OCR AS Critical Thinking Student Unit Guide: Unit F502 Assessing and Developing Argument

Summary:
Student Unit Guides are perfect for revision. Each guide is written by an examiner and explains the unit requirements, summarises the relevant unit content and includes a series of specimen questions and answers.

There are three sections to each guide:

Introduction - includes advice on how to use the guide, an explanation of the skills being tested by the assessment objectives, an outline of the unit or module and, depending on the unit, suggestions for how to revise effectively and prepare for the examination questions.

Content Guidance - provides an examiner's overview of the module's key terms and concepts and identifies opportunities to exhibit the skills required by the unit. It is designed to help students to structure their revision and make them aware of the concepts they need to understand the exam and how they might analyse and evaluate topics.

Question and Answers - sample questions and with graded answers which have been carefully written to reflect the style of the unit. All responses are accompanied by commentaries which highlight their respective strengths and weaknesses, giving students an insight into the mind of the examiner.

• A revision guide specifically written to meet the requirements of the unit
  

• Written by an examiner with commentary on key points and concepts 
  

• Features specimen questions and answers, together with examiner's comments
  

Table of Contents:
Introduction
About this guide
Skills
The examiner and mark scheme
The examination
Revision
Content Guidance
About this section
Analysis of arguments
Skills and terms
Analysis questions
Reasons, conclusions and assumptions
Counter-claims and counter-arguments
Evidence and examples
Finding principles
Identifying analogies
Identifying hypothetical reasoning
Evaluation of arguments: looking for strengths and weaknesses
Skills
Evaluating the significance of evidence
Evaluating reasoning: looking for strengths and weaknesses
Slippery slopes
Ad hominem
Tu quoque
Straw man
Inappropriate (and appropriate) appeals
Circular arguments
Restricting the options
Analogies
Principles
Implication
Refutation
Contradiction
Producing arguments
Skills
Developing arguments from statistical claims
Developing arguments in response to a conclusion
Questions and Answers
About this section
Section A: multiple-choice questions
Section B questions and answers
Section C: production of arguments

About the Author(s):
Roy van den Brink-Budgen is an experienced author, examiner and teacher of critical thinking.