loosely associated statements

{{Short description|A type of simple non-inferential passage}}

A loosely associated statement is a type of simple non-inferential passage wherein statements about a general subject are juxtaposed but make no inferential claim.{{cite book | title=A Concise Introduction to Logic 10th ed. | publisher=Thompson Wadsworth | author=Hurley, Patrick J. | year=2008 | pages=17 | isbn=978-0-495-50383-5}} As a rhetorical device, loosely associated statements may be intended by the speaker to infer a claim or conclusion, but because they lack a coherent logical structure any such interpretation is subjective as loosely associated statements prove nothing and attempt no obvious conclusion.{{cite web | url=http://www.julianhermida.com/algoma/law1studyarguments.htm | title=The logic of arguments | accessdate=April 28, 2012}} Loosely associated statements can be said to serve no obvious purpose, such as illustration or explanation.{{cite web | url=http://academic.csuohio.edu/polen/LC9_Help/1/12loosely.htm | title=NONargument - Loosely associated statements | accessdate=April 28, 2012}}

Included statements can be premises, conclusions or both, and both true or false, but missing from the passage is a claim that any one statement supports another.