Page 42 - Smart Thinking: Skills for Critical Understanding and Writing, 2nd Ed

LINKING: THE KEY PROCESS IN REASONING 29

2. Car exhaust emissions are one of the most significant causes of air
pollution.
3. If we are going to tackle the problem of improving the environment,
we should concentrate on the major causes of pollution.
4. It is relatively simple to fit the appropriate anti-pollution device.
5. Fitting appropriate anti-pollution devices will not cause dramatic
social and economic upheavals in the way people live.

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Can you see how the two forms (narrative flow and analytic structure) say
roughly the same thing? In the narrative flow, the linking phrase 'My reasoning for
this view is as follows' signals that the following claims are premises for the con-
clusion before them. In the diagram, this connection is indicated by the arrow
symbol [-1] connecting claims 2-5 with claim 1. In such a diagram we always put
the conclusion-claim at the bottom (no matter what number we give it). We do this
because, logically, the premises lead to the conclusion, and positioning the con-
clusion at the bottom reminds us of this crucial process. So, obviously, the premises
go above the conclusion.
Certain words in the narrative flow, such as 'and' and 'also', are not included in
the numbered list of claims. Why? Well, because the work that those words do
(tying the premises together) is shown in the analytical structure diagram by the
plus symbol (+). Furthermore, to indicate that all four premises work together to
support the conclusion, the diagram uses a horizontal line to 'group' these premises
( ). Finally, note that claims explicitly state the missing subject which was not
included in the narrative flow.

What the analytical structure format offers

The analytical structure format, then, is a much clearer way of showing the exact
claims being made and the ways in which they relate to one another. This
format, by representing the connections between claims through the standard-
ised form of the diagram, avoids all of the vagaries of the English language that
we have already seen, with its myriad ways of signalling what is the conclusion
and what are the premises. By listing the claims as distinct entities, it also over-
comes complex sentence formations, with multiple claims within sentences,