Section: Module 2: Lesson 8: Reasoning Strategies: Improving Critical Thinking | Writing for Health Sciences | NextGenU.org

  • Student Learning Outcomes:
    Upon completion of this lesson, you will be able to:
    • Identify key rhetorical concepts and thought patterns in a variety of texts.
    • Explain how thought patterns function for different audiences, purposes, and situations.
    • Read for inquiry, learning, and critical thinking.
    • Identify reasoning strategies and explain their functions.
    • Identify and define reasoning strategies and signal words.
    • Determine how the rhetorical situation influences written works' content and reasoning strategies.
    • Identify reasoning strategies and explain their function in a written text.
    • Explain how reasoning strategies are shaped by purpose, language, culture, and expectation.
    • Read and respond critically to a text.
    • Use organizational and reasoning strategies to compose texts that integrate the writer’s ideas with those from appropriate sources.
    • Implement varying language structures in the process of composing.
    • Develop flexible strategies for drafting and revising.
    Approximate time required for the readings for this lesson (at 144 words/minute): 6 hours and 36 minutes.

    • Students must
      Mark as done
      Required Learning Resources and Activities
    • url icon
      Introduction URL
      Students must
      View

      Read the entire page. (2 minutes)

      Rice University - 2021

    • url icon
      Developing Your Sense of Logic URL
      Students must
      View

      Read the entire page. (16 minutes)

      Rice University - 2021

    • url icon
      Reasoning Trailblazer: Paul D. N. Hebert URL
      Students must
      View

      Read the entire page. ( 8 minutes)

      Rice University - 2021

    • forum icon
      M2L8-DF1 - Reasoning Strategies in Science Forum
      Students must
      View
      Start discussions: 1

      Instructions:

      • Read the questions carefully. Make sure you understand what the question is asking.

      • Gather your thoughts. What do you know about the topic of the question? What are your thoughts and opinions on the matter?

      • Write a brief outline of your response. This will help you to organize your thoughts and make sure you cover all of the important points.

      • Write your response. Be sure to answer the question directly and provide evidence to support your claims. 

      • Proofread your response. Make sure there are no errors in grammar or spelling.

      • Be open to feedback. Ask your classmates for feedback on your responses. This will help you to improve your writing skills and learn from your mistakes.

      Here are some additional tips for answering discussion questions:

      • Be clear and concise. Your response should be easy to understand and follow.

      • Use evidence to support your claims. This could include quotes from the text, statistics, or your own personal experiences.

      • Be respectful of other people's opinions. Even if you disagree with someone, you can still be respectful of their point of view.

      Questions

      1. Does the comparison between DNA barcoding and UPC barcodes used in grocery stores help you understand the concept of DNA barcoding? Why or why not?
      2. How might BIOSCAN’s use of interactions from more than 2,500 sites around the world help the program realize its goals?
      3. How does Dr. Hebert use the cause-and-effect reasoning strategy in the initiative launched by the team he led? What is the cause of the initiative, and what is its effect?
      4. How does Dr. Hebert use the reasoning strategy of problem and solution in his proposal about DNA barcoding? What problem does Dr. Hebert address, and what is its solution?
      5. How would the reasoning strategy of classification and division be useful to a researcher like Dr. Hebert? Support your response with examples from the text.
      6. In what ways might researchers use a comparison-and-contrast reasoning strategy to discover a new species?
    • url icon
      Glance at Genre: Reasoning Strategies and Signal Words URL
      Students must
      View

      Read the entire page. ( 29 minutes)

      Rice University - 2021

    • url icon
      Annotated Sample Reading: from Book VII of The Republic by Plato URL
      Students must
      View

      Read the entire page. ( 24 minutes)

      Rice University - 2021

    • forum icon
      M2L8-DF2 - Living by Their Own Words: Thinking Through Allegory Forum
      Students must
      View
      Start discussions: 1

      Instructions:

      • Read the questions carefully. Make sure you understand what the question is asking.

      • Gather your thoughts. What do you know about the topic of the question? What are your thoughts and opinions on the matter?

      • Write a brief outline of your response. This will help you to organize your thoughts and make sure you cover all of the important points.

      • Write your response. Be sure to answer the question directly and provide evidence to support your claims. 

      • Proofread your response. Make sure there are no errors in grammar or spelling.

      • Be open to feedback. Ask your classmates for feedback on your responses. This will help you to improve your writing skills and learn from your mistakes.

      Here are some additional tips for answering discussion questions:

      • Be clear and concise. Your response should be easy to understand and follow.

