CSK Key Terms

Epistemic community

Epistemic community

A network of professionals with recognized expertise in a particular subject. These network of professionals also share a set of beliefs and values.

Discipline

A discipline is a subdivision of knowledge that is taught and researched. taught usually at college or university level. Disciplines in literature can include, philosophy and rhetoric.

Interdisciplinarity

involving 2 or more branches of knowledge. 2 or more disciplines bring their expertise together and work to understand a shared problem. helps lead to scientific revolutions.

Trans-disciplinarity

Exploration of a relevant issue that integrates the perspectives of multiple disciplines in order to connect new knowledge. Ex: feminism, Marxism

Critical thinking

the objective analysis and evaluation of an issue in order to form your own opinion. Includes justifying your own opinions and doubting other information and being skeptical of it. to think critically you must look at evidence and weigh the options

Exposition

provides background information of the subject. Presents an idea of the subject using examples, facts, and evidence. The writing is mainly explanatory and informational.

Argument

Reasons given in support of an idea. Argumentative writing is where the primary purpose is to convince readers of an idea or persuade them to act. Ex: an author my write a piece on abortion, advocating for a certain side

Inference

A conclusion one can draw from the presented details. One can make inferences on the plot, characters, setting etc... Creating inferences shows active engagement in the reader

analysis

separating of a subject into its parts/elements to understand it. Fundamental to critical thinking, reading and writing. Involves interpreting the elements' meaning and significance.

Critique

A critique is the process of evaluating another authors work. (can include) a careful analysis of an argument to determine how well points were made.

Dialectical

discussions of ideas and opinions between people with different points of view about a subject. Goal is to come to a conclusion and establish the truth through reasoned argumentation. Ex: two world leaders may hold a dialectical discussion on how to combat climate change-

Epistemology

the philosophical study of the nature, origin, and limits of human knowledge. sometimes referred to as the theory of knowledge.

Ontology

the branch of philosophy that studies concepts such as existence, reality, being, and becoming. It includes questions of how entities are grouped into basic categories.

The writing process

(1) assessing the writing situation, (2) discovering and shaping ideas, (3) drafting, (4) revising, and (5) editing. It's a recursive process. Each step you take in your writing process will feed into other steps

Recursivity

The continual construction, change, and reconstruction of one's writing. The writing process is a recursive process. After revising one may go to the prewriting step to develop ideas.

"angle"

the unique perspective you bring to the topic. the precise way you choose to tell your story. there may be several different angles on the information or on a single event

"the lead"

progression of sentences that tug the reader forward until they are hooked on the story. the lead amplifies the readers curiosity.

"entry point"

A starting point to capture the audience's attention. Can include personal experiences, stories, numerical data EX: in a writing piece about the effects of covid-19, one may use the number of total deaths as an entry point

Jargon

the special vocabulary used by a certain group. words can often be difficult for others to understand. can be seen as vague or unclear to others. A jargon in the business discipline can include "buzz worthy, and deep dive"

thesis statement

a sentence(s) that states the purpose of a paper. Usually at the beginning of an essay and used to express the central idea. Establishes your voice, suggesting your attitude towards the subject

Topic Sentence

A sentence that informs readers to the essence of the paragraph. Exists in every paragraph to tie into the main point supporting the thesis statement or elaborates on parts of the thesis.

Method

A detailed explanation of how a study was conducted, including any statistical analysis. Commonly used in scientific papers and studies.

Problem Statement

a concise description of an issue to be addressed. Should be designed to address the journalist questions (What, Who, Where, When, Why)

thesis question

A general inquiry about a specific topic that starts the research necessary to write a paper. Ex" What effect does media have on peoples minds?"

Journalist's Questions

who, what, when, where, why, how (6) Importance: allows the reader to get the whole story, capture the whole picture

Tone

the attitude a writer takes towards their subject and reader. Varies depending on their purpose, subject, and audience. Tone may be formal or informal. Should be consistent throughout writing in order for it to have unity.

Controlling idea

Expressed in every topic sentence through a key word(s). Helps to avoid broad, general topic sentences.

Unity

Clear identification and elaboration of one idea (and that idea only) throughout ones writing. A quality of effective writing along with coherence. An essay has unity if all its parts relate to and support the thesis statement.

Development

process of providing solid information to support the general idea of the writing. helps make the essay understandable and interesting to the readers. Helps make paragraphs more unified and coherent.

