Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Using Argument Diagramming to Teach Critical Thinking in a First-Year Writing Course

  • Chapter
The Palgrave Handbook of Critical Thinking in Higher Education

Abstract

The importance of teaching critical thinking skills at the college level cannot be overemphasized. Teaching a subcategory of these skills—argument analysis—we believe is especially important for first-year students with their college careers, as well as their lives, ahead of them. The struggle, however, is how to effectively teach argument analysis skills that will serve students in a broad range of disciplines.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 149.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 199.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 219.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  • Annis, D., and Annis, L. 1979. “Does Philosophy Improve Critical Thinking?” Teaching Philosophy 3: 145–152.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Arum, R., and Roska, J. 2011. Academically Adrift: Limited Learning on College Campuses. Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Beardsley, M. C. 1950. Practical Logic. (third edition). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.

    Google Scholar 

  • Beardsley, M. C. 1966. Thinking Straight. (third edition). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bieda, A. S. 2011. Closing the Gap between Career Education & Employer Expectations: Implications for America’s Unemployment Rate. Washington, DC: Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brockriede, W., and Ehninger, D. 1960. “Toulmin on Argument: An Interpretation and Application.” Quarterly Journal of Speech 46: 44–53.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brookfield, S. 1987. Developing Critical Thinkers: Challenging Adults to Explore Alternative Ways of Thinking and Acting. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brunk-Chavez, B. L. 2004. “What’s So Funny about Stephen Toulmin? Using Cartoons to Teach the Toulmin Analysis.” Teaching English in the Two Year College 32 (2): 178–185.

    Google Scholar 

  • Carey, S. S. 2000. The Uses and Abuses of Argument. Mountain View, CA: Mayfield.

    Google Scholar 

  • Carrington, M., Chen, R., Davies, M., Kaur, J., and Neville, B. 2011. “The Effectiveness of a Single Intervention of Computer-Aided Argument Mapping in a Marketing and a Financial Accounting Subject.” Higher Education Research and Development 30 (3): 387–403.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Casserly, M. 2012. The 10 Skills That Will Get You Hired in 2013. December 12, 2013. Available from http://www.forbes.com/sites/meghancasserly/2012/12/10/the-10-skills-that-will-get-you-a-job-in-2013/.

    Google Scholar 

  • Davies, M. 2009. “Computer-Assisted Argument Mapping: A Rationale Approach.” Higher Education 58 (6): 799–820.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Davies, M. 2012. “Computer-Aided Argument Mapping and the Teaching of Critical Thinking (Part 2).” Inquiry: Critical Thinking across the Disciplines 27 (3): 16–28.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dwyer, C. P., Hogan, M. J., and Stewart, I. 2010. “The Evaluation of Argument Mapping as a Learning Tool: Comparing the Effects of Map Reading versus Text Reading on Comprehension and Recall of Arguments.” Thinking Skills and Creativity 5: 16–22.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dwyer, C. P., Hogan, M. J., and Stewart, I. 2012. “An Evaluation of Argument Mapping as a Method of Enhancing Critical Thinking Performance in E-Learning Environments.” Metacognition Learning 7: 219–244.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dwyer, C. P., Hogan, M. J., and Stewart, I. 2013. “An Examination of the Effects of Argument Mapping on Students’ Memory and Comprehension Performance.” Thinking Skills and Creativity 8: 11–24.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Enkvist, N. E. 1990. “Seven Problems in the Study of Coherence and Interpretability.” In Coherence in Writing: Research and Pedagogical Perspectives, edited by Ulla Connor and Ann M. Johns. Alexandria, VA: Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, Inc.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ennis, R. H. 1987. “A Taxonomy of Critical Thinking Dispositions and Abilities.” In Teaching Thinking Skills: Theory and Practice, edited by J. B. Baron and R. J. Sternberg. New York: W. H. Freeman and Company. 9–26.

