Critical Thinking Examples

What is an example of a proposition?

"The Earth orbits the Sun." – This is a proposition because it can be either true or false.

What is an example of a non-proposition?

"Please close the door." – This is a command, not a statement that can be true or false.

What is an example of an argument?

"All mammals are warm-blooded. Whales are mammals. Therefore, whales are warm-blooded." – The premises support the conclusion.

What is an example of a non-argument?

"Whales are mammals. They live in the ocean." – This is informational, not meant to prove anything.

What is an example of a premise?

"All birds have feathers." – This is a supporting statement in an argument.

What is an example of a conclusion?

"Therefore, a sparrow has feathers." – This is the claim supported by the premise(s).

What is an example of a deductive argument?

"All humans are mortal. Socrates is a human. Therefore, Socrates is mortal." – The conclusion necessarily follows from the premises.

What is an example of an inductive argument?

"Every swan I've seen is white. Therefore, all swans are white." – The conclusion is likely based on observed evidence.

What is an example of a valid vs. invalid argument?

Valid: "If it rains, the ground gets wet. It is raining. Therefore, the ground is wet."

Invalid: "If it rains, the ground gets wet. The ground is wet. Therefore, it is raining." – This commits a fallacy.

What is an example of a sound vs. unsound argument?

Sound: "All mammals are warm-blooded. Dolphins are mammals. Therefore, dolphins are warm-blooded."

Unsound: "All birds can fly. Penguins are birds. Therefore, penguins can fly." – The premise is false.

What is an example of an explanation?

"The window broke because the ball hit it." – This tells why something happened, not proving a conclusion.

What is an example of a conditional statement?

"If it is raining, then the ground is wet." – This links two conditions in a cause-effect structure.

What is an example of identifying assumptions?

Assumption: "Online classes are less effective because students are lazy." – Assumes students are the cause, without evidence.

What is an example of ambiguous language?

"I saw her duck." – Could mean seeing a bird or someone lowering their head.

What is an example of vague language?

"He is tall." – Without context, "tall" is unclear and subjective.

What is an example of cognitive bias?

Confirmation bias – Only reading news sources that support your political views.

What is an example of rhetorical devices?

Loaded language – "This sneaky plan is just another trick by corrupt politicians."

What is an example of a fallacy?

Straw man – "You think we should fund public schools? So you want to ruin the economy?"

What is an example of evaluating credibility?

A peer-reviewed medical journal is more credible than a random blog post.

What is an example of evaluating relevance?

Talking about someone’s appearance during a job interview debate is irrelevant to their qualifications.

What is an example of evaluating consistency?

A politician who claims to support clean energy but invests in oil companies is being inconsistent.

What is an example of evaluating adequacy?

A single review doesn’t provide adequate evidence that a product works for everyone.

What is an example of evaluating logical support?

If evidence clearly backs up a claim, like statistics showing a policy’s success, then the support is logical.

What is an example of identifying the structure of an argument?

Premise 1: "All humans need water."
Premise 2: "Lisa is human."
Conclusion: "Lisa needs water." – Classic argument structure.