Zaid Ali Alsagoff

zaid.alsagoff@gmail.com
Module 3:
Arguments
Part 1
All-Star Wrestling = Real?
Is All-Star Wrestling real?
Do you watch Wrestling?
Do you like Wrestling?
Why do you like Wrestling?
Do You Agree? Why?
The National Education Blueprint is aimed at bringing about a major change in the education system.
Below we compare the characteristics of a student today and what the blueprint promises in 2010 (NST, 18/01-2007).
The Student in 2007 The Student in 2010
Lacks confidence Self-confident
Lacks communication skills Able to communicate well
Lacks leadership skills Has leadership skills
May not be able to speak proper English Able to speak good English
Too dependent on tuition Wont be dependent on tuition
Does not mix freely with students of other races Mixes freely with students of other races
Studies in a very exam-oriented environment Studies in an environment that is not too
exam-oriented
Not IT-savvy Is IT-savvy
Not creative and innovative Is creative and innovative
May not take part in co-curricular activities Takes part in more co-curricular activities
May not know how to read, write and count Has no problems with reading, writing or
counting
Is not very marketable More marketable
You must
unlearn what
you have
learned.

Module 3: Arguments - Part 1 (of 3)
1. Distinguishing
Fact & Opinion
7. Evaluating
Arguments
2. What is an Argument?
5. Deduction &
Induction
6. Analyzing
Arguments
8. Writing
Arguments
3. Identifying Premises
& Conclusions
4. What Is Not
an Argument?
3.1 Distinguishing Fact & Opinion
Vince Carter is a
Basketball Player. He
plays in the NBA and
represented USA in the
Sydney Olympic Games
2000. He is currently the
best player in the NBA.
Facts and
Opinions,
please
identify.
3.1 Distinguishing Fact & Opinion
Fact = Can be proved or disproved
Opinion = Personal Belief

Gubra starts at 9.00 pm. Its a great movie!

3.1 Facts
Tell who, what, when, where, or how much.
Have a verifiable truth value.
Can be quantified and is specific.
Are supported by evidence.
Fact Opinion
KL is the capital of Malaysia. KL is the best city in the world.
UNITAR is a University in
Malaysia.
I love studying at UNITAR.
Yao Ming is more than 7 feet tall. Yao Ming is very good looking.
(Source: The Oxford American Dictionary of Current English in English Dictionaries and Thesauruses; 2003)
"A fact is a thing that
is occurred, to exist,
or to be true."
3.1 Opinions
Tend to be vague.
Are personal beliefs or value judgments.

Fact Opinion
KL is the capital of Malaysia. KL is the best city in the world.
UNITAR is a University in Malaysia. I love studying at UNITAR.
Yao Ming is more than 7 feet tall. Yao Ming is very good looking.
An opinion is a view about a particular issue.
It is what the person believes or thinks, and
is not necessarily the truth.
Some Opinion Clues
Judging
Good, Better, Best, Bad, Worse,
Worst, Should, Must
Predicting
Will
Shall
3.1 Exercise I: iPhone
Every once in a while a revolutionary product comes
along that changes everything It's the ultimate
digital device. It's like having your life in your pocket.

The iPhone will be ultra-slim - less than half-an-inch
(1.3cm) thick - boasting a phone, Internet capability
and an MP3 player as well as featuring a two
megapixel digital camera

Facts and
Opinions,
please
identify.
I am Steve
Jobs, so you can
trust me.
3.1 Exercise I: iPhone
This is a leapfrog product with a revolutionary new
interface with software five years ahead of any
other phone and desktop class applications, not
those crippled applications you find on those other
phones

"Most advanced phones are called smart phone.
But they are actually not so smart, and really not so
easy to use. When you get a chance to get your
hands on it, I think you'll agree, we've reinvented
the phone.
Facts and
Opinions,
please
identify.
I am Steve
Jobs, so you can
trust me.
3.1 Exercise II: Read the Article
Making of the Creative Student
Facts and
Opinions, please
identify.
3.2 What Is an Argument?

