Assignment Task: Filled out based on the reading of Peter Singer's, "Famine, Affluence, and Morality"
Template for Analyzing the Logic of an Article: Use the following template to help you analyze the course readings.
Part 1) The main purpose of the article is.
- (State as accurately as possible the author's purpose for writing the article)
Part 2) The key question that the author is addressing is .
- (Figure out the key question in the mind of the author when s/he wrote the article)
Part 3) The most important information in this article is .
- (Figure out the facts/experiences/data the author is using to support her/his conclusions)
Part 4) The main inferences/conclusions in this article are .
- (Identify the key conclusions the author comes to and presents in the article)
Part 5) The key concept(s) we need to understand in this article are . By these concepts, the author means.
- (Figure out the most important ideas, you would have to understand in order to understand the author's reasoning)
Part 6) The main assumption(s) underlying the author's thinking is (are) .
- (Figure out what the author is taking for granted - what might be questioned?)
Part 7a) If we take this line of reasoning seriously, the implications are .
- (What consequences are likely to follow if people take the author's line of reasoning seriously?) 7b) If we fail to take this line of reasoning seriously, the implications are .
- (What consequences are likely to follow if people ignore the author's reasoning?)
Part 8) The main point(s) of view presented in this article is (are).
- (What is the author looking at, and how is s/he seeing it?)