Coherence

A quality of effective writing along with unity. An essay has coherence if readers can see the relations among parts and move easily from one thought to the next.

uninterested vs disinterested

Uninterested: bored/lacking interest Ex: he was completely uninterested in the question.

Disinterested: impartial Ex: we chose him as a disinterested third party to decide who was right

Objectivity

independent of perceptions, not bias, fact-based, impartial. Objective writing = writing that can be verified through evidence and facts. Use passive voice to write objectively

Correspondence Theories of Meaning/Truth

Consciousness reflects what's out there in the world. The mind is a mirror of nature/world. Often associated with metaphysical realism (Aristotle).

Reference Theory of Meaning

The idea that linguistic expressions have the meanings they do bc they stand for things, what they mean is what they stand for. Words are like labels and symbols that represent/refer to items in the world. Martin Luther King denotes the person Martin Luther King.

Idea theory of meaning

Meanings are mental representations provoked by signs. For example the word dog means something bc it is conventionally used to express an idea.

Relational Theories of Meaning/Truth

There is no mind-independent knowledge on reality. This means that we can never really say/know what is out there but we know what works. This comes from Kant's theory.

"Meaning as Use"

A meaning of a word is decided by the way it's used and the context. Ex: "are you okay?" okay means are you feeling alright vs "okay ill do it" okay means you're agreeing to something

Dialectical Theories of Meaning/Truth

A discourse between 2 or more ppl holding different points of view about a subject but wishing to establish the truth through reasoned argumentation. Hegel and Marx theory

Pragmatic Theories of Meaning/Truth

Can consider something to be true without needing to confirm that it is universally true. Ex: if humans commonly perceive that sunsets are beautiful then sunsets are beautiful beautiful.

Drafting

It is the process where outlined ideas are created into the first version of ones writing that is later polished and edited. 3rd step of the writing process.

Revising

part of the 4th stage of the writing process. Changing/reorganizing ideas or concepts in your writing. When revising it is ideal to try to anticipate how readers will see your work in order to make changes.

Editing

The process of editing and revising individual sentences, words, or grammatical mistakes. This is different than revising because it does not change the structure or organization of the writing. Last part of the writing process

Reverse outline

A revision tool that helps analyze what has already been written and how it is organized. The reverse outline is created after the paper has been drafted. Helps to discover where you can expand on your writing.

Hypothesis

A generalization that can be tested and explains the observed facts. Developed in natural sciences used in social sciences research as well. Ex: If the amount of books someone reads increases, so will their vocabulary.

Analysis

separating of the subject into its parts/elements to understand it. Fundamental to critical thinking, reading and writing. Helps better understand a subject by looking at different points.

pronoun reference

link between pronoun and it's antecedent noun. Ties the sentences together to establish continuity between sentences. EX???

Plagiarism

taking credit for someone else's writing or ideas. The purpose of any paper is to show one's own thinking, not to create a patchwork of borrowed ideas. One may be fined, suspended or expelled.

Summary

a brief account of the main points of ones writing. used to capture the main ideas without excessive detail

Paraphrase

restating or summarizing in your own words someone else's ideas. This process closely follows the authors original work but using your own words. Paraphrasing can sometimes involve slightly changing the words or format of a sentence. one must still provide credit to writer when paraphrasing

Synthesis/synthesizing

drawing one's own conclusions about the elements within a work. making connections with what you know and read to create informed ideas. This process involves knowing something different than what you started with.

Interpretation/Interpreting

The determination of meaning/significance of the elements and of the whole. fundamental part of critical thinking. it is the job of a critical thinker to interpret what the author's assumptions are.

Rhetoric

Art of using language persuasively and effectively. language that is used to inform, persuade, or motivate audiences. Pathos(feelings), ethos(credibility) and logos(logic) are rhetoric devices.

Common sense

good sense and sound judgement in practical matters. not touching a stove after cooking is an example of common sense. similar to common knowledge but regarding skills/practices instead of information

common knowledge

Info that is so well-known that its sources do not have to be cited. This information is readily available from a number of sources. Ex: there are 365 days a year

Point of View

the perspective from which a story is told. Can be told in 1 person (I), Second (you), third (he/she/it). Can shift throughout writing to make it more interesting.

Verbal Dispute

A disagreement about the meaning of a term. occurs when a vague or ambiguous term results in a misunderstanding.

