Two Kinds of Arguments 44 Deductive Arguments 44 Inductive Arguments 45 Beyond a Reasonable Doubt 48 Deduction. Induction, and Unstated premises 48 Techniques for Understanding Arguments 50 Clarifying an Argument's Structure 51 Distinguishing Arguments from Window Dressing 53 Evaluating Arguments 54 Exercises Chapter 3 Clear Thinking, Critical Thinking, and Clear Writing 69 Vagueness 71 Ambiguity 75 Semantic Ambiguity 76 Grouping Ambiguity 77 Syntactic Ambiguity 80 Generality 82 Defining Terms Purposes of Definitions 84 Kinds of definitions 86 Some Tips on Definitions 86 Writing Argumentative Essays 87 Good Writing Practices 89 Essay Types to Avoid 8 Persuasive Writing Writing in a Diverse Society 91 Recap 92 Exerci Chapter 4 Credibility 105 The Claim and Its source 107 Assessing the Content of the Claim 111 Does the Claim Conflict with Our Personal Observations? 111 Does the Claim Conflict with Our Background Information? 114Revised Pages iv CONTENTS Two Kinds of Arguments 44 Deductive Arguments 44 Inductive Arguments 45 Beyond a Reasonable Doubt 48 Deduction, Induction, and Unstated Premises 48 Techniques for Understanding Arguments 50 Clarifying an Argument’s Structure 51 Distinguishing Arguments from Window Dressing 53 Evaluating Arguments 54 Recap 55 Exercises 55 Chapter 3 Clear Thinking, Critical Thinking, and Clear Writing 69 Vagueness 71 Ambiguity 75 Semantic Ambiguity 76 Grouping Ambiguity 77 Syntactic Ambiguity 80 Generality 82 Defining Terms 82 Purposes of Definitions 84 Kinds of Definitions 86 Some Tips on Definitions 86 Writing Argumentative Essays 87 Good Writing Practices 89 Essay Types to Avoid 89 Persuasive Writing 90 Writing in a Diverse Society 91 Recap 92 Exercises 93 Chapter 4 Credibility 105 The Claim and Its Source 107 Assessing the Content of the Claim 111 Does the Claim Conflict with Our Personal Observations? 111 Does the Claim Conflict with Our Background Information? 114 moo86677_fm_i-xxii.indd iv 6/23/08 3:45:13 PM