A syllogism is always composed of two statements or premises from which a third

statement (conclusion) is drawn. This means that the conclusion has to be drawn from two

premises, which are assumed to be true. Categorical syllogisms are composed of three

propositions and they are a form of a deductive argument (McCall, 2014). These forms of

arguments were formulated based on logic and thereby rely on logic for interpretation. Every

standard form categorical syllogism has to have three terms and each one of them is used twice

in the proposition. The predicate term is usually used in the major premise and the conclusion.

Further, the subject term is used in the minor proposition and the conclusion. Finally, the middle

term is used in the two premises upon which the syllogism is based. The arrangement of these

four propositions (A, E, I and/or O) determines the mood of the syllogism and the arrangement

of the propositions that compose the syllogism. Since there exists four kinds of categorical

propositions and each proposition is composed of three propositions, there are sixty-four possible

syllogistic moods.