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As you learned in previous lessons on reasoning, there are ways to evaluate an author’s argument. There are also evaluation tools for specialized argument formats such as the audience appeal strategies you learned in this lesson. These strategies are used to draw comparisons between similar ideas and can make it easier to understand new concepts or convey these concepts to an audience. While comparative reasoning is often easy to recognize, it poses a danger with how comparisons appeal to an audience. Savvy critical readers will catch on to the gist behind the comparison, as well as any heuristics implied by the comparison. As you consider how to evaluate comparative inferences, you may find it helpful to use the five tests reviewed below.
Familiarity Successful comparisons direct the listener’s attention to that which is more familiar.
Simplicity A measure of the relative complexity of the comparison; simpler comparisons are often more readily understood and remembered.
Comprehensiveness The virtue of simplicity must be balanced with the importance of comprehensiveness; a comparison that is more comprehensive captures a greater number of central or essential features to aid in understanding or familiarity.
Productivity The capacity of a comparison to bring to mind unexpected new ideas that go beyond the points of comparison that were initially mentioned.
Testability The capacity of a comparison to project consequences that have the potential to be shown to be false, inapplicable, or unacceptable. The criterion of testability enables you to evaluate the acceptability of a proposed comparison.
Option 1 – Research : Use an Internet search engine like Google and search for voter campaigns like Rock the Vote or voter drives associated with a particular candidate or political party. As you browse the Web sites, look for text or media that use comparative reasoning to drive the argument. When you find a good example, write 4-5 paragraphs about the reasoning.
- Paragraph 1: Summarize the text including where you found it and the comparison it made.
- Body paragraphs: Place the argument through the five tests of reasoning and use specific examples to show how it passes or fails the tests.
- Final Paragraph: Conclude by offering a suggestion as to how you would change the text (if it had issues) or by stating what strengths were most convincing to you.
