Chapter 4 Evaluating Arguments
An argument is the statement of a point of view and the evidence that supports it in a way intended to be persuasive to other people Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Basic Library Information Sources The library staff Encyclopedias Almanacs The New York Times Index Indexes to periodicals Government publications Abstracts of scholarly works The library’s catalog of holdings Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Tips for Internet Research Use a search engine Develop a resource list Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Tips for Interviewing Others Make an appointment Arrive on time Ask permission to tape Avoid “yes or no” questions Pay attention to the answers Ask follow-up questions Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Plagiarism is passing off other people’s ideas or words as one’s own Plagiarism is passing off other people’s ideas or words as one’s own. Plagiarism is unethical because it steals and deceives Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
How to Avoid Plagiarism When researching, separate sources’ ideas from yours If you use others’ ideas only, use your own words, credit the author, and cite the source If you use others’ ideas and words, be exact, use quotation marks, credit the author, and cite the source Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Evidence is reliable information offered in support of an opinion Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Kinds of Evidence “Reasons” for thinking as you do Anecdotes and cases-in-point Published reports Eyewitness testimony Expert testimony Experiments Statistical studies Surveys Research reviews Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Evaluating Complex Arguments Step 1: Identify facts and opinions Step 2: Check the facts and test the opinions Step 3: Conduct research Step 4: Evaluate the evidence Step 5: Make your judgment Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Be Cautious About Bias For bias toward ideas that confirm your personal view . . . be more open to opposing ideas For bias toward familiar ideas . . . don’t exempt familiar ideas from analysis For bias toward your likes and dislikes . . . carry your preferences lightly Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.