Page 206 - Smart Thinking: Skills for Critical Understanding and Writing, 2nd Ed

GUIDE TO IMPORTANT SKILLS 193
How do I make sure that my essays and presentations go into enough
depth to be convincing?
Make sure that you expand the reasons for your conclusion so that they are com-
prehensive and form a chain of dependent premises. (See pp 40—5, 71—4.)

How are knowledge and reasoning connected?
They are two aspects of the same whole: knowledge is expressed and learnt as
reasoning; reasoning utilises and relies on knowledge. (See pp 104-6, 109—13.)

How would I define reasoning, and what can it do for me?
Reasoning is about the relationships between ideas and events; using it helps you
to think smart and communicate effectively. (See pp 1-9.)

How can I make sure that I am being relevant?
Make sure that your premises really do say something that supports your conclu-
sion and that your audience understands this connection. (See pp 75-80.)

What do I need to know if I want to use specific cases and general rules
in my arguments?
You need to understand the way in which general conclusions can flow from
specific cases and how general rules provide the framework for establishing specific
conclusions. (See pp 96-9, 108.)

How can I improve the structure and logic of my essays, reports, and
presentations?
Use the analytical structure format to plan your work before you begin writing. (See
pp 34-6, 128-32.)

Why is the truth (or falsity) of claims so important?
All arguments and explanations are designed to establish the truth of one claim on
the basis of other true claims. (See pp 12-13, 61-7.)