Inductive Reasoning

Inductive reasoning can be used in writing to persuade the reader to agree with an argument. The reader is persuaded by the writer providing examples of the situation and then drawing conclusions from the examples. In the reading of Ecclesiastes 1:12-2:24, the writer uses inductive reasoning very effectively to argue his point. He is effective because he talks about all of the things that he has done, then goes on to say that they were meaningless. The speaker says that he has looked closely into everything on the earth and it is worthless to know or do the things that he has done because they do not bring one happiness. One way he effectively argues his reasoning is by saying that he has worked hard for everything and he has put in the time and effort to get where he is now, “Oh, I did great things: built houses, planted vineyards, designed gardens and parks and planted a variety of fruit trees in them, made pools of water to irrigate the groves of trees” (Ecclesiastes 2:4-8). The speaker says that he has built houses and made pools of water, which are all laborious tasks that everyday people would do. Since the speaker was king over Israel in Jerusalem, he wanted to see what normal people would do in their daily lives. By relating his experiences to something that is familiar to some readers, his point is better made. The speaker also states that he left everything behind to try to achieve this happiness and he kept this head clear of all other things while he was experiencing different aspects of life. He says that he took everything that he wanted and he never denied himself anything and his reward for doing all of this was not having a pleasurable time. He says, “I gave in to every impulse, held back nothing. I sucked the marrow of pleasure out of every task—my reward to myself for a hard day’s work” (2:9-10). The speaker gave into himself wanting something more and in doing so he did not get anything good in return.

The speaker’s conclusions follow reasonably from his points because after he gives all of his examples he goes on to say that he hates life and that it does not make a person happy no matter what they do. The one thing that the speaker got out of

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