The Inductive Essay
"Inductive" logic "flows towards" a conclusion. I like to picture it as a horizontal movement, in which the speaker is leading the audience along a thoughtful path of reasons towards a rational conclusion - I call inductive logic a "row of reasons." An inductive essay usually presents the thesis up front and then provides categories of support for that thesis. Most five-paragraph essays are inductive. The "Analysis Man" model is inductive.
Sample Inductive Essay Structure:
1. I believe in God (thesis)
2. There seems to be a spiritual aspect to life that can't be explained through naturalism (first reason)
3. The fulfilled prophecy of the Bible provides convincing evidence of God (second reason)
4. Some of the best thinkers of the world have argued well for the existence of God (third reason)
5. Therefore, belief in God is a rational choice and I choose to believe (conclusion)
The Deductive Essay
"Deductive" logic "flows down" from its premises. In other words, if the premises of a deductive argument are true, then the conclusion must also be true. Deductive logic works itself down a step-by-step path, much like a ladder; I call deductive reasoning a "ladder of logic." An essay structured deductively must start with an "easy-to-reach" first premise and then work the reader up the "ladder" to the conclusion. This is significantly harder than the categorical inductive approach. To illustrate deductive logic, I will use a classical argument for the existence of God called the cosmological argument (it is short and often debated, but it illustrates the principle of step-by-step logic well.) Note that deductive logic absolutely relies upon sequential points/premises to achieve a successful argument.
Sample Deductive Essay Structure:
1. Many people wonder if a "God" started the universe or not (thesis preview)
2. We all agree that every event has a cause and/or a causal agent (first premise)
3. If we go backwards through time, we will eventually find a first event (second premise)
4. That first event, if it doesn't have a cause, must have an agent (conclusion)
5. We can call that agent "God" (thesis)
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4 comments:
this is wrong inductive is the second one
It is not wrong; furthermore, your comment is an incomplete sentence. I used unconventional labels in explaining the difference, but inductive always moves from specific to general, and deductive always moves from general to specific. Inductive uses specific examples to prove a general conclusion. Deductive uses general statements to move you toward a specific conclusion. It does not matter if you announce your conclusion at the beginning (i.e. give a thesis) or not. What matters is the movement of the logic.
Good article! I wanna write my deductive essay well and after reading this i guess it will be much easier. Thanks!
Thanks, Nick. Good luck with your paper!
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