Quick Start

What does Rationale do?

Rationale is a tool to build critical thinking skills. It achieves this by displaying information and reasoning in structured maps. This conveys information quickly and intuitively. Rationale makes the critical thinking process clear by providing tools to:

• Sort and structure information and ideas (grouping maps)
• Identify components of arguments (reasoning maps)
• Provide details of evidence sources (basis boxes)
• Show evaluation of claims through colour and icons (evaluation tab)
• Identify assumptions and co-premises (advanced reasoning maps)
• Communicate with essay planning templates (essays panel)
• Provide feedback notes

What sort of maps does Rationale provide?

Rationale has four map formats, including reasoning and advanced reasoning maps that create argument maps. You can have different types of maps on your workspace simultaneously.

Grouping

Organise information by ordering and grouping items or ideas.

Reasoning

A simple and accessible form of argument mapping that enables you to:

• map out reasons for and against a contention
• evaluate their strengths and weaknesses
• Identify sources of information

Advanced Reasoning

A more detailed and precise form of argument mapping that enables you to:

• identify individual premises, including unstated assumptions
• distinguish between the acceptability of premises and the validity or strength of inferences.

Dialog Maps

An easy mapping technique to brainstorm, show options, pros and cons and consequences. You will locate the dialog boxes in the "Extras" panel.

Basic navigation

Building Panel

Click on the labels to use different formats and features.

Workspace

Create more space by pulling in and out the vertical blue bars adjoining the building and text panels. The cursor will change as you pass your cursor over them. Select and manipulate the panel size.

Text Panel

When you're not using a text, explore or web feature, close the text panel (button on the bottom right side) to create more workspace.

Ribbon

The Ribbon is the taskbar across the top. It is broken up into Tabs. The tabs group similar features, such as viewing and output functions.

Building maps

1. Choose the map or feature of your choice by clicking on it in the building panel.

2. Drag and drop boxes or templates from the building panel to the workspace.

3. Add additional boxes until you see the purple insertion point. This indicates where it will be dropped. The box that it will attach to will have a blue outline. There is no need for connector lines, Rationale creates these automatically. You can drag and drop single boxes or whole branches to re-arrange the structure of maps.

Editing boxes

1. Select a box to type in text.
2. Double click or press F2 to edit.
3. Use ENTER or ESC to finish.

Duplicate boxes quickly

1. Select a box on the workspace and press ENTER ot create more boxes of the same type.
2. Press INSERT to insert a new box underneath your selected box.

Cut, Copy and Paste

You can CUT, COPY and PASTE by selecting the icon from the CLIPBOARD on the HOME tab. You can choose to copy the map as an image or the map's text. Rationale can copy your selected box with or without the attached boxes below. For editing and copy/paste of text, see the Rationale FAQ: Building and Editing.

Change box and map types

Note: you cannot combine different map formats.

Select your box that you want to change. Go to to the Change Box section on the ribbon (the top bar) and select the TYPE icon. This will provide you with the box types that the selected box may be changed to.

Select your map on the workspace. Go to to the Change Map section on the ribbon (the top bar) and select the map format you want to change to.

Add sticky notes

Drag sticky notes from the EXTRAS section in the Building Panel.

Sticky Notes can float freely on the workspace, or you can attach them to any box on a map - including another sticky note. To attach a sticky note, drag and drop it onto the box you want to attach it to. Another way is to click on a box and give CONTROl+A. To detach a sticky note, right click on it and select DETACH from the menu.

Zoom, Pan and Scroll

To move around your workspace

Click on an empty part of the workspace (holding down the left mouse button so that the cursor turns into a cross with arrowheads), and drag the mouse.

To see what's outside your visible workspace

Click on the overview window to pan to selected area.

To navigate around your map/s and workspace

Use the arrows at the bottom of the Rationale window to move around the workspace. Fit everything on the workspace by selecting 'Show All' or focus on a single map by selecting 'Show Map'. The 'Next Map' button allows you to move to the next map working left to right, top to bottom.

To zoom

Zoom in and out using the slider on the bottom task panel or use your mouse wheel.

Evidence Boxes

Use the basis boxes to identify the basis or source of a claim. Choose the appropriate box and add details to it.

Evaluate arguments

Colour and icons in your map provide a visual indication of how you have evaluated the claims and basis boxes. Use the EVALUATE tab on the ribbon.

Judge the strength of your selected box. The evaluate ribbon will highlight the choice available for your judgment.

Advanced reasoning maps provide the option to evaluate the claims and the strength of the reason as a whole.

Plan and export essays

Select the ESSAYS section in the BUILDING PANEL. Drag out a template and the TEXT PANEL will automatically open. Follow the instructions to create a plan and watch your essay taking shape in the text panel. When you have completed your map, select the EXPORT button on the TEXT PANEL screen and the essay will open as a word processing document. This will contain further guidelines to assist you complete a structured and well reasoned essay, letter, hypothesis or summary.

Insert an image

You can add an image by clicking on a box with your rightmousebutton. Than choose for Insert image... Or you can add a link by choosing the Insert image-button on the Home tab.

A popup screen appears. You can browse your computer for an image you wish to place into the selected box on your workspace.

Add hyperlinks

Add a link or edit the link details by choosing the HYPERLINK icon located on the HOME tab on the ribbon. You can also add a hyperlink by clicking on a box with your rightmousebutton. Then choose for Hyperlink...

Hide and show

It's very handy to "fold up" branches of your map to focus attention on particular lines of reasoning or key themes. It's also a useful tool to collapse sections of a large map for printing purposes.

Move your cursor over your map and you will see the "+" and "o" appear.

To SHOW the boxes underneath a selected box, click "+"

To HIDE the branch underneath a selected box, click "-"

To reduce the boxes completely click "o". When you select each box it will open and show the contents. This is an excellent tool for presentations.

Print

Rationale supports printing your map(s) on one or multiple pages.

To print your map select the PRINT icon in the OUTPUT tab. A PDF will be created. You can also click on file and output as a PDF. The PDF will be visible as a new tab. You need to allow popup-screens in your browser.

How to give feedback: sticky notes

To aid feedback from a teacher to their student, sticky note feedback notes are available on most building panels.

You can drag and drop the note just like any other box.

The other way to add a note to a box is to click on a box with your rightmousebutton an choose for: Add a note...or just do Control+A.

Need more help?

There's plenty of information in these helpfles, Public Maps and in the Rationale Guide. You can also visit our website ReasoningLab for more help, for resources and support.