Line of Reasoning

State your case. State your conclusion, state your evidence, and tell your audience how one leads into the other. In other words, what is your line of reasoning? A line of reasoning is your method to fully and logically explain your arguments in a logical essay format. If your lines of reasoning are sound, then your essay will be sound. However, if your lines of reasoning are faulty, then your essay will be faulty as well.

Line of Reasoning Definition

A line of reasoning refers to the logical progression of thoughts and arguments used to support a proposition or reach a conclusion. It involves a clear, ordered, and coherent chain of ideas or arguments where each point logically follows the previous one, and all points together support the overall claim or conclusion. The strength of a line of reasoning often determines the persuasiveness and validity of an argument. It's a key component in many fields, such as philosophy, law, and science, where clear and logical thinking is required to make a compelling argument or draw valid conclusions in your essay.

Accurate conclusions are built upon lines of reason.

Here’s an example of a line of reasoning.

I’m sick ➜ Sickness worsens the health of people ➜ I’m not going to school

In this example, you are using what you know about illness and the fact you are ill to conclude you shouldn’t go to school. This is a logical line of reasoning. Here's that in a basic template.

Evidence ➜ logic ➜ conclusion

Given that hurting people is bad, this example is a logical line of reasoning. What happens when a line of reasoning isn’t logical, though?

Flawed Line of Reasoning

Let’s turn our example on its head.

This line of reasoning does not follow. Because it is a given that hurting people is bad, this reasoning indicates that you should not go to school. The conclusion is wrong.

However, this student could attempt to create a persuasive line of reasoning to convince his mother, let’s say, that he should be able to go to school despite the downsides.

Line of Reasoning Synonyms

A line of reasoning is similar to an argument. However, a line of reasoning must be persuasive in order to be an argument, and an argument must present evidence, logic, and a conclusion to be a persuasive line of reasoning.

So while an argument and a line of reasoning can be the same, it is only under certain circumstances! Accurately, a persuasive line of reasoning is the same as a logical argument.

Persuasive Line of Reasoning

Unlike a basic line of reasoning, which may be a simple reason someone does something, a persuasive line of reasoning attempts to convince someone else to do something or believe something. Let’s return to the example of the sick student, who is trying to get his mom to let him go to school.

Break down this line of reasoning.

I need to do well on the AP test ➜ The prep sessions today will help ➜ I need to go to school today (regardless of my illness)

This is the beginning of an argument. Mom might say something like this in return.

You will spread your sickness ➜ student health is more important than your test ➜ you’re staying home

Evidence, logic, conclusions; evidence, logic, conclusions. Rinse and repeat.

You will create lines of reason in your essay both to create new points and to counter opposing points, just the way the mom and the son did in our previous examples. The main difference is that you will be doing so formally, in writing.

Begin with your main argument, which is also known as your thesis.

Line of Reasoning in Your Thesis

To formulate a line of reasoning, you first need something to prove (a thesis). This should not be something already proven, something unprovable, or something indefinite.

Here’s something already proven.

This is an agreed upon fact. This does not constitute a thesis, because it simply recapitulates a piece of evidence. A hypothesis must grow from evidence.

Here’s something unprovable.

“Best” is subjective, and thus there is no evidence in existence to verifiably prove it. Keep opinions and all forms of non-testable hypotheses out of your essay.

Here’s something indefinite.

How can you prove “might” with evidence? Evidence cannot prove or disprove something that is by its nature uncertain. When creating a thesis for your line of reasoning, do not hedge or make a prediction.

So what do you do?

1. Your thesis statement should be provable or disprovable. Someone should be able to validate or invalidate your arguments through alternate lines of reasoning.

2. Your thesis statement should require a synthesis of evidence. If a single piece of evidence suffices to prove your point, you are not creating a thesis; you are restating someone else’s conclusion.

3. Your thesis statement should be relevant to the topic. If your thesis statement isn’t relevant to the topic at hand, it will be invalidated.

This example thesis is arguable, it requires a synthesis of evidence, and it is relevant to Gabriel García Márquez, who is the topical figure.

Line of Reasoning in Your Evidence

In terms of logical reasoning, your thesis is your conclusion (despite it beginning your essay). You start with your conclusion, then you cite your evidence.

So now is the time to gather your evidence. Find articles, passages, quotes, and statistics that seem to support your thesis.

For instance, say your thesis is something like this.

For this thesis, a piece of evidence that proves he caused $9 million in property damages would help to support your claim. But you’re not done yet. It is time to draw the line of reasoning from your evidence to your conclusion, and for that you need logic.

Logic in Your Line of Reasoning

If the conclusion is the lightbulb and the evidence is the power switch, then the logic is the wiring that connects the two. If your wiring is faulty, the circuit will not function and the lightbulb will not light. The same goes with your logic. It needs to work.

Much the way electrical wiring is not as visible as the switch or the lightbulb, logic is not visible as evidence or the conclusion, which makes it the trickiest part of assembling your line of reasoning.

A fantastic way to understand if your logic is sound is to understand rhetorical fallacies, also known as logical fallacies. If you know what is illogical and can identify it, then you will be able to identify what is illogical about your own arguments, so you can fix them.

There are many logical fallacies, including circular reasoning, the non-testable hypothesis, missing the point, and hasty generalization. Study up!

Once you are sure that your logic is not fallacious, and that indeed your evidence supports your conclusions, you have created a sound line of reasoning.

Fig. 2 - The strength of a line of reasoning determines the persuasiveness or success of an essay's argument.

Line of Reasoning Essay Examples

Here are some examples of how a line of reasoning refers to the logical sequence of thought or argument that one uses to arrive at a conclusion.

1. Scientific Reasoning: For instance, in a scientific experiment, a researcher might reason that if a specific chemical reacts in a particular way under certain conditions, it will likely react similarly under the same conditions in a different context. This line of reasoning is used to develop hypotheses and conduct experiments.

2. Legal Reasoning: In a court of law, a lawyer may argue that because a defendant was not present at the scene of a crime and has a credible alibi, they cannot be guilty. This is a line of reasoning used to persuade a judge or jury.

3. Philosophical Reasoning: In philosophy, one might argue that all men are mortal, Socrates is a man, therefore Socrates is mortal. This line of reasoning is called a syllogism.

Here are two lines of reasoning that you might employ in an essay. Together, these lines of reasons feed into the same conclusion (your thesis).

Line of reasoning 1:

Evidence: Chemical X hurts fish.

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Logic: Hurting fish is bad.

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Conclusion (thesis): Chemical X should not be dumped into the water, and the current practice needs to stop.

Line of reasoning 2:

Evidence: Chemical X gets dumped in the water.

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Logic: Fish are in the water.

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Conclusion (thesis): Chemical X should not be dumped into the water, and the current practice needs to stop.

The first line of reasoning helps to prove the first part of the thesis, that "chemical X should not be dumped in the water." The second line of reasoning helps to prove the second part of the thesis that "the current practice needs to stop."

This is how your essay should flow. Your numerous pieces of evidence should, together, validate the truth of your conclusion.