Reasoning Skills Success in 20 Minutes a Day, Third Edition (Skill Builders) PDF
Preview Reasoning Skills Success in 20 Minutes a Day, Third Edition (Skill Builders)
Reasoning skills success in 20 minutes a Day 6720_Reasoning Skills Success[fin].indd 1 12/11/09 3:03:39 PM Other titles Of interest frOm learningexpress Biology Success in 20 Minutes a Day Chemistry Success in 20 Minutes a Day Earth Science Success in 20 Minutes a Day Grammar Success in 20 Minutes a Day, 2nd Edition Physics Success in 20 Minutes a Day Practical Math Success in 20 Minutes a Day, 4th Edition Statistics Success in 20 Minutes a Day Trigonometry Success in 20 Minutes Vocabulary and Spelling Success in 20 Minutes a Day, 5th Edition Writing Skills Success in 20 Minutes a Day, 4th Edition 6720_Reasoning Skills Success[fin].indd 2 12/11/09 3:03:39 PM Reasoning skills success in 20 minutes a Day 3rd Edition ® ne w yoRk 6720_Reasoning Skills Success[fin].indd 3 12/11/09 3:03:41 PM Copyright © 2010 LearningExpress, LLC. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. Published in the United States by LearningExpress, LLC, New York. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Reasoning skills success in 20 minutes a day.—3rd ed. p. cm. ISBN 978-1-57685-726-7 1. Reasoning (Psychology) I. LearningExpress (Oranization) II Title: Reasoning skills success in twenty minutes a day. BF442.R44 2010 153.4'3—dc22 2009030907 Printed in the United States of America 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 First Edition ISBN-13 978-1-57685-720-5 For more information or to place an order, contact LearningExpress at: 2 Rector Street 26th Floor New York, NY 10006 Or visit us at: www.learnatest.com 6720_Reasoning Skills Success[fin].indd 4 12/11/09 3:03:41 PM contents contRibutoRs ix How to use tHis book xi PRetest 1 lesson 1 cRitical tHinking anD Reasoning skills 15 What Are Critical Thinking and Reasoning Skills? Definition: The Difference between Reason and Emotion Justifying Your Decision Why Critical Thinking and Reasoning Skills Are Important In Short lesson 2 PRoblem-solving stRategies 21 Definition: What Is a Problem? Identifying the Problem Breaking the Problem into Its Parts Prioritizing Issues Relevance of Issues In Short lesson 3 tHinking vs. knowing 27 Definition: Fact vs. Opinion Why the Difference between Fact and Opinion Is Important Tentative Truths Fact vs. Opinion in Critical Reasoning In Short v 6720_Reasoning Skills Success[fin].indd 5 12/11/09 3:03:41 PM –contents– lesson 4 wHo makes tHe claim? 33 Definition: What is Credibility? How to Determine Credibility Recognizing Bias Special Case: Eyeswitness Credibility In Short lesson 5 PaRtial claims anD Half-tRutHs 41 The Trouble with Incomplete Claims Test and Studies Averages In Short lesson 6 wHat’s in a woRD? 47 Euphemisms and Dysphemisms Biased Questions In Short lesson 7 woRking witH aRguments 53 Inductive Reasoning Deductive Reasoning Indentifying the Overall Conclusion In Short lesson 8 evaluating eviDence 61 Types of Evidence Is the Evidence Credible? Is the Evidence Reasonable? In Short lesson 9 Recognizing a gooD aRgument 67 Clear and Complete Free of Excessive Subtle Persuasion Credible and Reasonable Premises Sufficient and Substantive Premises Considering the Other Side In Short lesson 10 Putting it all togetHeR 73 Lesson 1: Critical Thinking and Reasoning Skills Lesson 2: Problem-Solving Strategies Lesson 3: Thinking vs. Knowing Lesson 4: Who Makes the Claim? Lesson 5: Partial Claims and Half-Truths vi 6720_Reasoning Skills Success[fin].indd 6 12/11/09 3:03:41 PM –contents– Lesson 6: What’s in a Word? Lesson 7: Working with Arguments Lesson 8: Evaluating Evidence Lesson 9: Recognizing a Good Argument lesson 11 logical fallacies: aPPeals to emotion 77 Scare Tactics Flattery Peer Pressure Pity In Short lesson 12 logical fallacies: tHe imPostoRs 83 No In-Betweens Slippery Slope Circular Reasoning Two Wrongs Make a Right In Short lesson 13 logical fallacies: DistRacteRs anD DistoRteRs 89 Ad Hominem Red Herring Straw Man In Short lesson 14 wHy DiD it HaPPen? 97 Relevance Testability Circularity Compatibility with Existing Knowledge In Short lesson 15 inDuctive Reasoning: PaRt i 105 The Science of Inductive Reasoning Elementary, My Dear Watson In Short lesson 16 JumPing to conclusions 107 Hasty Generalizations Biased Generalizations Non Sequitur In Short vii 6720_Reasoning Skills Success[fin].indd 7 12/11/09 3:03:42 PM –contents– lesson 17 inDuctive Reasoning: PaRt ii 113 Determining Cause Post Hoc, Ergo Propter Hoc The Chicken or the Egg? In Short lesson 18 numbeRs neveR lie 121 First Things First: Consider the Source The Importance of Sample Size Representative, Random, and Biased Samples Comparing Apples and Oranges In Short lesson 19 PRoblem solving RevisiteD 129 Common Sense Evaluating Evidence Drawing Conclusions from Evidence In Short lesson 20 Putting it all togetHeR 135 Lesson 11: Logical Fallacies: Appeals to Emotion Lesson 12: Logical Fallacies: The Imposters Lesson 13: Logical Fallacies: Distracters and Distorters Lesson 14: Why Did It Happen? Lesson 15: Inductive Reasoning, Part I Lesson 16: Jumping to Conclusions Lesson 17: Inductive Reasoning, Part II Lesson 18: Numbers Never Lie Lesson 19: Problem Solving Revisited Congratulations! Posttest 141 aPPenDix How to PRePaRe foR a test 153 Two to Three Months before the Test The Days before the Test Test Day Combating Test Anxiety Time Strategies Avoiding Errors After the Test viii 6720_Reasoning Skills Success[fin].indd 8 12/11/09 3:03:42 PM contributors Elizabeth Chesla is the author of TOEFL Exam Success, ACT Exam Success, GED Success, Reading Comprehension Success, Write Better Essays, and many other writing and reading guides and test preparation books. She lives in South Orange, New Jersey. Tamra Orr is a full-time educational writer living in the Pacific Northwest. She has written several test prepara- tion books and works for a dozen of the nation’s largest testing companies. She is the author of more than 70 books, mother of four, and wife of one. ix 6720_Reasoning Skills Success[fin].indd 9 12/11/09 3:03:42 PM 6720_Reasoning Skills Success[fin].indd 10 12/11/09 3:03:42 PM
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