Below are keys to notes about the stock issues, so you can both interpret the symbols and be aware of some
common errors so you can avoid them.
PROPOSITION OF FACT
Proposition
Definition and Distinction
Criteria
A = Your criterion is too specific. It should be worded to apply to other, similar topics and as the major
Application
A = What you wrote doesn’t fit with your criterion.
PROPOSITION OF VALUE
Proposition
A = This is not a proposition of value.
Definition and Distinction
Value
A = You didn’t write this as a value.
Application
PROPOSITION OF POLICY
Proposition
A = This is not a proposition of policy.
Harm/Need
Inherency
Significance
A = What you wrote just repeats what you said was the harm.
B = You should say how many are affected now or will be affected in the future.
Plan
A = Your plan doesn’t match your proposition.
Advantages
The work you submit for this assignment may be used as future course material unless you ask that it not
ARGUMENT CONSTRUCTION (After Chapter 10)
Purpose: (1) To reinforce your knowledge of principles of argumentation. (2) To develop your ability to
Assignment: You will be given an argument to evaluate. You are to write an essay that evaluates the
Evaluation: This assignment will be evaluated based on how well you make your argument. That includes
the content, following directions above, and your writing. Your analysis should be thorough, which means you
FALLACY ASSIGNMENT (After Chapter 11)
Purpose: (1) To reinforce your knowledge of informal fallacies. (2) To develop your ability to recognize
informal fallacies in real arguments. (3) To assess your knowledge of fallacies. (4) To give you experience
Purpose: (1) To reinforce your knowledge of concepts from the course. (2) To assess your ability to apply
course concepts to real and significant situations. (3) To develop your ability to communicate the application of
Assignment: As a member of a group you will participate in a presentation about one of the topics
identified below. The entire group presentation should last between 60 and 70 minutes, and each group
member should have approximately equal speaking time. Each group member must analyze at least one specific
The topics and some examples of questions to answer in the presentation are:
• Critical thinking about news reports. News reports include news that is presented in newspapers,
news magazines, radio news broadcasts, and television news broadcasts, and television documentary
programs. News reports are one of the ways we find out what is happening in the world, thus influencing
how we think.
• Critical thinking about media entertainment. Media entertainment includes books, magazines,
movies, plays, music, and television shows that are primarily meant to be pleasurable and/or artistic.
How can sources of entertainment influence the beliefs, thinking, and reasoning of consumers of the
• Critical thinking about advertising. Advertising includes television and radio commercials, ads in
newspapers and magazines, billboards, direct mail, infomercials, telemarketing, and face-to-face sales.
Advertisements generally have the purpose to affect consumers’ choices to buy good and services,
• Critical thinking about internet messages. Internet messages include those found on web sites and
those sent and received by e-mail. They can be messages that are specifically sought and are welcome as
well as those that come unsolicited and are unwelcome. Internet hoaxes, spam, chat sites, and chain
• Critical thinking about political messages. Political messages include those that are created and
sent by major political parties, by “minor” political parties, and by special interest groups to influence
voting for candidates or issues. They can be about national, state, or local elections, or about non-
electoral political issues. They can involve speeches, mailing, TV or radio ads, news releases, and
• Critical thinking about educational messages. Educational messages are the content of what is
taught by educators. This topic can involve any subject matter from any discipline. It can be about
messages presented in elementary school, high school, or college. It can also be about messages presented
to the public about educational policies and practices (such as the need for standardized testing).
• Critical thinking about messages about the environment. Messages about the environment are
messages that influence the way people think about how their actions affect nature. They may be explicit,
intentional messages such as books, articles, speeches, demonstrations by activists, or commercials by
corporations; or they may be underlying assumptions of other messages that don’t seem to be directly
• Critical thinking about health and/or nutrition. Messages about health and/or nutrition are any
messages from any source that affect what people think they should do to be healthy and/or how they
should eat. They can be advertisements for products (including infomercials), advice columns in
newspapers or magazines, books meant for a general audience, or other messages.
