As you may have heard, there is more than one way to skin a cat.

你們可能聽說過，貓的皮不止一種。

Although none of them are endorsed by PETA.

儘管它們都沒有得到 PETA 的認可。

In the same vein, there is more than one way to... apply reason.

同樣，......運用理性的方法也不止一種。

For example, you may decide that it wouldn't be a good idea for you to skin a cat...

例如，您可能認為剝貓皮不是個好主意...

...because all living things are precious, and you may be incurring the wrath of God

......因為所有生物都是珍貴的，你可能會招致上帝的憤怒

by so callously torturing one of his creatures.

如此冷酷無情地折磨他的一個造物主。

Or, you might just realize that you've got too much homework to do tonight.

或者，你可能只是意識到今晚有太多作業要做。

Either way, there's a cat out there somewhere sighing a huge meow of relief.

無論如何，都會有一隻貓在某處發出 "喵喵 "的鬆了一口氣的聲音。

When it comes to reasoning, there are two main ways to do it...

說到推理，主要有兩種方法......

...by using inductive reasoning...

...通過歸納推理...

...or by using deductive reasoning.

......或使用演繹推理。

Deductive reasoning, otherwise known as the "top down" approach...

演繹推理，又稱 "自上而下 "法...

...starts with a general statement, theory or hypothesis...

......從一般性陳述、理論或假設開始......

...and then works its way down to a specific conclusion by examining various pieces of evidence.

......然後通過研究各種證據得出具體結論。

For example, if you hypothesize that Dr. Seuss hates cats...

例如，如果你假設蘇斯博士討厭貓...

...and you provide examples from The Cat in the Hat that you feel support that hypothesis...

......你從《帽子裡的貓》中舉例說明了你認為支持這一假設的理由......

...you can deduce that Dr. Seuss does, in fact, hate cats.

......你可以推斷出，蘇斯博士其實討厭貓。

And let's not even get started on how he feels about Thing 1 and Thing 2.

我們甚至還沒開始討論他對 "東西 1 "和 "東西 2 "的看法。

Of course, it's a little more complicated when applied to an essay, because there are

當然，如果把它應用到論文中，就會稍微複雜一些，因為有

many more pieces of evidence to consider, but you get the idea.

還有很多證據需要考慮，但你已經明白了。

Inductive reasoning, or the "bottom up" approach...

歸納推理或自下而上的方法...

...starts with a small observation or question...

......從一個小小的觀察或問題開始...

...and works its way to a theory by examining the related issues.

......並通過研究相關問題形成理論。

It's a bit more exploratory by nature than deductive reasoning.

從本質上講，它比演繹推理更具探索性。

Like... "How does Dr. Seuss feel about cats?"

比如......蘇斯博士對貓有什麼看法？

"Well, he has this cat do some really dumb stuff... and he keeps getting in trouble...

"好吧，他讓這隻貓做了一些非常愚蠢的事情......他一直在惹麻煩......

and the kids get angry at him... and he looks weird.

孩子們對他發火......他看起來怪怪的。

So yeah... Dr. Seuss doesn't seem like a big cat fan."

所以啊...蘇斯博士似乎並不喜歡貓；

So... how to apply these tools when writing an essay?

那麼......如何在寫作文時運用這些工具呢？

If writing a deductive essay, you'll want to make your big statement right up front...

如果要寫一篇演繹性文章，您需要在文章的開頭髮表重要聲明......

...and then spend the rest of the paper providing evidence that supports your statement.

......然後用論文的其餘部分來提供支持你說法的證據。

In your conclusion, you can restate your premise, and then remind the reader how fabulously

在結論中，你可以重申你的前提，然後提醒讀者，你是如何美妙地

you just proved your point. When writing an inductive essay, your intro

你剛剛證明了自己的觀點。在撰寫歸納文章時，您的引言

will be a little more mysterious...

會更神祕一些......

...you're going to start with the facts, and gradually string together a conclusion...

......你要從事實出發，逐漸串聯起一個結論...

...which will end your essay with a bang.

......這將為您的文章畫上一個圓滿的句號。

You could also try using seductive reasoning,

您還可以嘗試使用誘導性推理、

but you'd better look good in a nightie.

但你最好穿上睡衣。