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Back to Think Again I: How to Understand Arguments

Learner Reviews & Feedback for Think Again I: How to Understand Arguments by Duke University

4.6
stars
2,905 ratings

About the Course

In this course, you will learn what an argument is. The definition of argument will enable you to identify when speakers are giving arguments and when they are not. Next, you will learn how to break an argument into its essential parts, how to put them in order to reveal their connections, and how to fill in gaps in an argument by adding suppressed premises. By the end of this course, you will be better able to understand and appreciate arguments that you and other people present. Suggested Readings: Students who want more detailed explanations or additional exercises or who want to explore these topics in more depth should consult Understanding Arguments: An Introduction to Informal Logic, Ninth Edition, Concise, Chapters 1-5, by Walter Sinnott-Armstrong and Robert Fogelin. Course Format: Each week will be divided into multiple video segments that can be viewed separately or in groups. There will be short ungraded quizzes after each segment (to check comprehension) and a longer graded quiz at the end of the course....

Top reviews

AA

Oct 10, 2016

Very good course, made me really think again. The professor is very clear on his explanations and he also made the course smooth and funny, which helped on the learning process. Highly recommended!

SM

Jun 10, 2020

I found this course very challenging as I find critical thinking very difficult. However this course was extremely rewarding and I will be taking the other three modules in the Think Again series.

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76 - 100 of 767 Reviews for Think Again I: How to Understand Arguments

By Jeanette L

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Sep 5, 2020

I am a retired 76 year young lady living in Melbourne Australia. Due to circumstances at the time I left school at 15. I returned to study in my early 40`s to do an applied science course in Remedial Massage. Now retired after 30 years,

I enjoyed Think Again 1 as it made me stretch my brain in a new way even though I found it quite difficult in certain areas. Hopefully my powers of reasoning have increased.

By Marcos F H

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Apr 29, 2017

Excellent course! The education didactics is really well organized and easy to follow through even for a nonenglish native as myself. At the same time is gradually challenging. I'm really grateful to Professor Dr. Walter Sinnott-Armstrong for sharing his amazing knowledge with such passion. I believe that this course will influence my life in a long therm basis and I look forward to beginning part II.

By Tainá A

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May 31, 2020

This course was definitively a positive surprising to me. I feel more capable of organizing my thoughts and making an argument. Also, it may be also useful when it comes to analyzing other people's argument. Therefore, this is a course that can come in hand in our daily life. The professor is also very good and made learning a lot easier. I'm looking forward to completing the other three courses!

By Tan M L

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Apr 24, 2020

I will definitely recommend all to take up this 4 volume courses where one not only understand the structure of arguments explain by the lecturer in an interesting and lively manner. Over and above, this help us to be more alert in our day to day communication with others and not falling into unnecessary bad arguments with others. I am looking forward to subsequent 3 volume. Keep going !

By Areeb A K

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Dec 11, 2020

By this course i understand a lot about critical thinking, problem solving, solving issues, judgement, close analysis of arguments. I feel some changing on myself to attract people after this course learned. Now I realized that almost people arguing in their life almost arguments are use less, and even they don't think about this arguments only arguing each other without thinking.

By Priti S

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Oct 28, 2020

Being able to reason and understand arguments is a very important skill for everyone but is sadly neglected as part of our curriculum.I came across this wonderful course which was not only informative but fun with such instructors and it is one of the best courses offered on this platform.Strongly recommended for everyone who wants to understand and be understood by others .

By Scott K

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Jun 20, 2020

This was not an easy course; it required a lot of thinking and taking time to really understand what was being taught. But, the professor presented the material in an enjoyable way, and the quiz questions were beneficially in helping me to make sure that I understood the concepts being taught. I look forward to taking the next three courses associated with "Think Again."

By Kavya P

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Aug 28, 2022

I just loved this course from beneath my heart, like I was amazed by seeing the amount of efforts Mr. Walter has put into creating this fantastic course for us and whatever skills are mentioned on the introductory page all of them will be utilised plus developed in this course, I recommend all newbies to try this course who are interested in advanced language!

By Josef T

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Apr 27, 2017

An excellent introduction to the valuable skill of understanding arguments. The lectures are entertaining and provide a welcoming style for learners of all backgrounds. The content is not light but is well-structured and the pacing is generous - one hour a day of study should more than suffice. I thank the creators for an edifying and enjoyable experience.

