Your goal is to record a conclusion and its premises every day. I do not suggest looking for formal arguments; the point is to recognize them when they pop up. This will be a daily assignment, and a difficult one at first, but it’ll soon become second nature.

The assignment will be made of two parts:

• A listing of premises and conclusion
• Inductive or deductive?

We will play with this a bit as the year goes on, perhaps adding venn diagrams or ways to counter the argument, but it will be two parts only at this point.

This assignment is worth one point every day. (For reference, most essays are worth fifty, and analyses are worth ten apiece.) Both parts must be present and correct in order to get credit. You may only turn in one per day, so no makeups unless you’re absent.

I recommend using an index card for each day. Keep one or two in your wallet, or a few clipped together in your bag; just make sure you take them everywhere—you never know when one will pop up!