English 1C Paper #2
Examining Your Beliefs/Opinions/Truths using Inductive and Deductive Reasoning
Overview: You will examine one or more of your beliefs or those you were told were true by other people or sources that came from using inductive or deductive reasoning. You will break these down and research the points in detail to determine if these beliefs are actually true or not. This will give you a deeper understanding of how inductive and deductive reasoning work and how to tell if something is true or not.
Getting Started: To find your topic, start by listing some beliefs you have that came from your own or someone else’s SPECIFIC observations–there were several examples that caused you to believe this– about the world (inductive reasoning). Next, list generalizations people have told you are true but did not support with examples (deductive reasoning). These beliefs do not have to be true–think of “truths” your family or friends have told that you questioned. Try to include examples of beliefs that you do not accept as having enough evidence to be true.
Examples of Inductive Reasoning:
I ate at Carl’s three times, and I broke out in a rash the following week. Carl’s must have poisoned their food.
Juan, Carlos and Jim are all majoring in Accounting. They are all smart, so I will also major in Accounting.
My grandma and aunts are all over 50 and look terrible. I bet I will look terrible when I am over 50.
Examples of Deductive Reasoning:
You should never get married before you are 30. Lisa got married at 25, and I’m sure they will be divorced soon.
College is a major waste of time. My dad dropped out of college and got a decent job.
My dad says you can never have too much money. I’m probably going to have a crappy life because I don’t have much money.
You may have learned these beliefs from your own experiences (inductive) or from what your parents, relatives, or the media told you were true (deductive). These opinions/beliefs might be about love, friends, cars, college, careers, yourself, other people, sports, music, relationships, bad habits, people’s character, things you are afraid of, things you love or hate. . . but they must have come from Inductive Reasoning, which is when specific examples lead to a general belief or truth, or Deductive Reasoning, which starts with a general belief or truth that is applied to specific examples. You could also use the beliefs of someone else in this paper. For example, if you have a friend or relative who believes something that is not true, you can explain why the person has the beliefs and show why it is false in this paper.
You might also want to choose important beliefs that you have questioned or wondered about, and determine through this analysis and research whether they are, in fact, true.
Research and Analysis: Do some research to see if the beliefs you are questioning in your paper are really valid. Is your mother correct in saying that people can get good jobs without a college degree? Research it and find out. Are you correct that college will open doors and lead to better careers? Research that too!
Evaluating your research: Are the beliefs you are researching true, false, or something else? Are they based on solid Inductive or Deductive reasoning, or are they based on faulty (wrong) reasoning?
You can choose more than one belief to write about in the paper; make sure to organize so the reader can follow your plan clearly.
Format: The introduction should give background information about the beliefs, explain inductive and deductive reasoning briefly, draw the reader in, be specific, and include a thesis that breaks the parts of the paper down (the topic, the subtopics, and the purpose). Body paragraphs should be specific and focused. Be specific, and give solid examples. Use quotes from the book or other research as support or evidence. Do some research when examining the parts of your belief! Is your belief valid or true? Include a brief analysis of Inductive and Deductive reasoning and how these can be flawed, if that is relevant. The conclusion should be your arrival, but you can have important moments throughout the paper
The link below briefly but accurately explains how we develop beliefs using inductive and deductive reasoning; you can quote from this as you construct your draft.
https://courses.lumenlearning.com/engcomp1-wmopen/chapter/text-inductive-reasoning/ (Links to an external site.)
List the sources you used at the end of the paper, using MLA Style.
Write at least two but no more than three pages.
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