    Google Scholar 

  • Freeman, J. B. 1991. Dialectics and the Macrostructure of Arguments: A Theory of Argument Structure. New York: Foris Publications.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Fulkerson, R. 1986. “Logic and Teachers of English?” Rhetoric Review 4 (2): 198–209.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fulkerson, R. 1996a. “Stephen Toulmin.” In Encyclopedia of Rhetoric and Composition. New York: Garland 726–727.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fulkerson, R. 1996b. “The Toulmin Model of Argument and the Teaching of Composition.” In Argument Revisited; Argument Redefined; Negotiating Meaning in the Composition Classroom, edited by Barbara Emmel, Paula Resch and Deborah Tenney. Thousand Oaks, CA: American Forensic Association, Sage Publications. 45–72.

    Google Scholar 

  • Graves, J. A. 2013. 7 Key Skills You Need to Get Hired Right Now: In-Demand Skills Job Candidates Must Cultivate. February 24, 2013. Available from http://money.usnews.com/money/careers/articles/2013/02/21/7-key-skills-you-need-to-get-hired-right-now.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gross, A. G. 1984. “A Comment on the Uses of Toulmin.” College English 46 (3): 310–314. http://www.jstor.org/stable/377043.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Halpern, D. 1996. Thought and Knowledge: An Introduction to Critical Thinking. (third edition) Mahwah, NJ.: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

    Google Scholar 

  • Harrell, M. 2008. “No Computer Program Required: Even Pencil-and-Paper Argument Mapping Improves Critical Thinking Skills.” Teaching Philosophy 31: 351–374.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Harrell, M. 2011. “Argument Diagramming and Critical Thinking in Introductory Philosophy.” Higher Education Research and Development 30 (3): 371–385.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Harrell, M. 2012. “Assessing the Efficacy of Argument Diagramming to Teach Critical Thinking Skills in Introduction to Philosophy.” Inquiry 27 (2): 31–38.

    Google Scholar 

  • Harrell, M., and Wetzel, D. 2013. “Improving First-Year Writing Using Argument Diagramming.” In M. Knauff, M. Pauen, N. Sebanz, and I. Wachsmuth, Proceedings of the 35th Annual Conference of the Cognitive Science Society (pp. 2488–2493). Austin, TX: Cognitive Science Society.

    Google Scholar 

  • Honey, M., Fasca, C., Gersick, A., Mandinach, E., and Sinha, S. 2005. Assessment of 21st Century Skills: The Current Landscape. New York: Partnership for 21st Century Skills.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hyland, K. 2003. Second Language Writing. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Kirschner, P. A., Shum, S. J. B., and Carr, C. S. 2003. Visualizing Argumentation: Software Tools for Collaborative and Educational Sense-Making. New York: Springer.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Kneupper, C. W. 1978. “Teaching Argument: An Introduction to the Toulmin Model.” College Composition and Communication 29 (3): 237–241.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kuhn, D. 1991. The Skills of Argument. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Kurfiss, J. 1988. Critical Thinking: Theory, Research, Practice and Possibilities. Washington: ASHE-Eric Higher Education Report No. 2, Associate for the Study of Higher Education.

    Google Scholar 

  • Loui, R. P. 2005. “A Citation-Based Reflection on Toulmin and Argument.” Argumentation 19 (3): 259–266.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Means, M. L., and Voss, J. F. 1996. “Who Reasons Well? Two Studies of Informal Reasoning among Children of Different Grade, Ability, and Knowledge Levels.” Cognition and Instruction 14: 139–178.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • National Center for Education Statistics. 2012. “The Nation’s Report Card: Writing 2011” NCES 2012–470. Washington, DC.

    Google Scholar 

  • National Commission on Excellence in Education. 1985. “A Nation at Risk: The Imperative for Educational Reform: A Report to the Nation and the Secretary of Education.” Washington, DC.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nickerson, R. S. 1987. “Why Teach Thinking?” In Teaching Thinking Skills: Theory and Practice, edited by J. B. Baron and R. J. Sternberg. New York: Freeman. 27–37.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pascarella, E. 1989. “The Development of Critical Thinking: Does College Make a Difference?” Journal of College Student Development 30: 19–26.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pascarella, E., and Terenzini, P. 2005. How College Affects Students: Findings and Insights from Twenty Years of Research. Vol. 2: A Third Decade of Research. San Francisco: Jossey Bass.

    Google Scholar 

  • Paul, R., Binker, A., K., J., and Kreklau, H. 1990. Critical Thinking Handbook: A Guide for Remodeling Lesson Plans in Language Arts, Social Studies and Science. Rohnert Park, CA: Foundation for Critical Thinking.

