前回と前々回のレッスンでは、主張と証拠について学びました。優れた論理の最後のステップは、理由づけ、つまり「それがどうした」という答えを導き出すことです。
Read the following question: How will AI change the world?
Imagine someone gives the following answer:
AI will change the world by performing tasks faster, and possibly more effectively than humans can. For example, a study by McKinsey showed that 55% of companies have adopted AI to varying degrees. Companies that use AI have improved business operations by saving time and resources, such as in customer support or research.
Is this a good answer?
Students should see that this answer is missing something. The first sentence answers the question, the following sentences give the evidence. But that’s not enough! The evidence needs to connect back to the initial claim - and this is called reasoning.
Basically, reasoning answers the “So what?” of your evidence. In other words, it explains how your evidence relates back to the initial claim.
Basically put, reasoning answers the “So what?” of your evidence. In other words, it explains how your evidence relates back to the initial claim.
It’s easy to give opinions (claims) and then evidence (examples). What’s difficult for students is to remember to explain why the example relates to the claim (or why it matters). English logic is very clear in that every part (claim - evidence - reasoning) has to connect back to each other.
When thinking of reasoning, try to answer the following questions:
- How does my example relate back to my opinion?
- Why is my evidence important?
- So what?
Here are some phrases to help you introduce reasoning:
- As you can see by my example,...
- The facts clearly show that...
- This implies that...
- The evidence proves that...because...
Go through this section with your student.
- Now go back to the initial question and put it all together.
How will AI change the world?
- Here are the questions that you’ve already seen in the previous lesson.
- Remember to give a “So what” after your example!
- What are the common characteristics of powerful leaders?
- Which Asian countries have the potential to grow in the future?
- What are the pros and cons of globalization?
- What’s your opinion on climate change?