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There are three kinds of indicator words: position indicators, reason indicators, and objection indicators.
Pay attention now - there will be a quiz later!
Position indicators
Position indicators are clues that a group of words is a position. The word 'therefore' is one position indicator.
e.g. 'Only couples have entered this room therefore there must be an even number of people in the room'
The position is the claim following 'therefore'. Some other position indicators are 'hence', 'so', 'thus', 'consequently', and 'proving'. You could replace the word 'therefore' in the example with any of these and mean the same thing.
The position indicator is our clue that the map goes like this:
Reason indicators
Reason indicators let us know that a group of words is a reason. The word 'since' is one reason indicator.
e.g. 'My car is reliable since I bought it new three months ago'
The reason is the claim that follows 'since'. Some other reason indicators are 'because', 'as', 'for', and 'follows from'.
The reason indicator that tells us the map goes like this:
Objection indicators
Objection indicators are hints that a group of words is an objection (or a rebuttal, depending on its place in your map). The word 'but' is one objection indicator.
e.g. 'I should go to basketball practice this evening but my favorite television show is on tonight'
The objection is the claim that follows 'but'. Some other objection indicators are 'although' and 'however'.
The indicator is a hint to map the reasoning like this:
© Austhink 2007. Rationale Exercises version 0.1, Sep-07
Note: these exercises are undergoing continual improvement. Next time you come back they might be a bit different.
