Example 7

 

Identifying the Parts of the Argument

 

Now that we know about subconclusions, we can handle more interesting arguments, like this one.

 

For each of the underlined ideas, determine whether it’s the ultimate conclusion, a premise, or a subconclusion in the argument. You can compare your answers to mine by resting the mouse over each sentence.

 

7) “If there’s a discipline that can tell us the meaning of life then Ann should major in it because she’s always wondered what the meaning of life might be. But biology studies living things, which means that it can tell us the meaning of life. That’s why Ann should major in biology.

 

When you’re finished, we can see how this argument is diagrammed.