Critical Thinking - How to Analyze an Argument?

Analyzing skills

How to analyze an argument?

Argument: Parents should not hit their children.

1. Determine your purpose.

The purpose is to analyze the structure of the argument which is “Parents should not hit their children”. It is a valid argument because hitting children can cause lot of emotional and physical problems, which could lead the child to suffer from serious psychological problems. I believe that it is a logical argument since it prevents parents from hitting their children.

2. Divide the issue or argument into its component parts.

The component parts of this argument are:-

1. Parents should not hit their children.

2. Why they should not hit their children?

3. What will happen if they did?

3. Interpret the relationship of these parts to one another (that is, fine the pattern).

The relationship between these component parts are as following:-

Firstly, we must know the reasons of not hitting the children so as to let parents understand the serious consequences that will appear if they hit their children. After that, parents will realize the importance of not hitting their children.

4. State the results of your analysis.

Hitting children could lead to:-

1. Cause emotional and physical problems.

2. Suffer from psychological troubles.

3. They will have weak personality.

4. They will fear from others.

5. They might hate their parents.

5. Identify the questions you still have about the issue or argument.

1. When parents can hit their children?

2. What are the ways to correct the behavior of the children rather than hitting them?

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