    Google Scholar 

  • Perkins, D., Jay, E., and Tishman, S. 1992. Assessing Thinking: A Framework for Measuring Critical Thinking and Problem Solving Skills at the College Level. Washington, DC: The National Center for Educational Statistics Workshop on the Assessment of Higher Order Thinking and Communication Skills of College Graduates: Preliminary listing of Skills and Levels of Proficiency.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pinkwart, N., Ashley, K., Lynch, C., and Aleven, V. 2009. “Evaluating an Intelligent Tutoring System for Making Legal Arguments with Hypotheticals.” International Journal of Artificial Intelligence in Education 19: 401–424.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rampey, B. D., Dion, G. S., and Donahue, P. L. 2009. “Naep 2008 Trends in Academic Progress” NCES 2009–479. Washington, DC.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reed, C., Walton, D., and Macagno, F. 2007. “Argument Diagramming in Logic, Law and Artificial Intelligence.” The Knowledge Engineering Review 22: 87–109.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Resnick, L. B. 1987. Education and Learning to Think. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rex, L. A., Thomas, E. E., and Engel, S. 2010. “Applying Toulmin: Teaching Logical Reasoning and Argumentative Writing.” 99 (6): 56–62.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rothman, R., Slattery, J. B., Vranek, J. L., and Resnick, L. B. 2002. “Benchmarking and Alignment of Standards and Testing.” CSE Tech. Rep. 566. Los Angeles, CA.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Scheuer, O., McLaren, B., Harrell, M., and Weinberger, A. 2011a. “Scripting Collaboration: What Affects Does It Have on Student Argumentation?” In Proceedings of the 19th International Conference on Computers in Education: Icce 2011, edited by T. Hirashima, G. Biswas, T. Supnithi and F. Yu. Chiang Mai, Thailand: National Electronics and Computer Technology Center.

    Google Scholar 

  • Scheuer, O., McLaren, B., Harrell, M., and Weinberger, A. 2011b. “Will Structuring the Collaboration of Students Improve Their Argumentation?” In Lecture Notes in Computer Science: Artificial Intelligence in Education—15th International Conference, edited by G. Biswas, S. Bull, J. Kay and A. Mitrovic. Berlin: Springer-Verlag, 6738. 544–546.

    Google Scholar 

  • Siegel, H. 1980. “Critical Thinking as an Educational Ideal.” Educational Forum 45 (1): 7–23.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Siegel, H. 1988. Educating Reason: Rationality, Critical Thinking, and Education. New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stenning, K., Cox, R., and Oberlander, J. 1995. “Contrasting the Cognitive Effects of Graphical and Sentential Logic Teaching: Reasoning, Representation and Individual Differences.” Language and Cognitive Processes 10 (3–4): 333–354.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thomas, S. N. 1986. Practical Reasoning in Natural Language. (third edition). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.

    Google Scholar 

  • Toulmin, S. E. 1958. The Uses of Argument (first edition). Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Toulmin, S. E., Rieke, R., and Janik, A. 1984. An Introduction to Reasoning. (second edition). New York, London: Macmillan Publishing Co., Inc. Collier Macmillan Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Twardy, C. R. 2004. “Argument Maps Improve Critical Thinking.” Teaching Philosophy 27: 95–116.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • van Gelder, T., Bissett, M., and Cumming, G. 2004. “Cultivating Expertise in Informal Reasoning.” Canadian Journal of Experimental Psychology 58: 142–152.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vande Kopple, W. 1989. Clear and Coherent Prose: A Functional Approach. Glenview, IL: Scott, Foresman, & Company.

    Google Scholar 

  • Warren, J. E. 2010. “Taming the Warrant in Toulmin’s Model of Argument.” English Journal 99 (6): 41–46.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Authors
  1. Maralee Harrell
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Danielle Wetzel
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Editor information

Martin Davies Ronald Barnett

Copyright information

© 2015 Martin Davies and Ronald Barnett

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Harrell, M., Wetzel, D. (2015). Using Argument Diagramming to Teach Critical Thinking in a First-Year Writing Course. In: Davies, M., Barnett, R. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of Critical Thinking in Higher Education. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137378057_14

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation