Source-Based Question How to deal with many sources to answer a biased/controversial question Question/Statement: Eating stinky tofu makes a person an instant genius

The Sources A B C D

Eating stinky tofu makes a person an instant genius Yeah, totally! Look at me! Seriously, dude! No way! A B Not totally true or false. I‘ve seen one who became a genius. But there’s no scientific studies to prove it. It can be proven. Just state your price… D C

Evaluating the Sources Who’s right? Based on why do you say they are right and the others are wrong? Comparison of provenance, content, tone and purpose Which source or group of sources are better than the other(s) in answering the question?

Skills you need Cross-referencing with other sources Are the other sources saying the same thing, or different Reference with your contextual knowledge too (after you have referenced with other sources) Does it then agree or contradict with other sources and your contextual knowledge? Implications? Which source or groups of sources are more believable? Why? Once you have done the above, you should be able to answer the question convincingly using the evidence from the sources, with some help from your own knowledge

How an SBQ answer will look like The statement is false, i.e. eating stinking tofu does not make anyone a genius Sources B and C show that the statement is false. Taken together, Sources B and C are more reliable than A and D. Since Sources A and D, which support the statement, have no basis for their claims, they cannot be taken seriously. Therefore B and C are more believable and as a result, the statement is a false one.

How an SBQ answer will look like Then go on to prove, using all the skills at your disposable, why B and C are more believable than A and D.