Logic and Sociological Arguments: Applications to Undergraduate Teaching

beginning sociology courses. Three sociological arguments are analyzed to determine their logical structure and the validity of their conclusions. Although no claim is made that sociology students need to be trained in formal logic, it is suggested that if instructors make beginning students aware of the importance of critically examining implicit and explicit sociological arguments, later work in theory and methods will benefit. Case Study illustrations are given to suggest possible strategies that sociology instructors might find useful in teaching these ideas. Finally, some preliminary data is given on how students in two classes responded on afinal exam that incorporated the three arguments.