The Minto Pyramid Principle: Logic in Writing, Thinking, & Problem Solving

The Minto Pyramid Principle: Logic in Writing, Thinking, & Problem Solving
Average customer rating:

5 Stars but poorly structured for a book on structure

Superb content, poor presentation

They should pipe this into a hospital room to save on anesthesia

You Must Practice What You Read

Hard to find, hard to read, expensive, puts you to sleep, but brilliant and unique! A must read!

The Minto Pyramid Principle: Logic in Writing, Thinking, & Problem Solving
Barbara Minto
Manufacturer: Minto International
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0960191038

Customer Reviews:

5 Stars but poorly structured for a book on structure.......2007-02-14

Excellent content but poorly structured for a book on structure. Ms. Minto must like to sell consulting services with her book.

Superb content, poor presentation.......2006-05-11

I read the Pyramid Principle in 1995 and dutifully trained myself to use it, with a little help from a class with Ms. Minto.

The hardest part was realizing that the Pyramid Principle isn't about forcing your current writing into Minto's structure; it's having the courage to tear your argument apart and recraft it if you can't support it in a properly constructed pyramid.

It took effort and practice to master, but it was well worth it. My writing has been widely published, and my articles are often praised for their clarity. The clarity comes from Minto, plain and simple.

They should pipe this into a hospital room to save on anesthesia.......2006-02-07

It is VERY slow going, but you *do* get the impression that this is an important skill to have. The tips are good, and the examples are easy to comprehend. I dont think they should wait until you're in business to learn this. They should teach the Principle in highschool!... if you could stay awake long enough to learn it.

You Must Practice What You Read.......2006-01-09

I purchased this book primarily because it was referenced by several authors of other Mckinsey books that I've read. I was taken aback by the price of the book but I'm of the school of thought that great ideas need not come in large packages. As like many of the other reviewers, I found this book a tough read and had to break it down into smaller bite size readings. What I did that help me tremedously was build a Pyramid chart capturing the SCQ ---Answer using sticky notes. Once built, I was able to easily see the ideas she was presenting and was able to clarify my thinking and writing substantially.

For years I struggled with getting my ideas out of my head and onto paper coherently. Now, I have a great tool that speeds this process up and get my point across succintly.

Hard to find, hard to read, expensive, puts you to sleep, but brilliant and unique! A must read!.......2005-09-26

After an exhaustive search, I ordered this book directly from the author. Make sure to get the more recent 1996 edition, not the 1987 edition.

The book is awesome in that it applies concepts in a way that I haven't seen anywhere else!

I haven't finished the book yet, it is painful to read, partly because Minto doesn't always apply her own principles! However, there are many great diagrams, and the examples cited are entertaining. For example, she provides examples of "intellectually blank assertions".

I force myself to read a chapter in the book each month. It is painfully intellectual, and sometimes puts me to sleep. But many great books are that way.

I bought the book to help me with my business proposal writing. This book is well worth it, especially for all consultants and business people.

Average customer rating:

Technical Communication
Mary M. Lay , Billie J. Wahlstrom , Carolyn Rude , Cindy Selfe , and Jack Selzer
Manufacturer: McGraw-Hill/Irwin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0256220581

Book Description

Technical Communication represents the works of five highly respected authors, all writing in their areas of expertise. Scientific examples and assignments within a social context are used for a realistic view of communication issues. This is the only text to extensively address argument, including reasoning, credibility, persuasion, decision making, problem solving, and critical thinking. The topic of audience is also addressed more thoroughly than in any other text. The book covers the traditional parts of the technical communication course but has been updated greatly to respond to the demands that the computer places on communicating.

Releasing the Imagination: Essays on Education, the Arts, and Social Change (Jossey-Bass Education)

Average customer rating:

Pedagogically provoking but also repetitive
One of the most important books I've ever read

Releasing the Imagination: Essays on Education, the Arts, and Social Change (Jossey-Bass Education)
Maxine Greene
Manufacturer: Jossey-Bass
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0787952915

Book Description

Now in Paperback

"This remarkable set of essays defines the role of imagination in general education, arts education, aesthetics, literature, and the social and multicultural context.... The author argues for schools to be restructured as places where students reach out for meanings and where the previously silenced or unheard may have a voice. She invites readers to develop processes to enhance and cultivate their own visions through the application of imagination and the arts. Releasing the Imagination should be required reading for all educators, particularly those in teacher education, and for general and academic readers."

--Choice

"Maxine Greene, with her customary eloquence, makes an impassioned argument for using the arts as a tool for opening minds and for breaking down the barriers to imagining the realities of worlds other than our own familiar cultures.... There is a strong rhythm to the thoughts, the arguments, and the entire sequence of essays presented here."

--American Journal of Education

Customer Reviews:

Pedagogically provoking but also repetitive.......2007-08-23

This was a required text for a literacy studies graduate class. The context was pedagogically provoking along the threads of progressive modern education standards that are taught to budding teachers. Some repetition was present as it is a lengthy text with a primary focus and one author. My classmates and I were a bit disappointed with the lack of example and proposals for the curriculum/pedagogy changes being presented. This is a text to be read for establishing perspective not for quick tips or golden ticket ideas.

One of the most important books I've ever read.......2004-01-08

Maxine Greene defends the role of the arts as social medicine and advancement. She brilliantly argues for maintaining art in curriculum. Art often requires of us to imagine things which do not exist in reality. This excercise is vital in creating social change. In order to create a new and better world, we must first imagine it. We must encourage our children (and adults for that matter) to imagine. That's the first step and I feel society becoming less imaginative and more homogenized. PLEASE READ THIS BOOK!!! AND BUY A COPY FOR A TEACHER.

Turning Numbers into Knowledge: Mastering the Art of Problem Solving

Average customer rating:

Delightful excursion in thinking about how to think
A great primer and reference to fall back on
Interesting & valuable, though philosophical > statistical
not for the technically minded
Great treatise on critical thinking and organization

Turning Numbers into Knowledge: Mastering the Art of Problem Solving
Jonathan G. Koomey
Manufacturer: Analytics Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Show Me the Numbers: Designing Tables and Graphs to Enlighten
Information Dashboard Design: The Effective Visual Communication of Data
What the Numbers Say: A Field Guide to Mastering Our Numerical World
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Beautiful Evidence

ASIN: 0970601905

Book Description

Mastering the art of problem solving takes more than proficiency with basic calculations; it requires understanding how people use information, recognizing the importance of ideology, learning the art of storytelling, and acknowledging the important distinction between facts and values. Intended for professors, managers, entrepreneurs, and students, this guide addresses these and other essential skills. With clear prose, quotations, and exercises for solving problems in the real world, this book serves as an ideal training manual for those who are new to or intimidated by quantitative analysis and an excellent refresher for those who have more experience but want to improve the quality of their data, the clarity of their graphics, and the cogency of their arguments.

Customer Reviews:

Delightful excursion in thinking about how to think.......2007-04-20

It is different from, and for many purposes, better than a science textbook. More than enough science books have been written, but TNIK is better because it teaches readers how to think about the data on which science is built. Its fresh approach to understanding the natural world as well as human-made systems is a noteworthy improvement over the plug-in, grind-out perspective that academic classes typically offer and that turns off students.

A great primer and reference to fall back on.......2005-11-04

While no doubt I've heard many of nuggets contained in the book over the course of my high school and college days, I found Koomey's book a pleasurable read and useful synthesis of approaches and tips for completing quality research and analyses. Internalizing Koomey's advice is going to help most readers be more discriminating consumers of published research and better authors of their own research. It's a reference source I've already gone back to myself in just a few weeks and a great training resource for new consultants my company hires.

