1
, Exam Course: Critical Thinking
Rules 0-6, Fallacies, Mantras & Quotations - a complete study course with
step-by-step procedures, examples, and two practice exams
Table of Contents
Part Topic
0 Exactly what you need to know + study plan
1 The Critical Thinking Toolbox: Rules 0–6
2 Step-by-step procedures: how to examine an argument
3 Fallacies: the complete overview
4 Mantras, quotations and sayings + their authors
5 Pitfalls and commonly confused pairs
6 Practice Exam 1 (20 questions) + answer key
7 Practice Exam 2 (20 questions) + answer key
8 Cheat sheet - one last look before the exam
2
,PART 0 - Exactly what you need to know
BOX 0.1 - The exam scope at a glance
1. Rules 0 through 6 - know them verbatim. You must be able to reproduce the rules
word for word, not just recognize them.
2. You must be able to apply R1, R3, and R5. Not just define them: you need to be
given a text and actually work with it (mark premises/conclusion, judge reliability, spot
loaded language and neutralize it).
3. Know R4 exercises 3, 7, and 9 - the three “decomplexified” quotations, and who
coined them:
• 3. Brevity is the soul of wit - Shakespeare
• 7. Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise - Benjamin
Franklin
• 9. A woman without a man is like a fish without a bicycle - Gloria Steinem
4. The translation/core sentence of R5: The strength of your language must
correspond to the strength of your argument.
5. Fallacies: the entire Appendix I, MINUS two - denying the antecedent and affirming
the consequent fall outside the exam material.
6. On a fallacy question: always choose the most precise option.
7. Three fallacies cannot be repaired: begging the question / circular argument,
equivocation, non sequitur.
8. Know the names in both English AND Latin (e.g., begging the question = petitio
principii).
9. Red Herring = Chewbacca Defense.
10. The three main mantras: Umberto Eco’s chess metaphor · Explain, Don’t Proclaim ·
The Conclusion Determines Relevancy.
11. Note that equivocation is flagged as the “favorite fallacy” - expect it to get extra
attention.
BOX 0.2 - The biggest risk with this material
The classic mistake is “medical student syndrome”: once you know the fallacies, you
start seeing them everywhere - even where they aren’t. In a practice set, the correct
answer is sometimes simply “No fallacy.” Always force yourself to explicitly explain
how the argument meets the definition of the fallacy, citing specific elements. If you
can’t do that in one clear sentence with concrete details from the text, it’s probably not a
fallacy.
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, PART 1 - The Critical Thinking Toolbox: Rules 0–6
The seven rules together form one toolbox. They are not an arbitrary list: they follow the
natural order in which you build and then check an argument. First you know what you’re
talking about (R0), then what you want to prove and with what (R1), then in what order
(R2), then whether your starting points are sound (R3), then whether your language is clear
(R4), fair (R5), and consistent (R6).
BOX 1.1 - The seven rules verbatim
R0 - Define your terms
R1 - Identify premises and conclusion
R2 - Develop your ideas in a natural order
R3 - Start from reliable premises
R4 - Be concrete and concise
R5 - Build on substance, not overtone
R6 - Use consistent terms
Learn these seven sentences word for word. They are expected in English, in this order,
with this number.
R0 - Define your terms
Core idea: before you argue, establish what your words mean. A discussion in which two
parties use the same word differently is not a discussion but a misunderstanding.
A good definition:
• clarifies what is unclear, rather than persuading-
• uses language the reader already understands - you explain the unfamiliar in
terms of the familiar, never the reverse-
• is neither too broad nor too narrow: it covers exactly the cases you mean-
• is neutral: it does not smuggle in a conclusion.
BOX 1.2 - R0 and the fallacies
R0 connects directly to three fallacies:
• Persuasive definition - the definition is loaded instead of neutral.
• Equivocation - you do define a term, but then quietly shift to a different meaning.
• Mere redescription - you “define” something by repeating it in other words, without
explaining anything.
If an exam question concerns a definition, always check first which of these three is at
play.
