Quick questions on Identifying premises and conclusions explained: H2 Knowledge and Inquiry

Conclusion indicator words help: therefore, so, hence, thus, it follows that, which shows that. The conclusion need not come last; it can open the passage or sit in the middle.

The most reliable strategy is to find the conclusion before the premises, because the conclusion is the point of the passage and everything else is there to support it. Ask: what is this passage trying to get me to accept? Conclusion indicator words help: therefore, so, hence, thus, it follows that, which shows that. The conclusion need not come last; it can open the passage or sit in the middle.

Once the conclusion is fixed, the premises are the statements offered in its support. Premise indicators include because, since, for, given that, as shown by. Each premise is a reason that, together with the others, is meant to make the conclusion acceptable. Strip away rhetorical padding, repetition and examples that do no logical work, keeping the statements that actually do the supporting.

Many arguments rely on a premise that is left unstated because the arguer takes it for granted. Surfacing this hidden assumption is essential, because it is often where the argument is weakest. The technique: ask what extra premise would be needed to make the conclusion follow from the stated premises. If the argument moves from "she trained hard" to "she will win," the unstated assumption is something like "training hard is sufficient for winning," which is precisely the claim worth challenging.

Arguments can have structure beyond a single premise set. In a chain, a conclusion becomes a premise for a further conclusion. In a convergent argument, several independent premises each support the conclusion. In a linked argument, premises work only together.

State the order in which you should identify the parts of an argument and why. [6 marks]

Explain how to distinguish an argument from an explanation. [8 marks]

For "He must be guilty, because an innocent man would not have run from the police," identify the conclusion, the stated premise and the unstated assumption. [6 marks]