Argument - A form of thinking in which certain statements
(reasons) are offered in support of another statement (a
conclusion).
Premises (Reasons) - Statements that support another
statement (known as a conclusion), justify it, or make it
more probable.
Conclusion - A statement that explains, asserts, or predicts
on the basis of statements (known as reasons) that are
offered as evidence for it.
A Claim Defended with Reasons.
3.2 Example A Simple Argument
1. Lawyers earn a lot of money. (Premise)
2. I want to earn a lot of money. (Premise)
3. I should become a Lawyer. (Conclusion)
TIPS
3.3 Identifying Premises & Conclusions
Look for premise indicators that provide clues when
premises are being offered.
Examples: because, since, for, given that, as,
judging from, and seeing that.

Look for conclusion indicators that provide clues
when conclusions are being offered.
Examples: therefore, thus, hence, so, as a result,
accordingly, consequently, and which shows that.
3.3 Identifying Premises & Conclusions
If the passage contains no indicator words, try
these two strategies:
Ask yourself, "What claim is the writer or
speaker trying to prove?" That claim will be
the conclusion.
Try putting the word "therefore" before each of
the statements in turn. The statement it fits best
will be the conclusion.
TIPS
3.3 Exercise 1
Make a will. Otherwise, the state
will determine who gets your stuff.

(Andrew Tobias, "Isn't It Time You Faced the Future?" 2001)
Identify the
premise(s)
and
conclusion of
this
argument.
3.3 Exercise 2
Research universities also must aggressively
support teaching. After all, a significant
percentage of their students are
undergraduates, and such institutions are
clearly obligated to provide them a quality
education.

Ernest L. Boyer, Scholarship Reconsidered, 1990)
Identify the
premise(s) and
conclusion of
this argument.
3.3 Exercise 3
No one who observes people can pretend
that in fact they always seek anything like
their own long-run advantage. If this were the
case only stupidity could explain how
frequently and obviously they act contrary to
their own long-run advantage. People are not
that stupid!
(Charles Hartshorne and Creighton Peden, Whitehead's View of Reality, 1981)
Identify the
premise(s) and
conclusion of
this argument.
3.3 Exercise 4
We have good reason to believe that people will exist
in the future and that they will be similar enough to us
that we can have a good idea of what their well-being
requires. Knowing this and knowing that our present
actions can influence their future well-being, it is
reasonable to conclude that future people must be
given some ethical consideration by presently living
human beings.

(Joseph R. DesJardins, Environmental Ethics: An Introduction to Environmental Philosophy, 3rd ed., 2001)
Identify the
premise(s) and
conclusion of
this argument.
3.4 What Is Not an Argument?
More precisely, a passage is an argument if and only if:

It is a group of two or more statements.
One of those statements (the conclusion) is claimed
or intended to be supported by the other(s) (the
premises).
An argument is a claim defended with reasons.
3.4 What Is Not an Argument?
Notice three important things that follow from this definition:

Arguments consist entirely of statements (sentences that it
makes sense to regard as either true or false). Questions,
commands, and other kinds of non-statements cannot be parts of
arguments (Keep in mind, however, that rhetorical questions should
be treated as statements.).

No single statement is an argument. Arguments always consist of
at least two statements.

Nothing counts as an argument unless it is claimed or intended that
one statement follows from one or more other statements in the
passage. In other words, a passage is an argument only if the
speaker or writer intends to offer evidence or reasons why another
statement should be accepted as true.
3.4 What Is Not an Argument?
Five kinds of passages that are sometimes confused with arguments
are:
Reports

A statement or group of statements intended simply
to convey information about a subject.
Unsupported
statements of belief or
opinions
Is a statement or set of statements in which the
speaker or writer expresses his or her personal
opinion, but offers no reasons or evidence to back up
that opinion.
Illustrations
Is a passage intended to provide examples that
illustrate or support a claim, not to provide convincing
evidence that the claim is true.
Conditional Statements
Is an if-then statement. It is an assertion that such-
and-such is true if something else is true.
Explanations
Is a statement or set of statements that seeks to
provide an account of why something has occurred or
why something is the case.
3.4 Example: Report
Planet Earth was much drier in the Triassic than it is
now, and there were large deserts in inland areas.
There were no flowering plants or grasses--they
evolved much later. The most common trees were
conifers, similar to today's pines. Other large plants
included yews, ginkgos, and the palmlike cycads.
Moisture-loving ferns and horsetails thrived by lakes
and rivers.