By Carla L R

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Jun 15, 2020

Outstanding course in its entirety from beginning to end. The quizzes are challenging and dynamic; the extra material is very useful and clarifying and the video lectures with the Professor are priceless. He is very pedagogical and fun to learn from. Hats off! Highly recommended. Now, on track to keep up with the other three courses in this Program! :)

By Shakeel R K

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Jul 6, 2020

One of the most interesting course I have been through. Dr. Walter Sinnott-Armstrong, take a bow Sir! He makes it look so easy and enjoys alongside the student. The course seems easy but once you go through the whole course you will realise how much of it you weren't aware of to begin with. Really looking forward to the other courses in this series.

By Maya S

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Jul 21, 2022

I really enjoyed this course! I am currently studying for my LSAT so I am using this course as an additional study aid to help me really understand argument and argument structures. It is go at your own pace, and the lectures are really engaging. I recommend to those who want to learn a new thing, or are trying to deepen their understanding.

By Lovina N

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May 11, 2020

This course helped me understand more about the human interaction and how language plays its part in it. It was taught and explained exceptionally! As a humanities student looking forward to studying linguistics, I feel my interest has increased significantly in the subject. Will definitely take the other courses from Think Again series.

By Lucas M

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Feb 9, 2019

The professor is very clear and objective. The lessons are well explored and the examples help a lot. The little quizzes after the lectures are good tool to measure your learning. The humor the professor brings helps to keep lectures fun. I thank you the professor, Duke University and Coursera for providing this course.

Sincerely,

Lucas.

By Leonardo M

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Nov 10, 2020

This is probably the best course I've taken so far in Coursera. The subject is good, it was very well explained, but what I want to highlight is the dedication the instructors must have put on it, to come up with such a high quality product.

I will continue with the other courses with a very high expectation.

Thanks to the instructors.

By Luis E C C

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Apr 11, 2020

It was a really great course. Sometimes we take things for granted and we do not stop for a second to analyze our environment. By taking this course I learn to identify how people argue and how they're doing it. Also now I can choose to have an argument with someone else.

This course gave the tools to identify valid arguments.

By Gary D P

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Dec 20, 2017

Bloody marvelous. Took me a while to get into the swing of things. But the presentation and subject matter covered, completely mind-blowing. Who would have thought that a middle aged man from England would be out defined by the presenter. Well played and I salute you. Even if your mother was French and smelt of elderberry's.

By Vishwas B

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Jun 7, 2018

Its a very good course to understand the importance of arguments and how to organize your thoughts to make good arguments.I also learnt to understand what is an argument and what is not so basically it cleared my preconceptions.The professor is very good and funny.He teaches interestingly.I'll recommend this course to you.

By Guilherme M

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Dec 29, 2017

i've already finished the course,and I recommend to all the people persist and stay focused until it's over, it's worth it.

I'm from Brazil and I'm still in High School,so this part of this course will be very important to me.

I've enjoyed so much and thanks to all the great teachers who have built this course. See you! :)

By Esila A

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Jun 27, 2020

I learned so valuable things that even I can use those new pieces of knowledge to get ready for my upcoming SAT exam! Thanks for everything, I had so much fun! Btw, I'm interested in debate, so I'll use the new things I just learned through this course in my debate club. Hopefully, see you next lecture for this course!

By Vidya S

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Sep 25, 2020

Very good course and very humorous professor! Every day we are facing so many propaganda and misleading news from media, if you do not know how to draw valid and sound argument and make good reasoning, it will be easy for you to be misled. Taking this course helps you to distinguish good arguments from the bad ones.

By Muna A S

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Mar 16, 2022

A very long training course compared to the same quality of training courses and training materials is heavy and not commensurate with the distance learning system, where the goal is the speed of information arrival and the reduction of materials so that it achieves the goal with the largest segment of recipients

By David W

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Dec 3, 2016

I devoured this course -- Walter's presentations and examples work for me. And I loved the multi-layered tie-dye look for that one lecture about halfway through! But seriously: being able to break an argument down, understand how it is constructed, and assess its validity and soundness are all really important.

By Jesse M

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Feb 9, 2019

Clear and concise, even though I realize I need not everything is completely clear, but this was my first course in forming arguments, so it stands to reason that I have a lot to learn. I enjoyed the way Dr. Armstrong taught the course. I will definitely take the remaining two courses. Thank you. - Jesse Mara

By Kristine L D C

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Apr 29, 2020

I enjoyed the course very much. Dr. Sinnott-Armstrong explained the concepts well and was lively, engaging, and captured my attention throughout so I did not become bored (as I feared I would). This is my first online course and I can only hope that all other lecturers are as good as Dr. Sinnott-Armstrong.