Interesting & valuable, though philosophical > statistical .......2005-02-01

I expected the author to talk much about statistical analysis and related "technical stuff". I had been very wrong. In fact, the book can be regarded as a warning to common people about the "irrelevancy" and "inaccuracy" of data or information we encounter or process so that we can perform better analysis of on our own. As from pg 197, "of primary importance from this book are the following lessons:-"

- Don't be intimidated by anyone (esp those know-it-alls)
- Be a critical thinker
- Don't confuse what's countable with what really counts
- Get organized
- Question authority
- Dig into the numbers
- Focus on the essential
- Document, document, document
- Use the internet
- Remember that others don't care as much about your work as you do
- Synthesis follows analysis

In short, a good read. Dont miss it.

p.s. I like the following quotes from the book very much. (The author did use over 31 quotes with at least one for each chapter)

Just because I use a study to refute another study does not mean my study is right. It just means I believe it. Caveat Emptor. - Cynthia Crossen

Whether or not someone else knows it all isn't really relevant; the only thing that's relevant is what you know and what you do. - Robert Ringer

not for the technically minded.......2003-01-18

This is an entertaining and well written book on some of the do's and don'ts of data analysis. To quote from Dr. Beers review below, "The main emphasis is on the art of data interpretation." Indeed there are useful tools here for performing sanity checks and for asking critical questions about all sorts of data collections. ... The examples are, at best, sketchy and few in number. The anectodes are amusing but not terribly informative. I would have much preferred more concrete examples and further discussion on some technical matters. ....

Great treatise on critical thinking and organization.......2002-12-18

"Turning Numbers Into Knowledge: Mastering the Art of Problem Solving" should be required reading for anyone engaged in producing, reading, or analysing information. Based on the title one might assume that I mean numerical information, but that is not the case at all. The basic principles, such as how to sift through information and the importance of documentation of sources, are important parts of any information product. In fact, except for the sections on graphs, tables, normalizing data and a few others, the rest of the book (fully at least three quarters of it) is dedicated to determining what constitutes good information, good techniques, good analysis, good documentation, etc. This is a book on problem solving techniques and analysis of the information products of others.

Book Description

Comprehensive Classroom Management presents practical methods for creating a positive learning environment, working with behavior problems, and other challenges in the classroom. This text uses real-life examples to help pre-service and in-service teachers understand and apply the principles of classroom management in their own classroom situations. Through numerous case studies, examples, and descriptions of specific strategies based on solid research and classroom experience, Comprehensive Classroom Management features classrooms ranging from kindergarten through twelfth grade. The book's approach is to focus on creating positive learning environments, and it provides extensive, practical materials on both problem-solving and building individual behavior change plans for students with behavioral problems. For pre-service and in-service teachers of elementary or secondary education, curriculum & instruction, educational psychology, or special education.

Customer Reviews:

Comprehensive Classroom Management.......2006-02-26

I had to buy and read this book for a classroom management class. It is a great book for comparing the most recent research available. However, you usually need to read five to ten pages of what could have been stated in a paragraph. I do feel that I really understand the material by the time I finish reading the book. I have also used many of the ideas in my classroom to try and improve my classroom management in my student teaching experience.

required class reading.......2005-02-22

I was required to purchase this book for a class I am currently taking. While the content of the book could be useful, the manner in which it is written is laden with ridiculous run-on ideas that could be communicated much more clearly. Here is an example from page 28:

"Regardless of the extent to which teachers decide to adapt to the norms and parenting styles of their student's culture or systematically assists students in learning to adapt while maintaining their cultural values, the point is that as educators we are willing to examine our own beliefs and way of working with students in light of the contextual variables existing in the classroom, school and community."

To students who may be required to read this text: Good luck. Perhaps you can change classes before it is too late.

To professors who may add this book to their required reading list: Please, please, please pass on this text and choose something more relevant and tangible for your students.

To educators who may choose this book to answer questions or add to their professional library: choose something else. This book is useless. My advice is your time will be better spent going to talk to teachers who have been in the field rather than reading this book.

