PELIDS
PELIDS is an acronym for the following: Pathos-appeal to the emotions and interests of an audience
Ethos-appeal through the speaker/writer’s credibility
Inductive reasoning-making a judgment or conclusion about a broad topic based on a few examples.
Biologists use this type of reasoning often in their work. They take a sample of a population and apply what is learned to the entire population. Opinion polls work on the same principle. It is important to consider two things when dealing with inductive reasoning: Is the sample sufficient? Is the sample relevant?
Deductive reasoning-making a conclusion about one example based on many
This is often used in geometry. All triangles are closed figures with three straight sides and three angles that add to 180 degrees; this figure fulfills the requirements of the above premise; therefore, this figure is a triangle. The validity of this type of reasoning (the above is a syllogism, a three-part statement utilizing two premises and a conclusion) is contingent upon the validity of the premises.
Syllogism- see above. The final three terms of this acronym (IDS) are the major aspects of logical reasoning. Use these in your arguments often, while keeping them in mind when analyzing another’s argument. If you are able to solidly challenge a premise, the entire argument falls into question.