A Passage Actually Has a Skeleton
A friend tells you: "Don't ride your e-bike today—it's pouring rain out there and the roads are really slippery."
Notice that this sentence actually hides two layers: one is the view they want you to accept (don't ride), and the other two parts are the reasons they give (it's raining, the roads are slippery).
We call "the view someone wants you to believe" in a passage the conclusion, and "the reasons used to support that view" the premises.
An argument is simply this: using premises to support a conclusion.
How to Find the Conclusion Quickly
There's a clumsy but handy trick for finding the conclusion: ask yourself, "At bottom, what is this passage trying to get me to believe or do?" That sentence is usually the conclusion.
For example: "This place deserves to be popular. The food is great, the prices are cheap, and the service is warm."
The first sentence, "this place deserves to be popular," is the conclusion; the three that follow are all backing it up.
Signal Words: Signposts Inside a Sentence
Some words act like signposts that help you quickly tell premises from conclusions.
Words that usually introduce a conclusion: so, therefore, thus, it follows that, this shows.
Words that usually introduce a premise: because, since, after all, the reason is, given that.
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What do the words "because" and "so" each usually introduce?
答案："Because" introduces a premise, "so" introduces a conclusion
"Because" is followed by a reason (premise); "so" is followed by a view (conclusion). The second option flips them; the last two ignore that these are exactly the signpost words of an argument.
"Let's not pick the seaside for this trip. There've been lots of typhoons lately, and the seaside hotels are outrageously expensive." Which sentence is the conclusion?
答案：Let's not pick the seaside for this trip
Ask "at bottom, what is this passage trying to get me to do"—don't pick the seaside; that's the conclusion. Typhoons and pricey hotels are the reasons (premises) supporting it, not the final view.
In a passage, "the view someone wants you to believe" is called the ____.
答案：conclusion
The view you're meant to believe is the "conclusion"; the reasons that support it are the "premises."
True or false: the conclusion always appears in the first sentence of a passage.
答案：False
The conclusion can be at the start, the end, or even the middle—its position isn't fixed. Judge by "what am I being asked to believe," not by which sentence it is.
Which of the following words usually introduces a "conclusion"?
答案：Therefore
"Therefore" introduces a conclusion. "Because," "since," and "after all" all introduce premises (reasons).
True or false: premises are the reasons that support the conclusion, and premises and conclusion together make up an argument.
答案：True
Exactly: using premises (reasons) to support a conclusion (view) is what an argument is. A view with no reasons, or reasons with no view, isn't a complete argument.