Since there is no survival value in an animal's having an organ that is able to function when all its other organs ha...
on February 17, 2020
Identifying premises and conclusions properly
Hi,
Does anyone have a suggestion as to correctly identifying premises from conclusions? In the 3rd question in the video I was almost positive that the premise stating the city would close the zoo if it didn't cut deficit. Turns out, that the second sentence in the passage contained the conclusion which was the answer.
Thank you for any help in advance.
Replies
Ravion February 17, 2020
@cglee,
Let's take a look.
As you go through a passage, constantly be asking "why?" when you read a sentence or phrase. If nothing in the passage helps you answer "why" for the sentence or phrase you're asking about, then you know that it's not a conclusion; it's either background information or a premise that's supporting something else. In this case, after the first sentence, if we ask, "why," we don't get an answer, so we know the first sentence isn't a conclusion. For the second sentence, when we ask "why," we're given reasons in the third, fourth, and fifth sentences, all of which support the idea being presented in the second sentence. This tells us that the second sentence is the conclusion, and the third, fourth, and fifth sentences are premises. Since the first sentence isn't directly supporting the second sentence, it's background information that's setting the stage for the argument.
Does that make sense? Let us know if you have any other questions!
