Analysis of the argument
___ Have you identified an issue in the text you are analyzing? If so,
what is it? If not, why not?
___ Have you clearly identified the author's conclusion? If so, what is
it? If not, why not?
___ Have you clearly labeled the premises that support it?
___ Have you identified a main premise?
___ Have you determined the implied premises are for the main premise
(or found a claim in the text that is acting as the major premise)?
Evaluation of the argument
___ Have you applied the 4 criteria for cogent reasoning to the
syllogism?
___ Have you asked if each of the premises (separately) is a reliable
claim?
___ Have you asked if the premises are relevant to the conclusion?
___ Have you asked if the premises are adequate to ensure the
conclusion?
___ Have you gone through the process of determining whether the
argument is valid?
___ Have you applied the 4 criteria for cogent reasoning to the
syllogism?
___ Have you looked for any informal fallacies in the
text you are evaluating? If you have found any, have you named &
explained them?
Overall paper
___ Does your papermake an argument about whether the reasoning
in the text you chose to analyze is cogent?
___ Does your paper use that argument to support a larger argument
about what your perspective is on an issue raised by the text?
___ Do you support your conclusionwith good reasons and
evidence?
___ Do you have a thoughtful focus??
___ Do you consider and refute opposing perspectives?
___ Have you supported your points with quotations from the text?
___ Are your grammar, punctuation, spelling, and format correct?