Template for Analyzing the Logic/Sagacity of an Article
The Logic/Sagacity of “(name of article)”
1. The main purpose of this article is _________________________________________.
(State as accurately as possible the author’s purpose for writing this article.)
2. The key question(s) that the author is addressing is_____________________________.
(Figure out the key question(s) in the mind of the author when s/he wrote this article.)
3. The most important information in this article is _______________________________.
(Figure out the facts, experiences, data the author is using to support her/his conclusions.)
4. The main inferences/conclusions in this article are _____________________________.
(Identify the key conclusions the author comes to and presents in the articles.)
5. The key concepts we need to understand in this article is (are) _____________________. By these concepts the author means ___________________________. (Figure out the most important ideas you would have to understand in order to understand the author’s line of reasoning.)
6. The main assumption(s) underlying the author’s thinking is (are)______________________.
(Figure out what the author is taking for granted {that might be questioned.}
7. (a.) If we take this line of reasoning seriously, the implications are ____________________. (What consequences are likely to follow if people take the author’s line of reasoning?) (b.) If we fail to take this line of reasoning seriously, the implications are ____________________.
(What consequences are likely to follow if people ignore the author’s line of reasoning?
8. The main points(s) of view presented in this article is (are)___________________________
(What is the author looking at, and how is s/he seeing it?)
9. THIS QUESTION HAS THE MOST POINTS
What sagacious ideas from the class documents do you observe? How does it relate to the goals of this class?