• Critical thinking about interpersonal and/or family relationships. Interpersonal or family
relationships are the relationships individuals have with other individuals who are important to them.
The subject matter for this group can be the messages people receive about how to have good
relationships or how they should act with others, but it can also be about how people think and act in
relationships in the absence of such messages.
Part way through the semester everyone will be assigned to a group, and each group will decide which
subject they want to do. The subjects will be assigned on a first-come basis, so the first group to pick a subject
will be the group that gets the subject. The dates for presentations will be based on the order that groups
choose topics; the first group to choose is Group #1, etc. The dates each group makes the presentation are
listed in the schedule.
The important part of this assignment is each group and each group member’s ability to apply concepts
from the class to the kinds of messages they may encounter in everyday life. It is not meant to be an
assignment where anyone reports on what others have said about the subjects, although that can be included as
a minor part of the presentations.
GROUP EVALUATION CRITERIA
Entire presentation falls within the 60-70 minute time limit. (The time limit does not include time for
questions at the end.)
Each group member has roughly equivalent speaking time.
HIGHER SCORES FOR:
+ Creative approaches to the presentation (skits, quasi-documentaries, quiz shows, etc.).
LOWER SCORES FOR
— simply taking turns without working as a group.
INDIVIDUAL EVALUATION CRITERIA
Presentation of at least one appropriate example and how at least four distinct principles from the class could
HIGHER SCORES FOR
+ Evidence of research into critical thinking about the subject.
LOWER SCORES FOR
– being late to start the presentation.
ATTENDANCE
Being a good audience member for the groups for each group other than your own = 10 points each day.
Some good advice for working in your group:
“From J.J. in Germantown, MD: ‘When I start grasping at something that I want very badly for
me, I forget about the success of the team. I waste my energy on things that are not win-win. It also
TIPS ABOUT THE GROUP PRESENTATION
(BASED ON PAST EXPERIENCE)
1. DON’T TRY TO DO TOO MUCH. You may think that using several examples and applying ten or
fifteen concepts will make your part of the presentation better. If there were unlimited time that might be
2. ANALYZE YOUR EXAMPLES. Too often, students will just briefly describe an example, then say it is
an example of some concept, then go on. That puts the responsibility on the audience to figure out HOW
3. USE REAL EXAMPLES. There is a place for creativity in this assignment, but that place is not in the
4. DRAW CONCLUSIONS. When you apply the concepts to the examples you should use the concepts to
5. DO A BALANCED ANALYSIS. The tendency when doing this assignment is to just find faults. That is
6. DON’T GO ONLY FOR LAUGHS. A tendency for presentations like this is to try to be entertaining
by being funny. There’s nothing wrong with that as long as the content of the assignment is taken care of
first. Remember, it’s possible for your presentation to earn an A without being particularly entertaining, if
the content is strong. It’s impossible to earn an A or a B if the content isn’t strong, no matter how
8. DON’T FOCUS ON REVIEWING FOR THE EXAM. The reviewing function of this assignment
9. I CANNOT GRADE YOU ON EFFORT. The effort you put into this assignment will probably be
reflected by your performance, but all I can grade you on is what I see during the presentation. A lot of
GROUP PRESENTATION
NAME
INDIVIDUAL SCORE ____________ out of 100
Below
Expectations Meets Expectations Exceeds
Expectations
Presentation of specific example(s)
Clear description of example(s)
obvious
DEDUCTIONS
Late to presentation
GROUP PRESENTATION
GROUP TOPIC
If your group presentation is integrated to the extent that individual portions are blended
together I won’t be able to assign individual scores on the content and the scores will be
shared.
GROUP SCORE ____________ out of 100
Below
Expectations Meets Expectations Exceeds
Expectations
Meeting time requirement
Roughly equivalent speaking times
Concepts from chapters
DEDUCTIONS