Critical Thinking Skills - Developing Effective Analysis and Argument(2)

Answers to activities in Chapter 5 (continued)
Logical order (p. 77)
Passage 5.28
Circadian rhythms
The passage is badly organised because:
The author hops back and forward between
points rather than grouping similar points
together into separate sections.
There is no obvious introduction.
The conclusion and the author's position are
not obvious.
The passage lacks words to link each new
point to highlight the direction of the
argument.
Compare the original version with the version
below. This contains almost identical material
but is ordered differently and phrases are added
to indicate the logical links. These are indicated
in bold.
5: Our bodies remain more responsive to biological
rhythms than to the demands of clock time or the
distractions of the outside world. 10: These biological
rhythms are known as circadian rhythms and we
know they are particularly strong in birds. 11: In
humans they are particularly controlled by the
suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) in the anterior
hypothalamus at the base of our brains. 12: We
know this because, if this part of the brain is
damaged, a person loses all sense of a natural 24-hour
clock, where sleep coincides with night-time. 13: In
other people, circadian rhythms are much stronger
than was expected. 1 : For example, in experiments,
human volunteers spent several weeks under-ground
in constant light. 2: At first, their natural clock and
sleep patterns were disrupted. 3: However, after a
few weeks, they reverted back to the natural circadian
rhythm with a 24-hour clock more or less in line with
the outside world.
4: Nonetheless, our natural clocks are helped to
adjust by exposure to sun-light and do respond to
patterns of light and dark. 14 Astronauts, who lose
this connection to the sun's rhythms for a long time,
find it hard to adjust. 15: Many require medication to
help them sleep. 16: Night-workers, even after 20
years on shift patterns, do not adjust circadian
rhythms to suit the demands of night working.
17: Certain illnesses such as peptic ulcers and heart
disease, as well as increased risk of car crashes, are
much more common to night-shift workers.
6: Since the mapping of human genes as part of the
genome project, we have a greater understanding of
circadian rhythms and their role in genetic conditions.
7: Some families have genetic conditions which make
them less sensitive to circadian rhythms. 8: This may
help explain patterns of sleep disturbances found in
those families. 19: It may be that conditions
associated with mental ill-health, such as
schizophrenia and bi-polar disorders, are also linked to
malfunctions in circadian rhythms.
9: Our work patterns, leisure patterns, architecture,
lighting, food, drugs and medication compete with
our natural clocks. 18: As the long-term effects of
disrupting circadian rhythms are yet to be discovered,
we should take care to ensure the health of shiftworkers
and those with genetic conditions that make
them less sensitive to the biological 24-hour clock.
This is not the only possible alternative. Another
option would be to order the sentences as:
5, 10, 11, 12
6, 7, 8, 13
9, 1, 2, 3, 4, 14, 15
16, 17, 19, 18
This would then read:
Passage 5.28 Circadian rhythms
5: Our bodies remain more responsive to biological
rhythms than to the demands of clock time or the
distractions of the outside world. 10: These biological
rhythms are known as circadian rhythms and we
know they are particularly strong in birds. 11: In
O Stella Cottrell (2005), Cliticnl Thii7killg Skills,
Palgrave Macmillan Ltd
How well do they say it 83