Homework #5 The Sun Is At The Center Of The Solar System
This first writing assignment will count as a double homework assignment (20 points) and is a very short argumentative paper as illustrated in the "Simple Logic" section. The conclusion you should argue for is "The sun is at the center of the solar system." This conclusion should be the title of the paper. Here is a link to the Email Form.
Procedure
Write the main argument, using the reasons why you think the sun is at the center of the solar system as the basis for the premises and the statement "The sun is at the center of the solar system" as the conclusion (this conclusion is also the title of the paper). This simple conditional argument should be included in the first paragraph of the paper.
Write a new paragraph supporting the first premise (the conditional premise) of the main argument. This will be the second paragraph of the paper.
Write another paragraph supporting the second premise of the main argument. This will be the third paragraph of the paper.
In general you would continue writing paragraphs until all of the premises (and sub-premises) have been supported to a point where everyone would agree. Remember, however, that this is a short assignment intended for practice and it is expected that you would only need one paragraph for each main premise.
The last paragraph summarizes what has been done, culminating in the overall conclusion of the essay by repeating the argument of the first paragraph (the main argument).
Four paragraphs will be the minimum number of paragraphs for the conditional arguments that are illustrated in this class. In future assignments it may, however, be the case that more paragraphs will be needed to support the main premises or to support some of the evidence given for the secondary premises.
Also, keep in mind that the support for the first premise is to establish connections between observations and theories while the support for the second premise generally is concerned with providing data or establishing scientific principles.
Some other requirements:
This is an argumentative paper and the structure of the argument should be obvious. I do, however, expect the paper to be in normal sentence and paragraph form. Don't use outlines or write P1, P2, etc. in an attempt to make the argument more explicit.
This is not a persuasive paper. Opinions and emotional pleas should not appear in this paper.
Make sure all premises for the main argument and the conclusion are in the first paragraph. Don't introduce new premises that directly bear on the conclusion after the first paragraph.
All the premises of the main argument must be explicitly stated in the first paragraph. That is, there will be no implicit premises in the main argument.
Specific Guidelines:
Required Argument Format
The main argument of the paper is to be a conditional argument in the general form:
P1 If A, then B. P2 Affirm A. C Conclude B.
The premises (P1 and P2) in an argument of this form will always lead to the conclusion (C). This will be the case even when the premises are not true. This results in a valid or deductive argument. Since the first premise is conditional, this kind of argument is called a conditional argument. More information.
This required argument is part of the first paragraph.
The conclusion of this argument is the thesis of the paper.
The conclusion of this argument is also the title of the paper.
Required Paper Format
The first paragraph contains the main argument. The conclusion of this argument is the thesis of the paper. The conclusion of this argument is also the title of the paper.
The second paragraph supports the first premise. This will connect the "A" to the "B" and provide evidence that the "then" part of the conditional premise is really connected to the "If" part of the conditional premise.
The third paragraph supports the second premise. This will give evidence that the "If" part of the conditional premise is really true.
The last paragraph summarizes what has been done and restates the main argument.
I once again remind you that there are two formats to keep track of.
One is the format of the main argument. The main argument should be a conditional argument of the "If A, then B. Affirm A. Conclude B." variety. The first paragraph should have an argument in that format included in it.
The second format is the format of the whole paper. That consists of a simple conditional argument in the first paragraph. Support for the first (conditional) premise in the second paragraph, support for the second premise in the next paragraphs, and a concluding paragraph that restates the original simple conditional argument that is in the first paragraph. Also, keep in mind that the support for the first premise is to establish connections between the parts of the conditional argument, while the support for the second premise generally is concerned with providing data or establishing that something is really true.