized tests in California’s public schools rose by ten points. Therefore, more children than ever are succeeding in America’s public school systems.

False AnalogyIf we can put humans on the moon, we should be able to find a cure for the common cold.


Post Hoc, Ergo Propter Hoc (faulty cause and effect)

Since Governor Cho took office, unemployment of minorities in the state has decreased by 7 percent. Gov. Cho should be applauded for reducing unemployment among minorities.

False Dichotomy (faulty either/or reasoning)Our current war against drugs has not worked. Either we should legalize drugs or we should turn the drug war over to our armed forces and let them fight it.


Non Sequitur (argument with missing cause)Violent crime is increasing.Therefore, we should vigorously enforce the death penalty.

Ad Hominem (personal attack or name calling)Senator Johnson’s new tax bill has some good points, but I oppose it. Johnson has been divorced five times and he may be charged with fraud in the future.


Slippery Slope (appeal to consequences)If we allow the legislature to outlaw smoking in public, the next thing we know it will be against the law to eat doughnuts and Big Macs.

Circular Reasoning (begging the question)The President is a good communicator because he speaks effectively.


False AuthorityMrs. Smith (personal communication, July 21, 2010), owner of The Daily Grind Coffee Shop, insisted that pregnant mothers need not be concerned about the effect of caffeine consumption on the behavior of their unborn children.

Faulty Emotional AppealThe only opposition to this proposal comes from narrow-minded, do-gooder environmentalists who care more about trees and fish than they do about people.


By the end of Unit 6, you will turn in:

1. an outline or map of your chosen topic

2. a freewrite about the topic3. a preliminary thesis statement for

your major project, which will be a persuasive essay on the topic you’ve chosen.


Our discussion this week will focus on three things you need to know, based on what you have discovered in your freewriting and mapping/outlining of the topic.


As you work, please let me know if I can be of any assistance.

Good luck, and see you in the DB!Vicki Hill

[email protected]

Documents

LS526-01 Seminar 6 Unit 6 Seminar Dr. Vicki Hill Planning the Major Project Constructing a Thesis Using Deductive Logic Avoiding Logical Fallacies Sources