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From LogicWiki

An argument is a set of declarative sentences, one of which is designated as the conclusion and the remaining ones as the premise(s). A declarative sentence is a sentence of (say) English that can be true or false. Many sentences of English can be neither true nor false, for instance questions (What time is it?), commands (Shut the door!), or exclamations (That hurt!).

The conclusion of an argument often occurs last in the sequence, but not always: sometimes it occurs first, followed by the premises, and sometimes even in the middle. It is therefore non-trivial to identify the conclusion of an argument.

Some Indicators

These are indications, not gaurantees, that a premise or conclusion is suggested:

Premise Indicators since for because on account of for the reason that

Conclusion Indicators therefore thus it follows that so hence consequently

Good vs. bad arguments

When we put forward an argument we make a claim that the conclusion follows form the premises. When this is in fact the case, the argument is good. The purpose of logic is to help identify good and bad arguments, or (as logicians are fond of saying) valid and invalid arguments.

See Also

Deductive Validity,