Schools That Learn: A Fifth Discipline Fieldbook for Educators, Parents, and Everyone Who Cares About Education

Average customer rating:

Schools should all be learning organizations
Length appeared overwhelming--but well worth it
A great resource book for educators
Well Researched Current Education for all Student's Success
Helps Design the School of the Future

Schools That Learn: A Fifth Discipline Fieldbook for Educators, Parents, and Everyone Who Cares About Education
Peter M. Senge , Nelda H. Cambron McCabe , Timothy Lucas , Art Kleiner , Janis Dutton , and Bryan Smith
Manufacturer: Currency
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0385493231
Release Date: 2000-09-12

Book Description

Created by bestselling author and MIT senior lecturer Peter Senge and a team of educators and organizational change leaders, this new addition to the Fifth Discipline Resource Book series offers practical advice for educators, administrators, and parents on how to strengthen and rebuild our schools.

Few would argue that schools today are in trouble. The problems are sparking a national debate as educators, school boards, administrators, and parents search for ways to strengthen our school system at all levels, more effectively respond to the rapidly changing world around us, and better educate our children.

Bestselling author Peter Senge and his Fifth Discipline team have written Schools That Learn because educatorsâwho have made up a sizable percentage of the audience for the popular Fifth Discipline booksâhave asked for a book that focuses specifically on schools and education, to help reclaim schools even in economically depressed or turbulent districts. One of the great strengths of Schools That Learn is its description of practices that are meeting success across the country and around the world, as schools attempt to learn, grow, and reinvent themselves using the principles of organizational learning. Featuring articles, case studies, and anecdotes from prominent educators such as Howard Gardner, Jay Forrester, and 1999 U.S. Superintendent of the Year Gerry House, as well as from impassioned teachers, administrators, parents, and students, the book offers a wealth of practical tools, anecdotes, and advice that people can use to help schools (and the classrooms in them and communities around them) learn to learn.

You'll read about schools, for instance, where principals introduce themselves to parents new to the school as "entering a nine-year conversation" about their children's education; where teachers use computer modeling to galvanize student insight into everything from Romeo and Juliet to the extinction of the mammoths; and where teachers' training is not just bureaucratic ritual but an opportunity to recharge and rethink the classroom.

In a fast-changing world where school violence is a growing concern, where standardized tests are applied as simplistic "quick fixes," where rapid advances in science and technology threaten to outpace schools' effectiveness, where the average tenure of a school district superintendent is less than three years, and where students, parents, and teachers feel weighed down by increasing pressures, Schools That Learn offers much-needed material for the dialogue about the educating of children in the twenty-first century.

Customer Reviews:

Schools should all be learning organizations.......2004-08-07

Senge became famous for his book on learning organizations. In this book, he and his co-authors apply those concepts and ideas specifically to educational institutions. While much of their focus is on K12, the ideas and process are applicable to higher education as well. So many management books are really fads with superficial value, but Senge's books are very practical and valuable. This book in particular demonstrates a great deal of passion on the part of the author's for their topic.

Length appeared overwhelming--but well worth it.......2004-03-14

Having been given the instructions to select a book of vision for a reading group in a graduate class, I didn't expect to choose one of over 500 pages. The length, however, is indicative of the power this book has for changing minds about schools and the way to structure them for learning. I found myself often reading passages aloud to other educators and anyone who would listen. Instead of stifling my curiosity, the book inspired me to dig deeper on the five disciplines. A great book for creating a vision of education that includes schools where students are learning. I may purchase another one to loan out!

A great resource book for educators.......2001-08-31

This is an essential book for anyone interested in education. Its comprehensive coverage gives much background, even at the risk of being distracting when you want to follow-up on the leads to so many interesting source-books and links. Though you are told to dip in anywhere, you must read the first section, esp. "The Industrial Age System of Education" by Senge and "A Primer to the Five Disciplines" (Personal Mastery, Mental Models, Shared Vision, Team Learning and Systems Thinking) (pp. 27-93).