(Philip Whitfield, Simon & Schuster's Children's Guide to Dinosaurs and Other
Prehistoric Animals, 1992)
3.4 Example: Unsupported statements of
belief or opinion
For the person who called and said Larry Bird was
better than Michael Jordan, wake up. No one was
ever better than Michael Jordan, not even Kareem
in his glory and not even Dr. J.

(From a newspaper call-in column)
3.4 Example: Illustration
Almost all groups agree in holding other groups to
be inferior to themselves. The American Indians
looked upon themselves as the chosen people,
specially created by the Great Spirit as an
uplifting example for mankind. One Indian tribe
called itself "The Only Men"; another called itself
"Men of Men"; the Caribs said, "We alone are
people."

(Will Durant, Our Oriental Heritage, 1935)
3.4 Example: Conditional Statement
If Aida comes to the wedding then I will
come to the wedding.
3.4 Example: Explanation
I speak good English because my parents
encouraged me to practice it everyday.
Group Activity
Break into groups of 4 - 6, read the article provided (Title: Making of the Creative
Student, NST, 18/01-2007) and then reflect, discuss and answer the following
questions:
Yes? Which of the The Student in 2007 characteristics do you have
(your perception)?
Why? Please discuss Why do you think that you lack this/these
characteristic(s)?
How? How can the education system (or student) encourage/facilitate
The Student in 2010 characteristics?

* Use the template provided by your lecturer.
20 min Group discussion
5 min Summarize discussion findings
15 min Group presentation & discussion
The Group leader must submit their findings in hard or soft-copy format to the lecturer
before or during the next class.
Summary
1. Distinguishing
Fact & Opinion
Fact = Can be proved or disproved
Opinion = Personal Belief
2. What is an Argument?
An argument is a claim defended with reasons.
3. Identifying Premises
& Conclusions

Look for premise indicators that provide clues when
premises are being offered (e.g. because, since, for).
Look for conclusion indicators that provide clues when
conclusions are being offered (e.g. therefore, thus,
hence, so).
If the passage contains no indicator words, try these
two strategies: 1) Ask yourself, "What claim is the writer
or speaker trying to prove?" That claim will be the
conclusion. 2)Try putting the word "therefore" before
each of the statements in turn. The statement it fits
best will be the conclusion.
4. What Is Not
an Argument?
Five kinds of passages that are sometimes confused
with arguments are: Reports, Unsupported statements
of belief or opinions, Illustrations, Conditional
Statements, and Explanations
Any Questions?
The End
Contact Details

Zaid Ali Alsagoff

UNIVERSITI TUN ABDUL RAZAK
16-5, Jalan SS 6/12
47301 Kelana Jaya
Selangor Darul Ehsan
Malaysia
E-mail: zaid.alsagoff@gmail.com

Tel: 603-7627 7238
Fax: 603-7627 7246
References
Online Resources
Courseware
Module 7: http://cw.unitar.edu.my/ugb2013/c7/index.htm

Books
Chapter 2: G Bassham, W Irwin, H Nardone, J M Wallace, Critical Thinking: A Student's
Introduction, McGraw-Hill International Edition, 2007
Chapter 10: John Chaffee, Thinking Critically, 6th Edition, Houghton Mifflin, Boston, 2000

Graphics
Rock Cartoon: http://www.homestead.com/jasonpaulhamus/files/wrestling/rock3.jpg
Rock Bottom slam: http://content.answers.com/main/content/wp/en/thumb/e/ee/250px-
Rockbottom.jpg
John Cena: http://www.photosleeve.com/d/42473-1/cena.JPG
Batista: http://sportsmedia.ign.com/sports/image/article/635/635699/batista-animal-
unleashed-20050721053017434.jpg
Triple H: http://www.thestunner.4mg.com/images/cool%20triple%20h%20cut.gif
Stone Cold: http://images.quizilla.com/A/AjLake/1074381314_sStoneCold.jpg
Hulk Hogan: http://sportsmedia.ign.com/sports/image/article/630/630882/hulk-hogan-
interview-20050701022156947.jpg
Vince Carter Dunk: http://www.usabasketball.com/images/carter_dunk_france_220.jpg
Yoda: http://swg.stratics.com/content/lore/personas/images/yoda.gif