Analytical reasoning involves recognizing patterns in information, whether quantitative or qualitative, to draw logical conclusions. This can be applied to numerical data using formulas or statistical models, and to prose by analyzing the author’s rhetorical structure and evidence. By isolating important evidence, readers can refute or elaborate on the author’s argument.
The term “analytical reasoning” refers to the recognition of patterns and connections in a variety of information. Based on these patterns, individuals who are performing analytic reasoning can use those patterns and connections to further process the information itself and make predictive claims. This information can be quantitative in nature, such as a series of numbers or a large dataset, or it can be qualitative in nature, such as an essay. The ability to apply analytical reasoning to numbers or prose allows an individual to draw conclusions from information that are not explicitly stated in the information itself.
Using analytic reasoning to interpret numbers and prose is based on the same principle: the individual first determines a pattern within the information he or she is analyzing, then draws conclusions that follow logically from the pattern that has been found within the information. information inside. For numerical data, these patterns are quantitative relationships between numbers, and for prose they are derived from the rhetorical framework the author uses in presenting evidence and conclusions.
A simple example of applying analytic reasoning to numerical data is to watch a sequence of numbers increase using a specific formula. Once someone discovers this formula, they can determine what the number will be at any position in the sequence. A more advanced example of applying analytical reasoning to quantitative data is the use of statistical models, such as cluster analysis or linear regression, to uncover complex patterns within large data sets. An example would be applying these models to sales data to uncover statistically valid trends in sales performance. Using these trends and their size as evidence, someone doing this analysis could then come up with arguments to explain the product’s current sales performance and make predictions about that product’s future performance.
Performing analytical reasoning on prose involves recognizing the underlying rhetorical structure used by the author. By recognizing the rhetorical model an author is using, a reader can discern the author’s evidence from both the author’s speculation and the author’s conclusion. After separating the evidence from the conclusion, the reader can judge for himself whether the author’s conclusion follows logically from that evidence.
The reader can apply further analysis to the author’s argument by analyzing the evidence itself. By identifying the rhetorical structure of the prose, the reader can isolate the evidence that is most important in proving the conclusion. If the reader can refute this evidence, then he can refute the author’s conclusion. The reader can also use the evidence used by the prose author as their own evidence to elaborate on aspects or consequences of the argument that the author did not address in the prose.
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