Critical Thinking in Management

Developing/Constructing Arguments

K Hilliger
 Constructing Arguments
Constructing
Recognising Arguments
Arguments
Decide, Explain,
Cue words Predict, Persuade
ARGUMENT:
A form of thinking in
which certain reasons
Distinguishing Forms of
are offered to support a
Arguments
conclusion.
Deductive: Reasoning from
Evaluating
premises to a conclusion
Arguments
that follows logically.
Truth,
Inductive: Reasoning from
Validity,
premises to a conclusion
Soundness
that does not follow
logically K Hilliger
 Assignments

• You will be required to write in certain genres &

use the conventions of that genre: essays, reports,
reviews, discussion papers
• You will present information, discussions etc
through presentations also.

Essay techniques
Critical thinking

K Hilliger
 Essays: Informative or expository
• Choose material according to a controlling focus which frames
& limits your choice of ideas & information.
• Then, choose main points which explain, describe, define or
illustrate significant aspects of your particular topic or question.
• In your introduction you justify why you have chosen these
main points & not others.
• Your controlling focus is your view of the aspects that are most
significant.

E.g.If your topic is to explain the different treatments of capital

and income under income tax law, you choose the three main
points which seem to you to be the most significant in
explaining these differences.

K Hilliger
 Essays: Argumentative
• You must have an argument that consists of a thesis which is
supported by a number of reasons (or premises) & each of these
reasons will form a main point in the essay.
• The thesis you choose to develop will depend on your position,
your interests and world views. It is the thesis, and the reasons
you choose to support this thesis, that helps to make the essay
distinctively yours.
• You may take a perspective from others.

E.g. You hold a conservationist position on the question of deep

sea fishing. Your argument consists of the thesis that fishing
quotas should be implemented; your reasons are the declining fish
stocks and the impact on the food chain. You support your
reasons with evidence & examples.
K Hilliger
 Definition of an “Argument”
• When we offer reasons to support a conclusion, we are
considered to be presenting an argument.
Argument = A form of thinking in which certain statements
(reasons) are offered in support of another statement (a
conclusion).

Reasons = Statements that support another statement (known as a

conclusion), justify it, or make it more probable.

Conclusion = A statement that explains, asserts, or predicts on the

basis of statements (known as reasons) that are offered as evidence
for it.
K Hilliger
 Arguments are Inferences
Describing the world in
ways:
Reporting factual  That can be verified through
information: investigation

Inferring:  That are based on factual

information yet going beyond this
information to make statements
about what is not currently known

 That express our evaluation based on

Judging
certain criteria
K Hilliger
 Evaluating Arguments

• DO THE REASONS & EVIDENCE SUPPORT

THE CONCLUSION?

• ARE THE REASONS FALSE/TRUE?

• IS THE STRUCTURE OF THE ARGUMENT

VALID?

 For a sound argument we must have true reasons

and a valid structure

K Hilliger
 Cue Words for Arguments
Signalling Reasons:
Since
For
Because
As shown/indicated by
In view of
First, second/place
May be inferred/deduced from
Given/assuming that
For the reason that
May be derived from
K Hilliger
Signalling Conclusions:
Thus, then, therefore, hence
Thereby showing
(Which) shows that
(Which) proves that
Points to
Implies that
As a result/Consequently
Suggests strongly
Leads me to believe that
Demonstrates that
Allows us to infer that
 Arguments are constructed for different
purposes
Examples:
• Decide On a job, course of action

Why you were late for an

• Explain appointment

• Predict What may happen in the

future

• Persuade To stop smoking

K Hilliger
 Your presentation topics
• What type of discussion (presentation and handout) are you
going to develop? Informative or argumentative?

• Are your facts verifiable? What/who are your sources?

• Are your reasons true?

• Is the structure logical? How many

points do you have and are they the
most important?

• Is the argument structure sound?

K Hilliger