ELEMENTS OF THOUGHT R.

PAUL
STANDARDS & BENCHMARKS Eight elements of thought identified by Richard Paul (1992) are the basic building blocks of productive thinking. orking together! they provide a general logic to reasoning. "n literature interpretation and listening! they help one make sense of the reasoning of the author or speaker. "n #riting and speaking! they enable authors or speakers to strengthen their arguments. $tudents are often asked to distinguish bet#een facts and opinions. %o#ever! bet#een pure opinion and hard facts lie reasoned &udgments in #hich beliefs are supported by reasons. "nstruction in this area needs to be included in all forms of communication in the language arts. 'eachers may use the elements to assist in crafting (uestions for class discussion of literature or (uestions for probing student thinking. E)amples of such (uestions are given on the heel of Reasoning that follo#s the descriptions belo#. 'he eight elements of reasoning are as follo#s* Purpose, Goal, or E ! "#e$ e reason to achieve some ob&ective! to satisfy a desire! to fulfill some need. +or e)ample! if the car does not start in the morning! the purpose of my reasoning is to figure out a #ay to get to #ork. ,ne source of problems in reasoning is traceable to -defects- at the level of purpose or goal. "f our goal itself is unrealistic! contradictory to other goals #e have! confused or muddled in some #ay! then the reasoning #e use to achieve it is problematic. "f #e are clear on the purpose for our #riting and speaking! it #ill help focus the message in a coherent direction. 'he purpose in our reasoning might be to persuade others. hen #e read and listen! #e should be able to determine the author.s or speaker.s purpose. %ues&#o a& 'ssue (or Pro)le* &o Be Sol+e!, hen #e attempt to reason something out! there is at least one (uestion at issue or problem to be solved (if not! there is no reasoning re(uired). "f #e are not clear about #hat the (uestion or problem is! it is unlikely that #e #ill find a reasonable ans#er! or one that #ill serve our purpose. /s part of the reasoning process! #e should be able to formulate the (uestion to be ans#ered or the issue to be addressed. +or e)ample! #hy #on.t the car start0 ,r should libraries censor materials that contain ob&ectionable language0

Po# &s o- "#e$ or Fra*e o- Re-ere .e /s #e take on an issue! #e are influenced by our o#n point of vie#. +or e)ample! parents of young children and librarians might have different points of vie# on censorship issues. 'he price of a shirt may seem lo# to one person #hile it seems high to another because of a different frame of reference. /ny defect in our point of vie# or frame of reference is a possible source of 1

problems in our reasoning. ,ur point of vie# may be too narro#! may not be precise enough! may be unfairly biased! and so forth. 1y considering multiple points of vie#! #e may sharpen or broaden our thinking. "n #riting and speaking! #e may strengthen our arguments by ackno#ledging other points of vie#. "n listening and reading! #e need to identify the perspective of the speaker or author and understand ho# it affects the message delivered.

E/per#e .es, Da&a, E+#!e .e hen #e reason! #e must be able to support our point of vie# #ith reasons or evidence. Evidence is important in order to distinguish opinions from reasons or to create a reasoned &udgment. Evidence and data should support the author.s or speaker.s point of vie# and can strengthen an argument. /n e)ample is data from surveys or published studies. "n reading and listening! #e can evaluate the strength of an argument or the validity of a statement by e)amining the supporting data or evidence. E)periences can also contribute to the data of our reasoning. +or e)ample! previous e)periences in trying to get a car to start may contribute to the reasoning process that is necessary to resolve the problem.

Co .ep&s a ! '!eas Reasoning re(uires the understanding and use of concepts and ideas (including definitional terms! principles! rules! or theories). hen #e read and listen! #e can ask ourselves! - hat are the key ideas presented0- hen #e #rite and speak! #e can e)amine and organi2e our thoughts around the substance of concepts and ideas. $ome e)amples of concepts are freedom! friendship! and responsibility. ELEMENTS OF THOUGHTR. PAULANDARDS & BENCHMARKS Assu*p&#o s e need to take some things for granted #hen #e reason. e need to be a#are of the assumptions #e have made and the assumptions of others. "f #e make faulty assumptions! this can lead to defects in reasoning. /s a #riter or speaker #e make assumptions about our audience and our message. +or e)ample! #e might assume that others #ill share our point of vie#3 or #e might assume that the audience is familiar #ith the +irst /mendment #hen #e refer to -+irst /mendment rights.- /s a reader or listener #e should be able to identify the assumptions of the #riter or speaker.

' -ere .es Reasoning proceeds by steps called inferences. /n inference is a small step of the mind! in #hich a person concludes that something is so because of something else being so or seeming to be so. 'he tentative conclusions (inferences) #e make depend on #hat #e assume as #e attempt to 2

make sense of #hat is going on around us. +or e)ample! #e see dark clouds and infer that it is going to rain3 or #e kno# the movie starts at 4*553 it is no# 6*783 it takes 95 minutes to get to the theater3 so #e cannot get there on time. :any of our inferences are &ustified and reasonable! but many are not. e need to distinguish bet#een the ra# data of our e)periences and our interpretations of those e)periences (inferences). /lso! the inferences #e make are heavily influenced by our point of vie# and our assumptions.

'*pl#.a&#o s a ! Co se0ue .es hen #e reason in a certain direction! #e need to look at the conse(uences of that direction. hen #e argue and support a certain point of vie#! solid reasoning re(uires that #e consider #hat the implications are of follo#ing that path3 #hat are the conse(uences of taking the course that #e support0 hen #e read or listen to an argument! #e need to ask ourselves #hat follo#s from that #ay of thinking. e can also consider conse(uences of actions that characters in stories take. +or e)ample! if " don.t do my home#ork! " #ill have to stay after school to do it3 if " #ater the la#n! it #ill not #ither in the summer heat.
Adapted from Paul, R. (1992). Critical thinking: What e er! per"on need" to "ur i e in a rapidl! changing #orld. $onoma, CA: %oundation for Critical &hinking.