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A reasoned choice names the goal, weighs reasons that bear on it, says the choice with its reason, and changes when new evidence arrives.
Paper packet. Every task here also exists on screen, where it is checked automatically; answers written on paper are not assessed by Nydus. When you are back at a device, enter your answers there.
You will make a choice the careful way: name the goal, weigh the reasons for and against each option that bear on that goal, say your choice with its reason, and choose again when new evidence takes a reason away.
You can find reasons, weigh them, map them for and against, and choose the evidence that settles a question. This last lesson puts all of it to work on a choice of your own.
| Term | What it means |
|---|---|
| This lesson's terms | The goal is what a choice is for. The options are the things you could choose. A reasoned choice names an option and a reason about the goal. To revise a choice is to make it again when new evidence arrives. |
| Supported conclusion | The conclusion the stated reasons reach, including the limits on its group, time or conditions. |
Rosa's goal: keep the class guinea pig cool in the heatwave. Her options: the windowsill, the corner by the door, the shelf under the fan.
For each option, she finds reasons that bear on the goal:
So her reasoned choice is: the shelf under the fan, because it is out of the sun and the fan keeps the air moving. It names the option and the reason about the goal.
Two things are not reasons for this goal. The windowsill is my favorite spot is about what Rosa likes. The door corner is easiest to clean is about cleaning. Both are real reasons, for different goals.
A reasoned choice can change. If the fan breaks on Wednesday, the best reason for the shelf has gone, and Rosa should choose again. Changing your mind for a new reason is not weakness; it is what reasons are for.
Another way: picture
A choice is a signpost at a fork. The goal is the town you want. Each reason is a sign saying how far that town is down each road. A sign saying pretty flowers this way is not about your town.
Another way: steps
A reasoned choice begins by saying what the choice is meant to achieve. Without a goal, every attractive feature can seem decisive. A bag can be cheap, colorful, roomy or comfortable, but the best feature depends on the task. If you must carry a large folder without bending it, the folder fitting is a necessary condition. A beautiful bag that is too small fails that task.
List realistic options before comparing them. Include any limits that rule an option out, such as an unavailable date or not enough seats. Then compare the remaining options using reasons about the goal. A simple table can prevent you from remembering every advantage of your favorite option and forgetting its difficulties.
Some choices involve more than one goal. A route may be quicker but more expensive. Do not pretend that one fact settles both aims. State which goal matters most here, or name a limit such as a maximum cost. Two people can then understand why they chose differently even when they agree about the facts.
Finish with an option and its reason, not just the option's name. Add what would make you reconsider. 'We choose the hall because it seats everyone; we will reconsider if the booking is unavailable' is more useful than 'The hall is best'. It shows both the support and a condition that matters. Revising the choice when that condition changes is part of following the reason, not a failure to make up your mind.
The goal is a quiet place to study for the spelling contest. Which is a reasoned choice for that goal?
The supported answer is: Book the small room upstairs, because the noise meter showed it is the quietest room in the center.
The distinction in this case is that only the small room is chosen for a reason about quiet.
The goal is growing the biggest pumpkin for the show. Which is a reasoned choice for that goal?
The supported answer is: Plant it in the sunny corner, because pumpkins need at least six hours of sun a day.
The distinction in this case is that only the sunny corner is chosen for a reason about growing a big pumpkin.
The goal is arriving at the museum before it gets crowded. Which is a reasoned choice for that goal?
The supported answer is: Take the 9 o'clock train, because the museum is emptiest in its first hour.
The distinction in this case is that only the 9 o'clock train is chosen for a reason about beating the crowds.
The goal is throwing away less plastic at the club. Which is a reasoned choice for that goal?
The supported answer is: Buy a water jug and cups to wash, because the club throws away forty plastic bottles a week.
The distinction in this case is that only the jug and washable cups are chosen for a reason about less plastic.
The goal is getting everyone home safely after the evening match. Which is a reasoned choice for that goal?
The supported answer is: Use the crossing with traffic lights, because the lights stop the cars for everyone.
The distinction in this case is that only the crossing with lights is chosen for a reason about getting home safely.
Put the six steps of a reasoned choice in order.
Name the goal. / List the options. / Find the reasons for and against each option that bear on the goal. / Choose the option the reasons favor. / Say your choice with its reason. / Change your choice if new evidence arrives.
Name the goal first, then list the options. For each option, find the reasons that bear on the goal, for and against; then choose the option they favor. Say your choice with its reason, and stay ready to change it if new evidence arrives.
