Session 2 Clear Thinking, Critical Thinking & Clear Writing MAPS PDF

Session 2 : Clear Thinking, Critical Thinking and Clear Writing Critical Thinking MAPS GEN L6-001 Gopi Muthuraman  Clear Thinking Do you believe in According to a poll in 2005,34% of Americans do. In 2007,Japanese Cabin...

Session 2 : Clear Thinking, Critical Thinking and Clear Writing Critical Thinking MAPS GEN L6-001 Gopi Muthuraman  Clear Thinking Do you believe in According to a poll in 2005,34% of Americans do. In 2007,Japanese Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura caused quite a stir when he said on TV that UFOs "definitely" exist. UFOs? But before you answer the question, pause and think about what UFO means Gopi Muthuraman Clear Thinking Does the economy should be a free market without government interference ? Gopi Muthuraman  Clear Thinking what kind of skills do we need to be able to think and communicate ideas clearly? SKILLS Enhancing our sensitivity to Making connections between literal meaning ideas. Gopi Muthuraman  LITERAL MEANING Literal meaning is taking words in their usual or most basic sense without metaphor or exaggeration. Bachelor = an unmarried man I cannot be happier = impossible for the speaker to be DEFINITION happier than he or she is right now. conversational implicatures is the information that a speaker implicitly conveys in a particular context, distinct from the literal meaning of what might have been said I love books seems = the speaker likes reading, but strictly speaking that is again not part of the literal meaning I love books seems = the speaker does not like to read but loves to collect books as a form of investment or to show off. Gopi Muthuraman  LITERAL MEANING It helps us avoid misunderstanding The truth of what we say generally depends on literal meaning and not the conversational implicature WHY Take the following two clauses for a rental contract. They look similar, but they differ in literal meaning. Which version should you use for your lease if you were a prospective tenant? 1. You may terminate the lease after 12 months by giving 2 months' notice. 2. After 12 months, you may give 2 months' notice and terminate the lease. Gopi Muthuraman  CONNECTING IDEAS Give Examples Definitions Identifying implications METHODS Compare and Contrast Breaking things down Gopi Muthuraman  EFFECTIVE WRITING The basic rule is simple enough—make sure that your ideas are simple, organized, and relevant to your readers Know your audience TIPS What is your central message and why is it important Organize your ideas Be simple and direct Rewrite, rewrite, rewrite Gopi Muthuraman  EFFECTIVE WRITING "Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.“ - Leonardo da Vinci Consider : If there are any points on which you require explanation or further particulars, we shall be glad to furnish such additional details as may be required by telephone. Our telephone number is 555-5555. Be Simple and Phrases Shorten to Direct in order to to in the event that If whether or not whether is in agreement with Agree with provide a description of describe come to the decision decide Gopi Muthuraman  EFFECTIVE WRITING Some guidelines to remember Break up long sentences (for example, more than 30 words) into shorter ones. Be Simple and Avoid linking sentences with and. Direct Use the active voice instead of the passive voice. "The customer filed a complaint" rather than "A complaint was filed by the customer.“ Use positive rather than negative terms. "The room was clean" rather than "The room was not dirty.“ A good test is to read a passage aloud and see if it sounds clumsy. Easy- to read text has a higher chance of being understood. Gopi Muthuraman  CLEAR THINKING AND WRITING For each pair of sentences below, explain whether they differ in literal meaning. a) Do not be evil. Be good. b) I like lobsters. I like eating lobsters. c) We do not add preservatives to our food. Our food contains no Hands On preservatives. d) Do not say anything if the police are here. Do not say anything in case the police are here. e) You may kiss the bride. You must kiss the bride. f) Everyone is not sick. Not everyone is sick. Gopi Muthuraman  CLEAR THINKING AND WRITING Imagine that following paragraph is taken from a reference letter for a student named Harry. Read each sentence carefully and explain why the paragraph does not literally say anything positive about Harry. Harry's abilities must be seen to be believed. The amount of material he Hands On knows will surprise you. It would be very hard to find someone as capable as he is. He has left a deep impression on all the teachers in the department. You would be fortunate if he works for you. Gopi Muthuraman  CLEAR THINKING AND WRITING How would you rewrite these sentences to make them simpler? a) When the teacher gave the explanation to the class, the explanation was delivered in such a way that it was rather lengthy and could not be easily understood by the students. Hands On b) In the basement there are four baskets made of bamboo that have got absolutely nothing in them whatever and that might perhaps be given away by us to charitable organizations and societies Gopi Muthuraman  CLEAR THINKING AND WRITING How would you rewrite these sentences to make them simpler? a) Anne used money to purchase a large-type minivan produced by Toyota that is red in color. b) Apple has designed a laptop that is quite special—the case of Hands On the laptop is made from the material aluminum and is not composed of any smaller parts. Gopi Muthuraman Gopi Muthuraman