Critical Thought — Inference (II)

1. Critical Thought—Inference (II)

2. Joining words • Conjunctions, transitional words and phrases that indicate logical relationships between ideas and therefore often help us to make this distinction. • Cf. I didn’t drink because I had problems. I had problems because I drank.

3. 連接詞性質 • P.74表之中文化 • 和、與、以及 • 一方面…另一方面 • 或 • 因為…所以 • 因此 • 不但…而且 • 雖然…但是 • 若然… • 如果…

4. 文章討論：〈地上地(supertopia)〉董啟章 • 1. 找出連結詞 • 2. 討論文章之argument • 3. argument與連接詞的關係

5. 並且 不是…而是 如果…則 得…才能 也就是說… 換言之… 事實上… 相反地… 所以… 甚至是…

6. 討論 • Joining sentences for logic and fluency • 以自己的文章為對象，思考自己如何運用連接詞來架構邏輯關係 • 交換閱讀

7. Argument and explanation—distinctions • An argument is an attempt to establish a basis for belief, for the acceptability of your conclusion. In argument, you present reasons for your conclusion in order to convince someone of your point of view. • In explanation, you are clarifying why something has happened or why you hold a given opinion.

8. Argument structure, logical essay, organization, and revision • When we put arguments into standard form, we ask critical questions: Is this assertion the conclusion, the focus of the argument? Or is it a premise supporting the conclusion? Or does it support another premise? • Asking and answering these questions sharpens our analytical skills and enables us to read more critically.

9. Standard form can provide an outline of the argument, an excellent aid in essay organization. • Such an outline states the thesis of the essay—the conclusion of the argument—and each premise signals a new point to be developed. • If you have thought out your argument carefully before you start writing, you will find that putting it in standard form can lead to a good working outline from which to proceed.

10. Or you may find that you can impose standard form on your argument only when you have done some writing. This kind of outlining is particularly helpful in the revision stage of your paper.

11. After writing a rough first draft of your argument, if time permits, put it away for a few hours. When you return to it, approach it as if you are a reader. • Focus on the bones of the argument—the conclusion and the premises that support it. • Write this skeleton of your draft in standard form. Now you are in an ideal position to evaluate the foundation of your argument—before proceeding to matters of development (well-supported premises), coherence, style, and mechanics.

12. If the structure of your argument has problem—for example, information you initially saw as serving as a premise in your first draft, you now see does not directly support the conclusion—the time has come to repair any cracks you find in the foundation of your argument. This solid foundation makes the rest of the writing process less difficult and ultimately more successful.

13. summaries（p.69） • One way to explore an argument and reveal the important premises leading to a conclusion is to write a summary. • Summary come in many lengths • Complete and concise • To meet these conflicting goals, you must convey the essence of the whole piece without copying whole passages verbatim or emphasizing inappropriate feature of the argument.

14. Background information, detailed premise support, and narrative illustrations are usually omitted from summaries. • Paraphrases of ideas—the author’s meaning expressed in your own words—rather than direct quotations, except for a critically important phrase or two, are preferred.

15. Strategies for writing summary • P.70

16. exercise • 以之前對於argument與summary的討論為基礎，summarize〈地上地(supertopia)〉

17. Reason, intuition, and imagination • Critical thinking involves more than logical analysis. The creative imagination adds another dimension. • Intuition, imagination, and creativity as well as logic are ways of knowing. • Our theory of critical thinking welcomes originality, encourages personal opinion, and considers paradox and ambiguity to be central to thinking and writing well, reflecting the world as we know it.

18. 運用想像力的推論 • 蔡銀娟之畫作〈廚房〉 • 人籟論辨月刊

20. 林布蘭(Rembrandt va Ryn, 1606-69) • Portrait of Himself and Sakia （28歲時之作品） • Self-portrait （58歲時之作品）

25. 一個人有兩個兒子，那小的向父親說: 父親，請把我應得的一份家產給我罷!父親遂把產業給他們分開了。過了不多幾天，小兒子把所有的一切都收拾起來，就往遠方去了。他在那裏荒淫度日，耗費他的資財。當他把所有的都揮霍盡了以後，那地方正遇著大荒年，他便開始窮困起來。他去投靠當地的一個居民；那人打發他到自己的莊田去放豬。他恨不能拿豬吃的豆莢來果腹，可是沒有人給他。他反躬自問：我父親有多少傭工，都口糧豐盛，我在這裏反要餓死! 我要起身到我父親那裏去，並且要給他說：父親! 我得罪了天，也得罪了你。我不配再稱作你的兒子，把我當作你的一個傭工罷!

26. 他便起身到他父親那裏去了。他離得還遠的時候，他父親就看見了他，他動了憐憫的心，跑上前去，撲到他的脖子上，熱情地親吻他。 兒子向他說：父親，我得罪了天，也得罪了你，我不配再稱作你的兒子了! 父親卻吩咐自己的僕人說：你們快拿出上等的袍子來給他穿上，把戒指戴在他手上，給他腳上穿上鞋，再把那隻肥牛犢牽來宰了，我們應吃喝歡宴，因為我這個兒子是死而復生，失而復得了；他們就歡宴起來。

27. Writing Process • WLTC, Ch.1: 11-25 • VR, Ch. 1: 11-30 • Class exercise: 1. your writing process • 2. checklist for critiquing personal writing • Homework: feedback to each other（11/7交）

28. To find a source of information • Clarify the writing goal • Writing from personal experience

29. The first thing to remember is that you are unique. • Things happen in the world that affect you, but they affect you in a specific way because you are yourself and not someone else. • The interplay of personal uniqueness and outside events can supply raw material for informative, worthwhile, and interesting essays.

30. Brainstorming • Free writing • Issue tress

31. Peer critiquing • Checking lists of pp.17-18 • What did I find interesting? • What does it look like I can learn from this? • What insights caught my attention? • What sentence or section seemed best? • What sentence or section seemed weakest? • What parts would I like to see explained more?

32. What parts should be omitted? • What parts seemed real? • What part seemed phony? • What parts did the author really care about? • What part seemed worth writing an essay about? • What idea held the whole piece together? • What was the most important idea? • What idea might tie the different points together?

33. Peer feedback • 交換閱讀每個人的書寫計劃說明 • 盡量問問題 • 給提問者的回饋

34. Drafting the essay • A draft is an attempt to impose structure on the ideas that you have been generating. • To create a first draft, study the comments that your peers have made in order to find a topic that is both interesting and productive.