by RonPurewal Tue Jun 10, 2008 6:36 am
in terms of critical reasoning arguments, the word 'conclusion' is generally reserved for the final, principal conclusion of the passage. (note that 'final', as used here, doesn't mean that it comes last in the passage sequentially; rather, 'final' should be taken as 'the ultimate conclusion of the progression of logic in the passage'.)
a 'judgment', on the other hand, is any statement deduced from other statements in the passage; such judgments may be used as stepping stones on the way to the ultimate conclusion of the passage.