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Course 144 · Life course 31

Build an Argument and Spot Faulty Reasoning

Map reasons, test conditional claims, and repair weak reasoning in everyday proposals.

Before you start

Read short statements and compare small whole numbers. No philosophy background is required.

See everything you’ll need

Practice materials and a worked example · Free download. Download the starter pack

What you’ll leave with

An argument-audit packet with a premise map, conditional tests, counterexamples, repaired reasoning, certainty labels, and a final evidence-based room recommendation.

Start course Start without an account. Sign in to save lesson progress across devices.

Your project

Start with the practice files. Build your project one lesson at a time.

Practice files are free without an account. Sign in to save your project record in My Proof: a description, checklist, and optional work link. Keep the original files in your own app or notebook; saving a project record does not upload them.

  1. Get your materialsDownload practice filesStart with the supplied materials, follow the lessons, and compare your work with the annotated example.
  2. Make your projectView the project checklist Work in your own notebook, document, or software. Use the supplied practice examples when you prefer.
  3. Keep a private recordSave a project record Sign in to save a description and checklist, then return to update them.
Optional course overview

Watch an introduction.

This overview from CrashCourse introduces ideas you’ll practice in the lessons.

Watch directly on YouTube
CrashCourseHow to Argue - Philosophical Reasoning: Crash Course Philosophy #2YouTube
Course handbook

Know the route before you begin.

Here’s what you’ll need and what you’ll make. You can return to this guide during any lesson.

Who this is for

For learners 14+ exploring practical skills for school, work, and everyday life.

Prepare before lesson one
  • Read short statements and compare small whole numbers. No philosophy background is required.
  • Use the time shown for each lesson; it includes the supplied practice, changed-input work, and applied questions. Keep the six lesson outputs for the final project. Optional videos, setup, and any optional real-world extension take extra time.
Your final project

Finish with proof you can use.

An argument-audit packet with a premise map, conditional tests, counterexamples, repaired reasoning, certainty labels, and a final evidence-based room recommendation.

Save a project record in My Proof
See project checklist and review criteria

Keep your working files in your own notebook or software. Save a private description, checklist, and work link in My Proof.

What to include

  • Identify premises, conclusion, and assumptions.
  • Test conditional direction and create valid counterexamples.
  • Explain and repair irrelevant or incomplete reasons.
  • Distinguish rule-based conclusions from uncertain predictions.
  • Produce the final map with a clear change trigger.

Review and revise

Use these criteria to check your work and choose what to improve.

  • Argument roles are correctly identified.
  • Counterexamples have the required true-condition/false-result structure.
  • Revisions address the actual evidence gap.
  • Final conclusions follow the supplied facts without hidden assumptions.
Three ideas to help you along the way
Three useful ideas

The rules behind the steps.

01

Separate support from truth

Check both whether facts are accurate and whether they support the conclusion.

02

Test the direction

An if-then rule cannot automatically be reversed.

03

Repair the reasoning

Name the support gap and offer a better reason.

What do these words mean?
Key words

Key terms worth knowing.

Premise
A reason offered to support a conclusion.
Conclusion
The claim an argument asks a reader to accept.
Conditional
An if-then statement linking a condition to a result.
Counterexample
A case showing a universal claim or inference can fail.
Validity
A deductive structure in which true premises cannot lead to a false conclusion.
Your route

6 lessons.
One useful project.

Work in order the first time. Each lesson makes something the next lesson can use.

  1. 1
    Up next

    Find premises and conclusions

    Separate a proposal from the reasons offered to support it.

  2. 2
    24 min

    Test if-then reasoning

    Apply a conditional rule without reversing it.

  3. 3
    24 min

    Use a counterexample

    Test a universal claim or argument with a case that exposes its limit.

  4. 4
    21 min

    Spot irrelevant and missing reasons

    Identify why a persuasive sentence fails to support its conclusion.

  5. 5
    24 min

    Separate deduction from prediction

    Distinguish conclusions guaranteed by rules from predictions based on past cases.

  6. 6
    28 min

    Build and audit an argument map

    Assemble a recommendation with explicit premises, assumptions, and rebuttal tests.

Use the tools

Tools to help you practice.

See all tools
ZIP · practice files

Build an Argument and Spot Faulty Reasoning practice files

Start with the supplied materials, follow the lessons, and compare your work with the annotated example.

Text worksheet

Your course project worksheet

A downloadable text worksheet with each lesson’s working output, space for your answers, and the shared final-project checklist. Save your own copy.

Source transparency

Sources and further study.

Explore the references behind the lessons and take your learning further. Source notes explain access and reuse.

OpenStax: Arguments
Source & access notes · checked 2026-09-12

Inspected premises, conclusions, and the distinction between truth and logical support.

Access: Public page or PDF inspected without payment or institutional sign-in on September 12, 2026. Optional external accounts are unnecessary for this course.

Reuse: Link and original paraphrase only. Public access does not grant blanket reuse; no provider text, figures, or exercises are reproduced.

OpenStax: Types of Inferences
Source & access notes · checked 2026-09-12

Inspected conditional forms, counterexamples, and deductive versus inductive inference.

Access: Public page or PDF inspected without payment or institutional sign-in on September 12, 2026. Optional external accounts are unnecessary for this course.

Reuse: Link and original paraphrase only. Public access does not grant blanket reuse; no provider text, figures, or exercises are reproduced.

OpenStax: Informal Fallacies
Source & access notes · checked 2026-09-12

Inspected relevance, false dilemmas, weak evidence, and unwarranted assumptions.

Access: Public page or PDF inspected without payment or institutional sign-in on September 12, 2026. Optional external accounts are unnecessary for this course.

Reuse: Link and original paraphrase only. Public access does not grant blanket reuse; no provider text, figures, or exercises are reproduced.

How to Argue - Philosophical Reasoning: Crash Course Philosophy #2
Source & access notes · checked 2026-09-12

Watch URL discovered through web search or an inspected official page; YouTube oEmbed returned this exact title and channel. Metadata verified; full playback and captions were not tested.

Access: Public YouTube metadata returned without sign-in on September 12, 2026. The video is optional; playback and caption availability were not tested.

Reuse: Link and original paraphrase only. Public access does not grant blanket reuse; no provider text, figures, or exercises are reproduced.

Ready when you are

Start with the first useful move.

You’ll always know what to do, what to make, and where to go next.

Start lesson one