Syllogism

Syllogism is a three-part process of deductive reasoning consisting of (1) major premise (usually a general rule), (2) minor premise (usually an individual case employing one term appearing in the major premise) and (3) a conclusion which must follow if both the major and minor premises are true (usually the substitution of the new term of the minor premise in the major premise in place of the term common to both premises). Example:
 * Major premise: All dogs are animals
 * Minor premise: Betsy is a dog
 * Conclusion: Betsy is an animal.