Page 41 - Smart Thinking: Skills for Critical Understanding and Writing, 2nd Ed

28 SMART THINKING: SKILLS FOR CRITICAL UNDERSTANDING & WRITING
your reasoning, but they are the result of your thought processes. Simply putting
in a word such as 'thus' or 'because' cannot make unlinked claims magically
become an argument.
In other words, we must think through the analytical structure of our ideas
before we express them in words. If we do this, and have some proficiency in
writing, then the proper signals and traces of our analysis will emerge through our
texts. If we simply learn to 'write' (rather than 'think'), then it is unlikely that our
analysis will improve. No matter how hard we try to 'write better', we will often
fail. 2
The complex ways in which we signal the links in language are well suited to
the requirements of naturally expressing our arguments and explanations. But they
impede us in trying to understand and control our reasoning processes. First of all,
links between claims precede and exist independently of their written expression.
Because of the ways in which we use language, it is often hard to see the 'logic' in
what someone is saying or writing, and probably harder still to write and speak
ourselves in ways that make clear to our audience just what the reasoning is behind
our views. The solution is to find a format or way of writing that breaks reasoning
down into two components: first, the claims and, second, the way in which they
are linked together.

The analytical structure of reasoning

Representing the analytical structure
There two ways of understanding what we read and write. First, there is what I am
calling the narrative flow, that is, words arranged into sentences, and then divided
into paragraphs. Second, there is the analytical structure, which is expressed in a list
of claims and a diagram or picture showing how they are related to one another.
Imagine that we have been asked to give our views on the environment by stating
one action that people should take to help improve the world's environment. The
following is an argument on this topic in the narrative flow format:
All motor cars should be fitted with devices that reduce the pollution
caused by their exhausts. My reasoning for this view is as follows. Car
exhaust emissions are one of the most significant causes of air
pollution, and if we are going to tackle the problem of improving the
environment, we should concentrate on the major causes of pollution.
Also, it is relatively simple to fit the appropriate anti-pollution device
and will not cause dramatic social and economic upheavals in the way
people live.
But there is another way to express the argument, picking out the key claims
and the links between them:
1. All motor cars should be fitted with devices that reduce the pollution
caused by their exhausts.