Argument Basics
A set of statements where some serve as premises and one serves as the conclusion is called this.
What is an argument?
In this type of argument, the conclusion necessarily follows from the premises.
What is a deductive argument?
Statements that explain why or how something is the case but do not attempt to prove a conclusion are called these.
What are explanations?
Facts, statistics, or examples used to support a claim.
What is evidence?
This criterion asks whether an argument is clear and unambiguous.
What is clarity?
The main point an argument is trying to prove.
What is a conclusion?
This type of argument has a conclusion that is not fully guaranteed by its premises.
What is an inductive argument?
This type of statement follows an “If…then…” structure but is not an argument.
What is a conditional statement?
A trustworthy and knowledgeable source is considered this.
What is credible?
This type of thinking starts with the conclusion and works backward to find premises.
What is bottom-up thinking?
A statement that provides support for a conclusion.
What is a premise?
An argument that claims one event leads to another.
What is a cause-and-effect argument?
The “if” portion of a conditional statement is known by this term.
What is the antecedent?
This evaluation criterion asks whether premises actually matter to proving the conclusion.
What is relevance?
This approach begins with premises and determines what conclusion follows from them.
What is top-down thinking?
An argument always contains premises, a conclusion, and this connecting element.
What is an inference?
An argument that eliminates alternatives to support a conclusion.
What is an argument by elimination?
The “then” portion of a conditional statement is known as this.
What is the consequent?
Evidence that comes from systematic investigation and data collection.
What is empirical evidence?
An argument is strong when the premises make the conclusion this.
What is probable?
Statements such as commands, questions, and exclamations are excluded from being this.
What is a proposition?
An argument that compares two similar things to draw a conclusion.
What is an analogy?
Misrepresenting someone’s argument to make it easier to attack.
What is a straw man fallacy?
When evidence directly relates to the claim being made, it is this.
What is relevant?
Identifying assumptions helps uncover hidden ____ in an argument.
What are premises?