The authors consider this book a "prequel" to their other books about learning organizations (p.7). That's true. Though this is the most recent book, you can start with this one and go on to the others for further depth. Some repetitions may only serve well for mastery.

The whole book is very readable and informative. Concepts are clearly explained. It follows the same excellent editing format as The Fifth Discipline Fieldbook and The Dance of Change.

When you get too enthused by so many ideas and success stories of innovations, heed the advice for "The Strategy of Organizational Change". "Focus on one or two new priorities for change, not twelve. Most school systems are already overwhelmed with change. They don't need a new initiative; they need an approach that consolidates existing initiatives, eliminates "turf battles," and makes it easier for people to work together toward common ends." (p.25)

There are just too many passages that you wish to quote. The book is a treasure mine. However, for those (esp. busy administrators) who find the volume too daunting or verbose (592 pages!) and still want to get a handle on launching into transforming their schools into learning organisations, I would recommend, "Ten Steps to a Learning Organization" and start with the simple questionnaire given there.

Well Researched Current Education for all Student's Success.......2001-03-13

If you are an educator, parent or administrator, this handbook will enable you to obtain the crucial, leading edge knowledge in learning styles, multiple intelligences, personal neuro-physiology that enables one to "know thyself." Self-esteem and self-awareness, cognitive learning, including the necessary skills to make one prepared for "life at 21 years old," are also main considerations when teaching students to capitalize on their individual strenghts and wisdom.

Schools that Learn also emphasizes the importance of mastery, synergizing curricula presented, and authentic assessment vs. basing students knowledge purely on standardized test-taking.

This helpful manual is extremely important for educators, administrators, and parents, to read as it combines the aforementioned information and applies it to "building strengths that will be useful in career decision making."

Finally,Schools that Learn emphasizes the importance of keeping a "spirit-filled" outlook while learning, the extreme helpfulness of a mastermind group, accelerated and lifelong education, and of course giving back what you have learned to the community. This "cause and effect" is often forgotten in busy professtional lives, but truly ensures success for those who "get it."

Helps Design the School of the Future.......2000-11-03

SCHOOLS THAT LEARN is both a visionary and practical guide for how schools must evolve to meet the needs of students in the next 20 years. The use of multiple authors and perspectives mirrors some of the changes our schools must make to meet the needs of a new age. As Professional Development Director at a diverse Jesuit high school in San Francisco, I recommend this book to any educator, K-college. Senge's work will help prepare students for an era requiring a strong traditional academic foundation coupled with the need for creativity, and the social, emotional, and intellectual skills to work in high performing teams needed to rebuild our world.

The Art of Modeling with Spreadsheets: Management Science, Spreadsheet Engineering, and Modeling Craft

Average customer rating:

Obsolete software
The Art of Modeling with Spreadsheets: Management Science, Spreadsheet Engineering, and Modeling Craft
nice use of a spreadsheet

The Art of Modeling with Spreadsheets: Management Science, Spreadsheet Engineering, and Modeling Craft
Stephen G. Powell , and Kenneth R. Baker
Manufacturer: Wiley
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0471209376

Book Description

Successful business modeling is much more than a technical discipline; it's an art. And as in most professional disciplines, you can tell the experts apart from the novices by the creativity they bring to the craft. That's why Steve Powell and Ken Baker's THE ART OF MODELING WITH SPREADSHEETS covers spreadsheet engineering, management science techniques, and those essential craft skills needed to develop real expertise in business modeling. Features: * Balanced and streamlined coverage of spreadsheet engineering, management science techniques, and modeling craft. * The CD-ROM packaged with this text features all of the spreadsheets referred to in the text, as well as three software tools of special importance to business analysts: Premium Solver, Crystal Ball, and Sensitivity Toolkit (featuring four sensitivity tools)

Customer Reviews:

Obsolete software.......2007-04-26

A once useful entree to the spreadsheet modeling literature, this book is now obsolete. The version listed here is copyrighted 2004 but comes with a CD containing release 2000.2 of Crystal Ball which Decisioneering is no longer event supporting. This old version of the software as well as the Advanced Solver add-in has compatibility problems with Windows XP -not to mention Vista, and Wiley does not stand behind the product. Once I loaded the advanced solver, the solver feature no longer produced optimal solutions.