      • Use evidence to support your claims. This could include quotes from the text, statistics, or your own personal experiences.

      • Be respectful of other people's opinions. Even if you disagree with someone, you can still be respectful of their point of view.

      Questions

      1. What purpose might Plato have had for using an allegory to impart his message?
      2. In his allegory, Plato compares the prisoners’ climb from the cave into the light of day to people learning what reality is. Explain the allegory and how the prisoners’ emerging from the cave is similar to learning that what they thought previously was not real.
      3. In this excerpt, written around 375 BCE, Plato begins a discussion about what education ought to do. In the 21st century CE, what do you think education ought to do?
      4. In the last paragraph, Plato says that “in the world of knowledge, the idea of good appears last of all.” Think critically about whether you agree with that statement. Then, explain your stance.
    • url icon
      Writing Process: Reasoning Supported by Evidence URL
      Students must
      View

      Read the entire page. ( 29 minutes)

      Rice University - 2021

    • forum icon
      M2L8-DF3 - Writing Process: Reasoning Supported by Evidence Forum
      Students must
      View
      Start discussions: 1

      IMPORTANT 

      Make sure to carefully read and follow the instructions while completing the tasks. Once you have finished activity 11.5, move on to the next Module. 

      Now, let's get started! Using the following template, share your tasks, taking into account the order of the different sections detailed chronologically.

      Summary of Assignment

      Using three of the strategies for reasoning (analogy, cause and effect, classification and division, comparison and contrast, definition, or problem and solution), write at least three body paragraphs for your Position Argument: Practicing the Art of Rhetoric assignment. Write at least one single paragraph for each strategy you choose. You may write additional paragraphs in which you combine strategies.

      Remember that each paragraph that you develop should support your thesis.

      First, record your working thesis: 

      _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

      _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

      _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

      1. Analogy:

      Working topic sentence ______________ is like _________________ in many ways.

      Structure:

      Explanation:

      Analysis:

      2. Cause-and-Effect

      • Working topic sentence for Structure #1

      Because (cause/s) ____________ (what had happened), (effect/s) ____________ (what happened as a result).

      Structure #1 for cause-and-effect paragraph

      cause(s):

      effect(s):

      • Working topic sentence for Structure #2

      (effect/s) _______________ (what happened as a result) because (cause/s)____________ (what had happened).

      Structure #2 for cause-and-effect paragraph

      cause(s):

      effect(s):

      3. Classification and Division

      • Working topic sentence for Structure #1 (general subject) _____________ can be divided into (smaller categories) ______________, _______________, and _____________.

      Structure #1 for classification-and-division paragraphs: division

      larger subject:

      first category:

      second category:

      third category:

      • Working topic sentence for Structure #2

      (smaller category) _______________, ______________, and _____________ are (types) of (larger subject) ___________.

      Structure #2 for classification-and-division paragraph: classification

      smaller category:

      smaller category:

      smaller category:

      larger subject:

      4. Comparison and Contrast

      • Working topic sentence for Structure #1

      One way in which (subject 1)__________ and (subject 2)__________ are alike is (similarity) ________; one way in which they differ is (difference) ________.

      Structure #1 for comparison-and-contrast paragraph

      Subject 1:

      Subject 2:

      Similarity(-ies) between subject 1 and subject 2:

      Difference(s) between subject 1 and subject 2:

      • Working topic sentence for Structure #2

      One way in which (subject 1) _________ and (subject 2) _________ are different is (difference)________; one way in which they are similar is (similarity)________.

      Structure #2 for comparison-and-contrast paragraph

      Subject 1:

      Subject 2:

      Difference(s) between subject 1 and subject 2:

      Similarity(-ies) between subject 1 and subject 2:

      5. Problem-and-Solution

      • Working topic sentence for Structure #1

      The issue of (predicament or challenge) _____________________ was/can be solved by (what was/should be done)______________________.

      Structure #1 for problem-and-solution paragraph

      problem(s):

      solution:

      • Working topic sentence for Structure #2

      By (what was/should be done) ______________________, the issue of (predicament/challenge) __________________ was/could be solved.

      Structure #2 for problem-and-solution paragraph

      solution:

      problem(s):

      6. Definition

      • Working topic sentence Most people think ______________ means ______________; to me, however, _____________ means ____________________.

      Structure

      Common definition or denotation:

      Expanded definition from the writer:

      Drafting paragraphs:

      First paragraph:

      _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

      _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

      _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

      _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

      _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

      Second paragraph:

      _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

      _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

      _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

      _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

      _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

      Third paragraph:

      _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

      _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

      _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

      _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

      _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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