PHIL347 Final Exam Study Guide
You may want to print this guide. 1. The Final Exam is open book and open notes. The maximum time you can spend in the exam is 3 hours and 30 minutes. If you have not clicked the Submit for Grading button by then, you will be exited from the exam automatically. In the Final Exam environment, the Windows clipboard is disabled, so you will not be able to copy exam questions or answers to or from other applications. 2. You should click the Save Answers button in the exam frequently. This helps prevent connection timeouts that might occur with certain Internet service providers and also minimizes lost answers in the event of connection problems. If your Internet connection does break, when you reconnect, you will normally be able to get back into your Final Exam without any trouble. Remember, though, that the exam timer continues to run while students are disconnected, so students should try to log in again as quickly as possible. The Help Desk cannot grant any student additional time on the exam. In the event of an emergency, reach out to your professor as soon as possible. You are also advised not to wait until the end of the day Saturday to take the exam. If you do and an emergency occurs, there may not be much anyone can do to assist. 3. See the Syllabus section "Due Dates for Assignments & Exams" for due date information. 4. Reminders
You will only be able to enter your online Final Exam one time. Click the Save Answers button often. If you lose your Internet connection during your Final Exam, log on again, and try to access it. If you are unable to enter the Final Exam, first contact the Help Desk and then your professor. You will always be able to see the time remaining in the Final Exam at the top right of the page.
5. Assessments With Multiple Pages
Make sure to click the Save Answers button before advancing to the next page. (We also suggest clicking on Save Answers while you are working.) Complete all of the pages before submitting your Final Exam for professor review. Do not use your browser's Back and Forward buttons during the Final Exam. Please use the provided links for navigation.
6. Submitting Your Final Exam
When you are finished with the Final Exam, click on the Submit for Grading button. Note: Once you click the Submit for Grading button, you will not be able to edit or change any of your answers.
7. Exam Questions
This Final Exam is worth 250 total points, and includes 19 multiple choice questions worth 5 points each; 3 short answer questions worth 10 points each; 4 short answer questions worth 15 points each; 1 short answer question worth 25 points; and 1 essay question worth 40 points. The Final Exam covers all course TCOs and Weeks 1–7. The Final Exam consists of 2 pages, which can be completed in any order. You may go back and forth between the pages. Page 1 contains all multiple choice questions, page 2 contains everything else. The Final Exam questions are pooled. This means that not everyone will have the same questions. Even if you do have some of the same questions, they may not be in the same order. These questions are distributed among the TCOs. The entire exam is worth 250 points. On the short answer questions, your answers should be succinct, should fully address each part of the question, and should demonstrate your knowledge and understanding in a concise but complete manner. Some students opt to work on the short answer and essay questions first, due to their higher point value and the length of time needed to adequately address each question, but this is entirely your choice. The one essay question (40 points) is based on information from Chapter 12 and uses prompts from Exercise 12.9. You will be required to compose a short essay (200–400 words) in which you follow the six steps on page 295 of the textbook. There are three possible options; which one you get will be randomly decided by the computer program. The topics are whether healthcare should be free for all citizens; whether torture is ever acceptable; and whether animals should ever be used for scientific research. It would be advisable to have an essay available for each option that contains at least two supporting points, one counterpoint, one reply to that counterpoint, and proper citations/references. Work is to be concise. Remember to always use proper citation when quoting other sources. This means that any borrowed material (even a short summary or phrase) needs a citation of the source (author/date/page number) immediately following the end of the sentence in which the summarized, paraphrased, or quoted material occurs. Changing a few words in a passage does not constitute putting it into your own words, and proper citation is still required. Borrowed material should not dominate a student’s work; it should only be used sparingly to support the student’s thoughts, ideas, and examples. Heavy usage of borrowed material (even if properly cited) can jeopardize the points for that question. Uncited material can jeopardize a passing grade on the exam. As a part of our commitment to academic integrity, your work may be submitted to Turnitin.com, an online plagiarism-checking service. So please be mindful of proper citation. 8. Some of the key study areas are shown below. Although these are key areas, remember that the exam is comprehensive for all of the assigned course content and this study guide may not be all- inclusive.
Multiple Choice Questions o Know how to look at passages to determine if an argument is present (1 and 2). o Know what distinguishes a claim and how they work together to make an argument (1 and 2). o Be able to identify extra and implied claims (2 and 3). o Be able to properly classify truth-functional, categorical, analogical, inductive generalization, and causal arguments (3 and 4). o Understand what terminology is used for deductive and inductive arguments (2, 3, and 5). o Know how to take claims and put them into standard form (4). o Be able to translate claims into truth-function notation (4). o Be able to determine, among two or more choices, which inductive generalization or analogical argument is stronger (3 and 5). o Special attention should be paid to ad hominem, begging the question, strawman, appeal to illegitimate authority, appeal to ignorance, and red herring (6). o You may see some arguments in which no fallacy occurs (6). Short Answers o Be able to identify whether an argument has an extra claim or an implied claim (2). See pages 46–51. o Be able to clearly differentiate between deductive and inductive arguments (3 and 5). o Be clear on how connectors work in truth tables and how they establish validity (4). o Understand the nuances of an analogical argument (5). o Know the different ways to demonstrate causation (5). o Be clear on the six steps to writing an argumentative essay (page 295, TCO 7). Essay Question o Be very clear on the essay question direction mentioned above.
9. Reviewing the TCOs, which are listed below for your convenience, will also be a great preparation for the Final Exam.
Given a personal or professional situation in which you must decide what to believe, analyze 1 critical reasoning concepts necessary to examine arguments.
Given examples of arguments, apply critical reasoning techniques and procedures for 2 analyzing the components and structure of the argument.
Given examples of arguments, evaluate them to determine the type of argument and apply 3 the appropriate analysis for validity or strength.
Given a deductive argument, use higher order thinking methods to analyze and evaluate the 4 arguments for validity and soundness.
Given an inductive argument, use higher order thinking methods to evaluate the strength or 5 probability of the argument.
Given an argument, analyze it for common persuasive fallacies, including faulty analogy, 6 hasty/biased generalizations, begging the question and ad hominem.
Given access to empirical evidence and other academic sources, demonstrate the ability to 7 create a fallacy free argumentative essay. Finally, if you have any questions for me, please post them to our Q & A Forum, or e-mail me. Good luck on the exam!