4
, Exam Course: Critical Thinking
Rules 0-6, Fallacies, Mantras & Quotations - a complete study course with
step-by-step procedures, examples, and two practice exams
Table of Contents
Part Topic
0 Exactly what you need to know + study plan
1 The Critical Thinking Toolbox: Rules 0–6
2 Step-by-step procedures: how to examine an argument
3 Fallacies: the complete overview
4 Mantras, quotations and sayings + their authors
5 Pitfalls and commonly confused pairs
6 Practice Exam 1 (20 questions) + answer key
7 Practice Exam 2 (20 questions) + answer key
8 Cheat sheet - one last look before the exam
2
,PART 0 - Exactly what you need to know
BOX 0.1 - The exam scope at a glance
1. Rules 0 through 6 - know them verbatim. You must be able to reproduce the rules
word for word, not just recognize them.
2. You must be able to apply R1, R3, and R5. Not just define them: you need to be
given a text and actually work with it (mark premises/conclusion, judge reliability, spot
loaded language and neutralize it).
3. Know R4 exercises 3, 7, and 9 - the three “decomplexified” quotations, and who
coined them:
• 3. Brevity is the soul of wit - Shakespeare
• 7. Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise - Benjamin
Franklin
• 9. A woman without a man is like a fish without a bicycle - Gloria Steinem
4. The translation/core sentence of R5: The strength of your language must
correspond to the strength of your argument.
5. Fallacies: the entire Appendix I, MINUS two - denying the antecedent and affirming
the consequent fall outside the exam material.
6. On a fallacy question: always choose the most precise option.
7. Three fallacies cannot be repaired: begging the question / circular argument,
equivocation, non sequitur.
8. Know the names in both English AND Latin (e.g., begging the question = petitio
principii).
9. Red Herring = Chewbacca Defense.
10. The three main mantras: Umberto Eco’s chess metaphor · Explain, Don’t Proclaim ·
The Conclusion Determines Relevancy.
11. Note that equivocation is flagged as the “favorite fallacy” - expect it to get extra
attention.
BOX 0.2 - The biggest risk with this material
The classic mistake is “medical student syndrome”: once you know the fallacies, you
start seeing them everywhere - even where they aren’t. In a practice set, the correct
answer is sometimes simply “No fallacy.” Always force yourself to explicitly explain
how the argument meets the definition of the fallacy, citing specific elements. If you
can’t do that in one clear sentence with concrete details from the text, it’s probably not a
fallacy.
3
, PART 1 - The Critical Thinking Toolbox: Rules 0–6
The seven rules together form one toolbox. They are not an arbitrary list: they follow the
natural order in which you build and then check an argument. First you know what you’re
talking about (R0), then what you want to prove and with what (R1), then in what order
(R2), then whether your starting points are sound (R3), then whether your language is clear
(R4), fair (R5), and consistent (R6).
BOX 1.1 - The seven rules verbatim
R0 - Define your terms
R1 - Identify premises and conclusion
R2 - Develop your ideas in a natural order
R3 - Start from reliable premises
R4 - Be concrete and concise
R5 - Build on substance, not overtone
R6 - Use consistent terms
Learn these seven sentences word for word. They are expected in English, in this order,
with this number.
R0 - Define your terms
Core idea: before you argue, establish what your words mean. A discussion in which two
parties use the same word differently is not a discussion but a misunderstanding.
A good definition:
• clarifies what is unclear, rather than persuading-
• uses language the reader already understands - you explain the unfamiliar in
terms of the familiar, never the reverse-
• is neither too broad nor too narrow: it covers exactly the cases you mean-
• is neutral: it does not smuggle in a conclusion.
BOX 1.2 - R0 and the fallacies
R0 connects directly to three fallacies:
• Persuasive definition - the definition is loaded instead of neutral.
• Equivocation - you do define a term, but then quietly shift to a different meaning.
• Mere redescription - you “define” something by repeating it in other words, without
explaining anything.
If an exam question concerns a definition, always check first which of these three is at
play.
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