A. Belief analysis makes the belief clear
B. Belief analysis makes the reasons for a belief clear
C. Belief analysis provides a consistent format to organize supporting material
D. Belief analysis slows down an argument and facilitates more systematic analysis
A. Belief analysis makes the belief clear
1. Belief analysis requires the belief to be stated using a single sentence. This allows the reader to know immediately what the belief is.
2. Many disagreements arise from the central proposition being not being stated clearly. This can cause opposing sides to have different ideas about what the argument is about. Even a subtle difference in opinion about what is being argued can make an argument confusing to everyone involved.
3. Without a central reference point, arguments can drift into tangent topics. It's important that both sides stay focused on the central question.
B. Belief analysis makes the reasons for a belief clear
4. Belief analysis requires the reasons to be listed, each with a short sentence. This allows the reader to know with greater confidence what the main reasons are.
5. Many arguments do not clearly communicate the reasons for their belief. Instead, reasons are often buried within paragraphs and are not immediately apparent to the reader. This can cause confusion and lead the reader to be unsure what the main reasons are.
C. Belief analysis provides a consistent format to organize supporting material
6. Belief analysis requires sub-reasons to be listed below the reason it supports, and each sub-reason should be no longer than 2-3 sentences. Belief analysis also requires no more than 2-3 sub-reasons per reason which allows the reader to clearly see the supporting material related to each reason.
7. A reliable and consistent method to organize evidence helps the reader comprehend the structure of an argument. Arguments that are not organized can be confusing to the reader.
D. Belief analysis slows down an argument and facilitates more systematic analysis
8. Belief analysis requires each sub-reason and piece of evidence of have its own paragraph. This can help the reader more clearly identify a flawed segment and request deeper analysis of that specific sub-reason.
9. Many arguments can overwhelm the reader with a fast sequence reasons and rhetoric. This can cause analysis and rebuttal to be less precise when addressing issues with an argument.
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