Short Essay Outline

Outline – Potential City Health Risk

I.Introduction

A. Many individuals have become sick with similar illnesses that are very serious due to something in the environment of the city as it is not possible that each case is based on genetics.

B. After doing serious research, it has become apparent that there could be a problem with a company’s chemical disposal process that is allowing this chemical to contaminate something in the city that is allowing residents to become sick.

C. The time is now to determine whether or not there is a problem with the chemical disposal process to narrow down the cause of this illness by the community uniting to get to the bottom of this issue.

II. Questions asked to ensure that critical thinking was used in the research and analysis of the problem

A. Could these illnesses not be related?

B. What elements in the environment could cause these illnesses?

C. Could something other than the company’s chemical disposal process be causing this illness?

III. Two strategies used to help foster critical thinking to lead to the root cause of the illness

A. Analyze the information regarding the illness with medical experts that can help to explain any overly technical terms that may be unclear at first glance

B. Examine the current chemical disposal process being used by the company with the help of experts in city planning, engineering and chemicals

IV. Possible assumptions that may have interfered with critical analysis of the situation

A. One assumption could be that this rash of illnesses in the community is caused by something in the environment.

B. Another possible assumption is that this company’s disposal process is responsible for the illness without evidence gained from research.

C. Also, not looking into other potential sources could be a possible assumption.

V. Two fallacies encountered during research for possible causes for the illness

A. One fallacy that could have been encountered during research for the possible causes for the illness is correlation proves causation. Even if there was a problem with the chemical disposal it may not necessary mean that the chemical is the cause of the illness.

B. Another fallacy that could have been encountered during research for the possible causes for the illness is the fallacy of the single cause as it may be possible there are several causes behind the illnesses in the community. According to Vleet (2012), “The fallacy of the single cause, however, states that an event has only one root or reason, when in fact there may be multiple causes” (p. 34).

VI.Conclusion

A. Something in the environment of the city is causing a serious illness to occur in the adult population that is not from genetics.

B. Critical thinking strategies were used to determine that no assumptions or fallacies mislead the research and thought put into this process.

C. After careful research, it was found that this illness could be caused by a company’s chemical disposal procedure. It is important to get together to take a stand to identify if this is the cause and determine the best steps that need to be taken to clean this situation up, help those that have been impacted and prevent this from occurring in the future.

VII. References

A. Vleet, J. E. (2012). Informal logical fallacies a brief guide. Lanham, MD: University Press of America.