“Identifying Misleading Information in an Argument”

Go over the three arguments below. (Don’t read  your classmates’ posts until you are done with your own work.)

Then, choose TWO (2) of them. 
In  each case, identify the argument’s two parts: what is the conclusion?  (There may be more than one conclusion in the passage; this means that  you could identify more than one argument per passage.) What is or are  the premises? (Each premise and each conclusion should be formulated in  your own words; each of them must be a simple and complete declarative  sentence.)

After you identify the argument, answer the following questions:

Is this a good argument? What’s misleading about it? Where is the reasoning mistake?

EXAMPLE 1

The following appeared in a local newspaper:

 In  the last school where Principal McArthur worked, he was known as very  tough. The teachers resented him. Nobody liked him. He’d often call the  teachers into his office and scold them for lateness, lazy work habits,  and sloppy record-keeping. When Dr. McArthur arrives at his new position  at the Willows High School next August, he will again create a hostile  work environment.

EXAMPLE 2:

The following appeared in promotional literature for a billboard company:

Bye  Bye Baby Store installed a large billboard on the side of the 95  highway exit. Sales of baby items in the store increased 13% in the next  fiscal quarter. Dr. Mark Baldwin, a local dentist, would like to  increase the profits of his dental practice. All that needs to be done  is installing an advertising billboard next to a highway exist and his  patient load will increase tremendously.

EXAMPLE 3

The following appeared in a local newspaper:

Two  weeks ago, 12 female college soccer players went to the Governor’s  office. They wanted to protest budget cuts for intercollegiate women’s  sports. In the state, there are about 30,000 female college athletes.  Because only 12 women went  to the protest, obviously most female  athletes don’t care at all about the Governor’s funds for athletics.  Therefore, there is no need for the governor to make any changes to his  budget allocations.

When  you reply to your classmates’ posts, help them in their analysis. Did  they identify the argument in the right way? Is their assessment  correct?