Extremely disappointing to buy a $90 textbook with obsolete software that causes Excel to malfunction and cannot be updated. Impossible to consider this as a class text book. If the publishers will not keep the product current it should be withdrawn from the market, and reputable vendors should at least WARN buyers, if they choose to continue to market and sell this once useful product.

The Art of Modeling with Spreadsheets: Management Science, Spreadsheet Engineering, and Modeling Craft.......2007-03-11

I am very impressed with this book.Overall the book is truly comprehensive and explains the topics using easy examples. These examples can be further explored using EXCEL. I think it will be helpful for the people first learning the lecture of decision analysis.

nice use of a spreadsheet.......2005-04-11

Powell takes the interesting approach of showing how to model a solution to a problem, and using a spreadsheet as the engine within which to embed the solution. Who would have thought in the 70s, when the first computer spreadsheets arose, that one day they could be applied to this?

Much of the book revolves around the issues of modelling. How to extract this from a problem. Here, this is as in many other texts. But we then see how a spreadsheet can be built up, with the equations that relate a group of input cells to write a value in an output cell, being those that model the solution.

To a computer programmer, this use of a spreadsheet might seem a little confining. After all, shouldn't you write code in some general purpose language like C++ or Java, to do this? But the number of programmers who can do this well is fairly small. Whereas spreadsheets have a far broader audience, even in terms of who is able to program them. That is the audience Powell writes for.

Visual & Statistical Thinking: Displays of Evidence for Decision Making

Average customer rating:

demystify the cloud
Superb analytical writing
Visual and Statistical Thinking....very visual
How not to lie with graphics
waste of money

Visual & Statistical Thinking: Displays of Evidence for Decision Making
Edward R. Tufte
Manufacturer: Graphics Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0961392134

Customer Reviews:

demystify the cloud.......2007-02-17

if you have to present or report complex information to others, this and tufte's other tomes are a very useful and are good reference library books.

Superb analytical writing.......2007-01-04

Tufte is a master of laying out the problem, revealing misguided analysis used in the two studies that he dissects and then shows how to better interpret the data. I found myself slowing down my usual reading speed to half and doubling my concentration to follow him, which is a compliment to the depth of his writing. Tufte is concise and a well-regarded authority on the methods to describe, define, reveal and present problems so that solutions are found honestly. I recommend reading all his work.

Visual and Statistical Thinking....very visual.......2006-08-02

A very good book on a fairly obscure but very important subject. Being able to effectively communicate numerical/statistical information in a graphical way is far more art and aethetics, than science. Anyone who uses charts and graphs to convey important information should get this book. In other works by Tufte, he shows how proper use of explaining critical numerical information could have stopped the Space Shuttle from launching on a cold morning which eventually led to it exploding shortly after tackoff in 1987 - due to an o-ring failing to seal properly. A fascinating read that reveals how important graphs are to making sense of numerical data.

How not to lie with graphics.......2006-06-12

This book is not as incisive as Tufte's classic "The Visual Display of Qantitiative Information". It does, however, discuss in cogent detail how to design a graphical display so that it will clarify ideas and not mislead the viewer. We are subject daily to a blizzard of deliberate dis-information by such means. Tufte's plea for clarity and honesty seems almost quaint by today's standards. Thank you, sir.

waste of money.......2006-03-25

Buy the book instead of this pamphlet. This small guide is a waste of money

Groups in Context: Leadership and Participation in Small Groups

Average customer rating:

Groups in Context: Leadership and Participation in Small Groups
Gerald L Wilson
Manufacturer: McGraw-Hill Humanities/Social Sciences/Languages
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Logic and Contemporary Rhetoric: The Use of Reason in Everyday Life

ASIN: 0072862874

Book Description

Reflecting its author's extensive experience in the classroom, this beautifully crafted text expertly balances current theory and research with practical skills and applications. Its presentation reflects the author's belief that small group communication is best understood in context--whether in the workplace, in neighborhoods, in churches, social groups, or civic organizations. The thoroughly updated seventh edition cites more than one hundred recent studies.

