Recognizing Arguments

In the first part of the assignment we were asked to identify components of arguments, premise and conclusion, for the passages. Where applicable we are to highlight key words or phrases that identify a claim as a premise or a conclusion. A premise is the support for the conclusion. (Missimer, 2005) The first example has several premises as follows if Sue’s baby is a boy it will be named Mark and if it is a girl it will be named Margaret. Another premise is that Sue will have a boy or girl. “So” is a keyword indicating the conclusion that Sue’s baby will be named Mark or Margaret. In the next example, “because” is a keyword in the premise and indicates that the conclusion has preceded and a reason will follow. This premise is that fantasy novels are fiction and works of fiction are on the second floor. The conclusion here is if the library has The Lord of Ring, you won’t find it on the first floor. In the last example, a keyword can be found in a premise.
In the second part of the assignment we are to identify arguments as strict or loose. A loose argument merely maintains or asserts. The addition of reasons distinguishes a "strict" argument from a "loose" argument. In strict arguments the claim is supported by reasons.
(Missimer, 2005) The first argument is strict as in it provides a claim that the person could not find a gas station and ran out of gas therefore he was late to class. The second argument is also strict as it argues whether or not you should drink cranberry juice. The conclusion is that you should because it’s a good source of vitamin C and it keeps the kidneys healthy. The third example I believe is strict though it seems like it is loose. You can infer that your health may be affected by the low amounts of radiation emitted from cell phones after seeing the study that researchers have conducted on brain activity. The fourth example is loose because the reason she gives needs backing. A person doesn’t necessarily need a lawyer to assist