A Leap in Logic

When taking a stroll along the beach, I always have to watch the firmness of my position. While the sand may look inviting and beautiful, there may not be any real substance beneath. I must always watch my step carefully so I don’t stumble and fall.

An argument works the same way. When constructing an argument, it’s tempting to fall into logical traps that may seem sensible at first. However, when viewed closely, this kind of reasoning doesn’t make any real logical sense. These are called logical fallacies, and they should be avoided in formal writing.

There are many different kinds of logical fallacies. Some of these fallacies are more noticeable than others. Some may feel emotionally true, but aren’t logically valid. Some may even have valid uses, but not in the context that you’re writing for. However, all of them can undermine the strength of your argument. While there are too many different fallacies to cover them all in this entry, I’ll mention two of the more common ones.

Circular reasoning: A claim that repeats itself as an attempt to justify the claim. For example, avoid arguments such as “circular reasoning is bad because it’s circular.” This doesn’t prove anything to the reader. In contrast, the claim that “circular reasoning is bad because it recycles ideas without explaining them” is a valid approach. Always support an argument with new ideas and logical explanation.

Slippery slope: A claim that suggests that a specific chain of events will happen if a specific action is taken. This is a tempting fallacy because this is also the premise of the cause-effect essay. However, it becomes a slippery slope when the argument doesn’t prove how and why the chain of events would take place. If you plan to use a cause-effect argument, it must be explained to be valid.

The best way to avoid fallacious arguments is by carefully reviewing the argument you’re making. While a claim might seem to make sense, it might fall apart under careful inspection. Make certain you’re arguing with valid and logical points, and beware the tempting logical traps.

See you next time the breeze is cool, the sun is up, and the waves roll into view! ‘Til then, hang ten!

Considering the Source

When I’m picking out a good surfboard, I like to know what I’m getting. However, if I don’t know anything about surfboards, I might want to ask someone else’s opinion first. I could ask someone randomly on the beach, but can I be certain that I can trust that opinion? Perhaps or perhaps not. It depends on the person I’m talking to. But if I happen to be close friends with a champion surfer with twenty years of experience, I’d be more likely to trust that friend.

As people, we tend to be careful and discriminating when deciding whose opinion to trust. This is only natural, since we want to be sure that we’re acting on good, reliable information. The same is true when considering academic sources. We don’t just want sources that agree with our point of view; we want to use sources that are trustworthy, reliable, and accurate.

In the academic world, this begins with peer reviewed or “scholarly” sources. In scholarly publications, accredited experts in a subject will peer review an article or book before it sees print. Through the process of peer review, the work will be checked for accuracy and validity. Often, these peer reviews are “blind”, meaning that the peer reviewers are unaware of the identity of the author. This process is designed to maintain the integrity of both the author’s work and the review process, by making the work itself the sole focus of the review. This peer review process helps to ensure that the article or book contains only credible and accurate research.

The most common peer reviewed or scholarly sources include academic books and scholarly journals. Academic books will usually be published out of university presses, and this is usually noted in the publisher’s name. These books will be both edited and peer reviewed, making them solid academic sources to use in an essay. Scholarly journals are peer reviewed works as well, and are also considered reliable sources. Academic journals may be found either in hard copy form in the library or digitally on EBSCO on the library’s web site.

While other sources may be usable for essays, depending on the source in question, be careful when citing them. Most sources, including newspapers and magazine articles, are considered to be “popular” sources. While they may be edited before publication, they aren’t subjected to peer review. This is not to say that popular sources can never be used in an essay, but avoid using popular sources when scholarly sources are required. Similarly, be careful when relying on online sources; while online journal articles are considered scholarly, web sites are generally much less reliable. Be aware of the kind of information you cite, and use careful judgment when deciding what information to include in a formal essay.

See you next time the breeze is cool, the sun is up, and the waves roll into view! ‘Til then, hang ten!

Variations on a Theme

When looking at individual grains of sand, they may not have any real meaning behind them. And there’s no reason that they should. Individual sand grains look the same, and they don’t seem to have any purpose or relevance to our lives. However, if you were to take a step away from those sand grains and look at them as a whole, you might see a beautiful sand castle.

In literature, it’s important to look at a story as a whole, not simply the sum of its parts. Each piece of the story serves a larger purpose that the reader must unpack and decode. However, much as a sand castle is made of smaller grains, every word in a literary work adds up to a larger point the writer hopes to convey. This larger point is the theme of the work.

Although there are some differences, the theme of a story or a poem works much like a thesis statement of an essay. The theme will usually reflect a main idea that is rooted in the author’s world view. Like a thesis, a theme focuses on the significance of the events that are portrayed in the literary work. However, the reader must interpret the meaning of the story and decide what that main idea ultimately is.

The theme must also be based in a clear understanding of the human condition. Stories and poems are rooted in the world that human beings live in, and reflect an emotional reality that most people are familiar with. Even though most of us will never be a prince or decide the fate of a nation, Hamlet remains an enduring play because the central ideas are timeless. We may not necessarily relate to royalty, but we can relate to Hamlet’s family problems and how he struggles with them. Theme derives from those universal ideas and makes a focused statement about them, either to advocate or to reveal truths about humanity.

Then again, literary analysis is subjective, and there may not always be one clear theme. Alternately, there may be many ways to interpret the events of the story that are equally true in the interpretation. For instance, is A Christmas Carol a simple story of an old man’s redemption, or does it illustrate that one man can make a difference in the world if he or she chooses to? Perhaps there may be an entirely different theme that you see in the events of the story. All of these are valid themes and may be a good starting point for a literary analysis.

However, whichever single theme you focus on, you must support your interpretation with passages from the literary work. Investigate the text closely and decide whether there are quotations that support your proposed theme. Remember that you should never simply summarize the events of a story, but to reveal the story’s meaning through a central theme.

See you next time the breeze is cool, the sun is up, and the waves roll into view! ‘Til then, hang