The goal: choose a birthday present Nan will use every day. Four reasons are given for choosing a new kettle. Mark the one that is about a different goal.
Nan's old kettle leaks. / She makes tea five times a day. / It comes in a box that is easy to wrap. / The new one has a big light she can see easily.
Nan's kettle leaks, she makes tea five times a day, and the new one has a light she can see easily: all three are about something she will use every day. It comes in a box that is easy to wrap is about wrapping the present, not about Nan using it. So that is the reason about a different goal.
The youth club chose the beach for Saturday's trip, because the forecast was sunny all day. On Thursday the forecast changes to storms all Saturday. What is the reasoned thing to do?
The supported answer is: Look at the options again with the new forecast, because the reason for the beach has gone.
The reason for the beach was the sunshine. The new forecast takes that reason away, so the choice should be made again with the new evidence. Keeping it because it was already decided ignores the reason it was made for.
Suppose two rooms each have enough seats for a ten-person meeting. Capacity now rules out neither room. Room A costs four tokens and room B costs six. If the agreed goal after seating everyone is to spend fewer tokens, A has a relevant advantage of two tokens. If B is the only room reached without stairs and a member needs that access, the access requirement changes the decision. The cheaper price has not disappeared, but it does not satisfy the access need.
Write requirements separately from preferences. A requirement is something this plan must meet, such as fitting the group or providing an accessible entrance. A preference is something you would like if possible, such as a favorite wall color. This distinction depends on the situation; what is optional in one choice may be necessary in another.
Before calling one option best, say best for which goals and under which limits. If two options still tie, you may use another agreed reason or a fair way to choose. Reasoning does not promise that every decision has a single winner. It promises a clear account of the facts, goals and trade-offs that shaped the decision, so somebody else can understand and check it.
A music group has eighteen people who must reach a concert together. The available options are a twelve-seat minibus, a twenty-seat minibus, and three cars with five passenger seats each. Assume the numbers are usable passenger seats and drivers are already provided. The first goal is to carry all eighteen people in the planned trip.
The twelve-seat minibus is six seats short. Three cars provide fifteen seats altogether, which is three short. The twenty-seat minibus has two spare seats and meets the stated requirement. Under these supplied options, it is the only single-trip plan that carries everyone. A favorite color or a familiar driver does not create the missing seats in another option.
Now add a new fact: the twenty-seat minibus becomes unavailable. Repeating the old choice does not solve the problem. The group needs another feasible option, perhaps hiring another vehicle or arranging an additional car. Four five-seat cars would offer twenty seats, provided four vehicles and drivers really are available. Name those conditions rather than treating a sum on paper as a confirmed booking.
Finally, check whether instruments require space as well as people. Seat capacity alone does not answer that separate question. A reasoned recommendation is therefore conditional: the twenty-seat vehicle meets the passenger count if it is available and has enough luggage space. The decision is clearer when it includes these limits. Another organizer can check exactly what remains to be confirmed and can revise the plan when a relevant fact changes.
Choosing for a favorite. It's my favorite is a reason about liking. If the goal is something else, it does not count.
Mixing up goals. It's cheaper is a fine reason when the goal is saving money, and no reason at all when the goal is getting there first.
Never changing your mind. A choice made for a reason should be made again when the reason goes.
Goal: the whole family can see the fireworks. Options: the hill, the beach.
Goal: the whole family can see the fireworks. Options: the hill, the beach.
Find reasons about seeing, for each.
State the result of this reading move.
Find reasons about seeing, for each.
This records the link just identified: Goal: the whole family can see the fireworks. Options: the hill, the beach.
Hill: high up, nothing in the way — supports. Beach: the pier blocks half the sky — counts against. The beach has a chip shop — not about seeing.
Hill: high up, nothing in the way — supports. Beach: the pier blocks half the sky — counts against. The beach has a chip shop — not about seeing.
Only reasons about the goal go on the scale.
State the result of this reading move.
Only reasons about the goal go on the scale.
This records the link just identified: Hill: high up, nothing in the way — supports. Beach: the pier blocks half the sky — counts against. The beach has a chip shop — not about seeing.
Choice: the hill, because nothing blocks the view from up there.
Choice: the hill, because nothing blocks the view from up there.
Option plus a reason about the goal.
The club chose the red minibus for the trip because it has the most seats.
The club chose the red minibus for the trip because it has the most seats.
The goal: take everyone.
State the result of this reading move.
The goal: take everyone.
