digramming, good or bad.

[thanghnvn]

diagramming is introduced in Manhantan cr book and in the Manhantan course.
It is very clear that the diagramming is good. But I have seen a problem.

for hard and long argument, diagramming is good because it helps us understand the argument properly and realize the assumption. Both of these things bring us close to the correct answer.

the problem happen whe the argument is simple or when the topic of the argument is familiar with a students. For example, if the student is a doctor and the argument is about curing or medicine, the student is familiar with the argument. If the argument is simple or farmilar with a student, the student will understand the argument quickly and can realize the assumption or suspicious issues soon, WITHOUT DIAGRAMMING. In this case, diagramming is not neccessary and sometimes time-consuming and distracting.

I think that the purpose of diagramming is to faciliate the understanding the argument, so, diagramming should be used for long and complex argument or when the student feel hard to understand the argument. If you already understand the argument easily (because the argument is simple or farmiliar with you), you can ignore diagramming step. In this case, you do not diagram but proceed with prethinking of assumption or suspiciou issues.

pls, comment on my above idea. Thank you.

[thanghnvn]

sorry, just post to tick the notification box

[jnelson0612]

Hi,
Yes, you make good points. Diagramming is entirely optional. If you find that it helps you, great; if you easily understand the argument without it, then certainly just proceed and save that time. It sounds as if you have a good handle on when it will be helpful for you, and that's great!

[thanghnvn]

Thank you, Nelson.

[RonPurewal]

Thank you, Nelson.

yep, those are my thoughts too, essentially.

just remember that books - by the very nature of the fact that they are printed books - have to contain objective stuff that can be printed. hence, all the tips on diagramming and so forth. in general, though, "you don't have to do any of that stuff unless you're confused" is the right idea.

the primary goal is to achieve an intuitive understanding of what's going on in the passage, but a book can't list that as a primary procedure.