Hermeneutics

the branch of knowledge that deals with interpretation. Deals especially with the Bible and philosophical texts.

Semiotics

the study of signs and symbols and their use or interpretation. Common examples of symbols studied include traffic signs and emojis.

Multi-vocal term

Words/terms that have more than one meaning/interpretation. Ex: ring as in the sound or ring as in the piece of jewelry

definiens

the word or group of words that does the defining. Ex: An elephant is a large gray animal. the word "elephant" is the definiendum, and everything after the word "is" is the definiens.

Definiendum

the word being defined. Ex: An elephant is a large gray animal. the word "elephant" is the definiendum, and everything after the word "is" is the definiens.

reportive definition

type of definitions found in an ordinary dictionary. Reportive definitions identify or report how a word is generally used.

stipulative definition

where the speaker specifies how they're using a word regardless of whether this conforms to normal use. Ex: when using the word wealthy the author may specify that the term wealthy is someone with more than one million dollars.

Definition by example

A definition that gives examples of the definiendum in order to illustrate its meaning. Example: if someone were to ask what a dog is they might say golden retriever, lab, boxer, etc.

Ostensive definition

A definition of a word given by a non-verbal action Ex:when you define the word "jump" by jumping. Or by bringing someone's attention to an object the word refers to. Ex: pointing to a cat to define the word "cat"

Essential definition

Definition that needs to be given in order for the reader to understand the rest of the text. Crucial for the author's ideas to be transmitted to the readers. Helps in terms of having coherent writing

Circular definition

A definition in which a term is defined by using the same term. Ex: "A student is someone who studies". These definitions are not useful because it does not give the reader a better idea of the meaning of the word.

Obscure definition

definition with unclear or difficult to understand definiens. the definiens may be complex and require specialized knowledge. This type of definition is considered vague.

Tautology

Statement that is always true ex: all humans are mammals

The curse of knowledge

When someone knows something very well and they try to explain it to others but you don't know what they already know or don't know. one cannot assume what someone else already knows or doesn't know.

Contradiction

A direct comparison between 2 different things. It is an inconsistency of facts, values, ideas, etc... Ex: a snowy summer's day

Logical contingency

Propositions that are neither true nor false. Ex: It is both sunny and not sunny.

Ambiguity

sentence with more than 1 possible meaning. It can be a problem bc it can lead to misunderstandings. Sometimes used for comedy - memes

Referential ambiguity

when a word/phrase can refer to two different things within a sentence. Ex: our university has a big basketball team. are the players big or is there a large amount of players?

Grammatical ambiguity

a situation where a sentence may be interpreted in more than one way due to the sentence structure. For example: "The Lamb is too hot to eat."

a) the lamb is so hot that it cannot eat anything

b) the cooked lamb is too hot for someone to eat it.

"use and mention" ambiguity

When a distinction is not made between the use and the mentioning of a word or phrase. Ex: Tom said, "I was angry." (use) vs Tom said I was angry.(mentioning)

Vagueness

A statement that lacks a precise meaning. Sometimes we may use vague language to express vague thoughts. Ex: we shall take all appropriate measures to resolve the issue in a fair manner. Politicians use vagueness to avoid responsibility.

Euphemism

A word or phrase that takes the place of a harsh, unpleasant reality. Ex: calling the killer in Halloween emotionally disturbed instead of psychopathic. This can mislead the audience by downplaying events.

Prejudicial language

The use of biased terminology to indicate personal feelings about the claim being made. Ex: he was insulted vs he claims he was insulted.

Qualified statement

A statement that doesn't convey certainty about what is true. Ex: it might snow this weekend. opposite of unqualified statement

Unqualified statement

A statement that conveys certainty about what is true. Ex: It will definitely snow this weekend. Opposite of qualified statement.

Sentence fragment

a sentence missing a subject, verb, or complete thought. Ex: Because it was raining. Begins with a capital and ends with a period but contains no complete thought.

Analytical statement

Statement that is categorically true solely based on the words involved ex: all bachelors are unmarried men

Synthetic statement

A statement whose truth or falsity is not solely dependent upon the words involved. Ex: the sun is out today

Contradictory statement

statement/idea that says two things that cannot both be true. can be used for humor or to emphasize a point. Ex: My sister is jealous of me bc Im an only child

Clutter

refers to words and phrases in one's writing that don't serve any function. Cluttering can weaken one's ideas. Cluttering can include unnecessary repeating and insignificant details in ones writing.