This records the link just identified: The club chose the red minibus for the trip because it has the most seats.
On Monday the garage says the red minibus needs new brakes and will not be ready.
On Monday the garage says the red minibus needs new brakes and will not be ready.
The reason for red — that it can take everyone — no longer holds: it cannot take anyone.
State the result of this reading move.
The reason for red — that it can take everyone — no longer holds: it cannot take anyone.
This records the link just identified: On Monday the garage says the red minibus needs new brakes and will not be ready.
So the club chooses again: two cars and the blue van, which together have enough seats.
So the club chooses again: two cars and the blue van, which together have enough seats.
A new reason, a new choice.
Identify the task before answering its parts.
Room: {{b0}}
Spare seats: {{b1}}
A's shortage: {{b2}}
The three labeled spaces ask for different parts of this analysis, so keep their order visible.
Locate the evidence for the first part.
Only B's 12 seats meet the requirement for 10 people; A and C fall short.
This is the supplied information that bears on work out room.
Work out room.
B
Only B's 12 seats meet the requirement for 10 people; A and C fall short.
Work out spare seats.
2
Subtracting the group size from B's capacity gives two spare seats.
Work out a's shortage.
2
A lacks two seats, so a preference for A cannot make it satisfy the stated goal without a change of plan.
Write the completed analysis in its original order.
B / 2 / 2
Read these entries with their labels: Work out room. / Work out spare seats. / Work out a's shortage.
Goal: keep the class tomato plant growing over the break. Options: take it home with Jo, leave it on the classroom windowsill. What reasons bear on the goal?
Goal: keep the class tomato plant growing over the break. Options: take it home with Jo, leave it on the classroom windowsill. What reasons bear on the goal?
Jo can water it every day; nobody will water it in the empty classroom.
Is the windowsill looks nice about the goal?
Say the reasoned choice: this option, because …
The goal: get to the match at the sports ground by two o'clock. Aisha is thinking about cycling. For each fact, say what it does to the goal. Use these category identifiers: A = helps the goal; B = works against the goal; C = is not about the goal. Select the identifier, not the category's words.
| What does it do to the goal? | |
|---|---|
| The cycle path goes straight to the ground in fifteen minutes. | |
| Her back tire is flat, and there is no pump in the house. | |
| Her bike is purple. | |
| The ground has bike racks right by the gate. |
Goal: seat all 13 people in one available room. Room D seats 11; room A seats 15; room B seats 10. Write the only room letter that meets the goal, its spare seats, and the shortage in room D.
Work out room.
b0
Find an available option meeting the passenger requirement.
Work out spare seats.
b1
Subtract the group size from the chosen capacity.
Work out d's shortage.
b2
Compare the smaller room's capacity with the group size.
Goal: seat all 17 people in one available room. Room D seats 15; room A seats 19; room B seats 14. Write the only room letter that meets the goal, its spare seats, and the shortage in room D.
Room: b0
Spare seats: b1
D's shortage: b2
Goal: seat all 11 people in one available room. Room B seats 9; room C seats 13; room D seats 8. Write the only room letter that meets the goal, its spare seats, and the shortage in room B.
Room: b0
Spare seats: b1
B's shortage: b2
Goal: seat all 12 people in one available room. Room C seats 10; room D seats 14; room A seats 9. Write the only room letter that meets the goal, its spare seats, and the shortage in room C.
Room: b0
Spare seats: b1
C's shortage: b2
Goal: seat all 15 people in one available shelter. Room B seats 13; shelter C seats 17; shelter D seats 12. Write the only shelter letter that meets the goal, its spare seats, and the shortage in shelter B.
Room: b0
Spare seats: b1
B's shortage: b2
Lesson test: one question per skill, one attempt each, no hints. Your answers are checked when you submit.
Goal: seat all 14 people in one available room. Room A seats 12; room B seats 16; room C seats 11. Write the only room letter that meets the goal, its spare seats, and the shortage in room A.
Room: b0
Spare seats: b1
A's shortage: b2
You can make and explain a reasoned choice, and tell a reason about the goal from a reason about something else. Say why it's my favorite is not a reason for keeping the guinea pig cool. You have finished the course: every lesson was one question — what is being claimed, and what is the reason?
16. Your turn: the class plant, step 2
Is the windowsill looks nice about the goal?
Say the choice with its reason, and change it if the reason goes.
16. Your turn: the class plant, step 3
Say the reasoned choice: this option, because …
Say the choice with its reason, and change it if the reason goes.