Critical Reasoning — Fundamental Concepts

Fundamental Concepts

Argument skeleton

Conclusion: — the claim or recommendation to be assessed.
Premises: — the evidence offered in its support.
Assumption: — an unstated link on which the reasoning depends.
Alternative explanation: — another account compatible with the observations.
Objection: — a reason to reduce confidence in the conclusion or its justification.

Match the operation

Strengthen: add support to the existing link. Weaken: reduce that support. Assumption: identify a required bridge. Inference: derive a conclusion already supported by the passage. These operations should not be answered interchangeably.

Common fault lines

Check whether a survey sample represents the conclusion's population. Separate a count from its rate and a total from its per-person value. Distinguish a sequence of events from a causal relation. Test whether an observed trial result can justify a permanent or universal policy. Check whether a necessary condition has been treated as sufficient.

Compact worked check

Defects: 20 out of 1,000 before, 15 out of 500 after. Counts fell, but rates rose from 2 to 3 percent. The denominator therefore weakens a claim of improved quality based only on the count. It does not determine every aspect of quality or the cause of the change.

For each answer, write: “The argument concludes ___ because ___. This option changes the link by ___.” If that sentence cannot be completed specifically, the option may only be related to the topic.