Argumentation and Critical Decision Making (6th Edition)

Average customer rating:

BORED TO TEARS
This Book Could Change Your Life
Text book use
This is one of the most practical books I have ever used.

Argumentation and Critical Decision Making (6th Edition)
Richard D. Rieke , Malcolm O. Sillars , and Tarla Rai Peterson
Manufacturer: Allyn & Bacon
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Similar Items:

Argumentation and Debate: Critical Thinking for Reasoned Decision Making (Wadsworth Series in Speech Communication)
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The Uses of Argument

ASIN: 0205417930

Book Description

This book examines the general principles of argument and then applies those principles to different spheres of life-politics, science, law, etc.--to explore how conventions of argument change when applied to real world arenas. A new chapter on evidence and argument in religion adds additional sphere to this edition and expands cultural diversity coverage. Projects at the end of each chapter allow readers to become actively involved in the material by applying the principles learned to real life. The book also employs real life examples throughout to help make the concepts clearer and help readers see the relevance of argumentative skills to their lives. For anyone interested in improving their argumentation skills.

Customer Reviews:

BORED TO TEARS.......2007-04-13

I hate this book. It's confusing, key terms are listed at the beginning of the chapter but not thoroughly defined. My professor disagrees with half of the stuff in the book, it's terrible. (NOTE: I have absolutely no interest in this subject)

This Book Could Change Your Life.......2002-05-01

Not only have I read this book, but I did so in conjunction from taking an argumentation class from the author, Dr. Richard Rieke. Dr. Rieke is an extremely experienced and talented communicator and this book would be a valuable addition to any scholar and layperson alike.

Rieke's background includes mediation and negotiation for some of the most prominent global companies and more than 20 years experience as an educator. Currently he is a Communication professor at the University of Utah and the director of the university's Honor's Program.

What I've learned from this book is how to go about the dialectical process (research, criticial thinking, refuting) an issue to constructing a rhetorical argument (persuasive case) in favor of one side or another. I feel that this book has given me a very strong grasp on how to construct various types of arguments, and how to modify them based on who is supposed to be persuaded by the argument.

One of the things I liked most about this book was it's very detailed and logically organized for the processes of argumentation. A list of terms is presented at the beginning of the chapter, each chapter is subcategorized for maximum orgnization, and each chapter is concluded with a summary and suggested exercises.

Each chapter is detailed with universally used information about how argumentation relates to various spheres (or contexts) like science, religion, business, politics, etc. In addition, the authors provide numerous, clear examples to help you understand their points.

I have used this book in not only preparing a brief and case thesis for the related class, but have used as a guide in creating numerous other essays for other Communications classes.

I will not be selling this textbook back to the university bookstore; instead it has earned a permenant spot in my library because I know I will be referencing it often for other classes, and in business well after I graduate. I feel especially privileged to have been able to take the course from the author, because Rieke is very articulate and an excellent educator.

Text book use.......2001-02-05

This book is -- hands down -- the best single textbook for use in a first year critical thinking and argumentation course. Professor Eric Nelson.

This is one of the most practical books I have ever used........1999-09-16

Argumentation and Decision-Making has been stolen off my book shelf more often than any other book I've ever owned. I keep replacing it, because it has a unique combination of practical and sophisticated examples, as well as clear explanations of the LOGIC behind assessments. Gifted high school students need the standards represented in this book. Evidently, colleagues need the guidance for writing Master's theses and Doctoral dissertations as well! I strongly recommend this book to any teacher of students from ninth grade through university; you'll actually use it.

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