Critical Thinking and Communication 233

Critical Thinking and Communication 233

Final Essay and Argument Diagram

Due Date: Tuesday (midnight),

Weighting: 30% of Final Grade (25% Essay, 5% Diagram include the diagram in the file you submit)

Word Count:1,200 +/- 10% (footnotes, referencing and direct quotes do not count towards the word-count)

Research and referencing:You must include at least seven appropriate (7) sources.

You must include screenshots at the end of your essay that show the original source of your paraphrases and direct quotes (see template: this doesnt mean just the title page, this means the actual words in the document you paraphrased or directly quoted). Citations must also be appropriate, and follow an approved style (APA, Chicago, AGLC).

Style and appearance:Preferably APA, 12pt, Times New Roman or another nice font; definitely double-spaced; definitely third-person; definitely formal, academic style

Topic:Monosodium glutamate ( Msg)

Question:Is it reasonable to believe in Monosodium glutamate MSG

Additional requirements1. Footnotes explaining the application of Critical Thinking Considerations (page 2, included in 25% grade for essaythese explanations do not count to your word-limit)

2. Argument diagram in Appendix (page 2)

You will be judged on your ability to critically analyse your topic, specifically: you must state the claims made by people who believe in your topic (and list the reasons/evidence they provide for these claims); then compare this evidence with the evidence for the claims made by the people who do not believe in your topic; and give reasons why it is either rational or irrational to believe in the topic (or, if your topic is complex, describe exactly which of the claims are reasonable and which are notor to what extent certain claims should be believed or not).

You are not marked on your ability to describe the topic, but rather how you provide the sides of a case, then judge which is the strongest and provide reasons for your judgmentremember: this is an argumentative essay. You are not graded on the position you take, but rather on how you support your arguments and address relevant counterarguments.

You will be graded on your ability to answer the question in a formal, academic essay style.

You must provide appropriate citations (as above) and any plagiarism will be dealt with as per the Universitys rules on academic misconduct.

You are required to keep all of your drafts in case of queries of authorship. You may be required to answer questions about your work.

Critical Thinking Considerations (footnotes)

In the final few fora, you will be taught five Critical Thinking Considerations:

Extraordinary Claims Require Extraordinary Evidence (ECREE)

Occams Razor (all things held equally, the simplest explanation is the best)

Hume, Of Miracles (one should only believe someones testimony if it would be more of a surprise that they were lying or confused than if it ended up being was true)

Confirmation Bias (people have a tendency to remember confirming evidence, interpret ambiguous evidence as confirmatory ,and search for evidence in locations that would confirm their beliefs)

Placebo Effect (people can feel better/cured after an intervention that they believe will help them)

Each of your topics has been criticised for failing to meet/account for the requirements of at least one of these considerations.

In your Essay and Diagram, you are to provide a footnote when you address these criticisms (agreeing/disagreeing, etc.) with an explanation why the critical thinking consideration is the relevant. Here is an example, with the footnote at the bottom of this page:

Many people have claimed to have seen Bigfoot; however, it is unreasonable to believe in the existence of Bigfoot solely based on eyewitness testimony.

Argument Diagram (5 marks)

Embed this within your Final Essay document as an appendix. You are to write your thesis at the bottom middle of the page. This can be done by hand and then attached as a photograph/scan to your paper, or you can use text boxes in word. You are then to support the reasons given for your thesis and attack/refute the main reason(s) against your thesis. Further details will be given in tutorials.

Format and Rules:

Arrow Rules

If you cant read because when you jump upwards, its wrong

If you cant read therefore when you jump downwards, its wrong

Your arrows must point towards the thesis (downwards)

Content Rules

If its general at the top, its probably wrong

If its specific at the bottom, its probably wrong

Further instructions will be given in class.