The Elements of Reasoning

by Ronald Munson, David Conway, Andrew Black

This text is a concise and lucid introduction to the basic elements of argumentative prose and the conceptual tools necessary to understand, analyze, criticize, and construct arguments. The book serves not only as a text for college courses in argument analysis, but as a useful handbook of reasoning in much the same way that Strunk and White's ELEMENTS OF STYLE provides a handbook for writers. While the book covers the standard formal tools of introductory logic, its emphasis is on practical applications to the kinds of arguments students most often encounter.

Genres: Philosophy, Nonfiction, Logic, Reference

256 pages, Paperback

First published October 21, 2003

Reviews

[Jonah Hill · Rating 3 out of 5]

Helpful introductory work. 3 stars because of formatting errors and typos throughout. This is the 6th edition (two editions removed from the latest, I believe). Some illustrations in the exercises are either dated or incorrect.

[Parker · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mostly fine.

Most of the chapters are clear and helpful, but a couple are hard to follow. Most of the material is accompanied by good illustrations, but some are not. Most of the exercises make sense and solidify the material, some feel like busy work (and there's probably too many of them). Most of the material is organized well, but the chapters on definition and ambiguity come absurdly late.

All in all, a perfectly serviceable introduction to logic. It's not particularly interesting, and that's okay.

[A. · Rating 4 out of 5]

A brisk overview of reasoning covering essential definitions and approaches to analyzing the soundness of arguments, with the academic writer in mind. In handbook format with summaries of key topics and exercises at the end of each chapter, it’s worth the time investment to read.

[Ax · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read in an attempt to test out of a class
I thought it was an interesting introduction to evaluating arguments, there seemed to be some pages missing from my edition.

[Mari · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good.
Could be more precise and more explanation and examples wouldn't hurt.