© 2005 Pearson Education Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers Chapter 6: Critical Reading Believe that you can and you’re halfway there. (T. Roosevelt)

© 2005 Pearson Education Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers In this chapter you will learn how to:  Distinguish between fact and opinion.  Determine the author’s purpose.  Recognize the author’s tone.  Recognize bias.  Recognize connotative language.  Recognize figurative language.

© 2005 Pearson Education Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers Fact or Opinion? Facts:  Statements that can be verified.  Statements that can be proven to be true or false. Opinions:  Statements that express feelings, attitudes, or beliefs.  Statements that are neither true nor false.

© 2005 Pearson Education Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers Examples of Facts  More than 1 million teenagers become pregnant every year.  The costs of medical care increase every year.

© 2005 Pearson Education Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers Examples of Opinions  Government regulation of our private lives should be halted immediately.  By the year 2025, most Americans will not be able to afford routine health care.

QUESTION  ASK:  Can this be proven true or false? If yes, it is a FACT.  If NO, it is an opinion. © 2005 Pearson Education Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers

Fact & Opinion  When a sentence contains both fact and opinion, consider it to be an opinion.  Some exercises in lab offer “Fact & Opinion” as an option.  All FUTURE events are opinions because they can’t be proved.

© 2005 Pearson Education Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers Expert Opinion  A group of experts or one expert may give an opinion: –Scientists believe there may be as many as 50 planets in our Solar System. –Dr. Lewis says that the Internet will become the chief source of business transactions by 2020.

Quotations  Quotations are facts. All you have to ask is, “Can it be proven that this person said that?”  Ex: Mrs. Fennessy said, “This is the best class at Valencia.”  Can this be proved? © 2005 Pearson Education Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers

U-Review  What is the difference between a fact and an opinion? © 2005 Pearson Education Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers

Author’s Purpose ASK: Why did the author write this?  To present information (academic textbooks)  To compile facts (reference books)  To express an opinion  To write for a specific interest group

© 2005 Pearson Education Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers Purpose ? About 14,000 ocean- going ships pass through the Panama Canal each year. This averages to about three ships per day.

© 2005 Pearson Education Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers Purpose ? New Unsalted Dry Roasted Almonds. Finally, a snack with a natural flavor and without salt. We simply shell the nuts and dry-roast them until they’re crispy and crunchy. Try a jar this week.

© 2005 Pearson Education Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers Purpose ? The sign read, “Dog: $10” The dog looked up at me and said, “I’ve been on Oprah, I’ve met the President, and I’ve been on MTV.” I asked the owner, “You’re selling a talking dog for $10? Why?” The owner replied, “That dog’s a liar. He ain’t done none of them things!”

© 2005 Pearson Education Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers Purpose ? If a choking person has fallen down, first turn him or her face up. Then knit together the fingers of both your hands and apply pressure with the heel of your bottom hand to the victim’s abdomen.

© 2005 Pearson Education Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers Purpose? If your boat capsizes, it is usually safer to cling to the boat than to try to swim ashore.

U-Review  What question should you ask when trying to determine the author’s purpose?  What are four common purposes? © 2005 Pearson Education Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers

Author’s Tone  Instructive  Sympathetic  Persuasive  Humorous  Nostalgic

© 2005 Pearson Education Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers What’s This Tone?  Look for words with an emotional tone. –Ex: Those idiots on the City Council have no idea what they are doing. Their decision to pass on a light rail system for Orlando was stupid and short-sighted. If we don’t solve our traffic problems now, they will be much worse in five years!

Tone Words to Know  Nostalgic: Thinking of the past  Optimistic- positive  Pessimistic-negative  Whimsical- a “fun” thing  Ironic- the opposite of what you expect to happen © 2005 Pearson Education Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers

Tone Words to Know  Sarcastic- saying the opposite of what you mean  Objective, straightforward, matter-of- fact: factual, informing  Solemn- serious, grim © 2005 Pearson Education Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers

Denotative and Connotative Meanings  Denotative: literal meaning Example: “group” ( several people)  Connotative: implied meanings that carry either a positive or negative, favorable or unfavorable impression –Crowd –Gang –Congregation –Mob

© 2005 Pearson Education Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers Is the Author Biased?  Bias refers to an author’s personal opinion about a topic  A writer is biased if he or she takes only one side of an issue.  Example: A car advertisement describing only positive, marketable features.

Support for Bias  Authors will try to support their claim or argument with details  Details which are FACTS are more valid than opinions.  Determine if the author is qualified and if his or her support is valid with facts that are truthful, relevant, and sufficient. © 2005 Pearson Education Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers

Summing It Up: Critical Reading Questions  Is the material fact or opinion?  What is the author’s purpose?  What is the tone?  Is the author biased?  How strong are the data and evidence?  How is connotative language used?  How is figurative language used?

REVIEW  True or false?  1. All facts are provable.  2. Author’s purpose tells what the author is feeling about a topic.  3. Biased means having opinions. © 2005 Pearson Education Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers

True or false?  4. Unbiased means the author is negative.  5. Author’s tone expresses the author’s feelings.  6. Future events are facts.  7. Quotations are facts.  8. Opinions cannot be proved. © 2005 Pearson Education Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers

Evaluating Argument  Argument is the viewpoint that the author is stating.  It is usually stated the thesis or main idea.  It is usually persuasive writing.  Critical thinkers evaluate the author’s support, looking for data and facts that prove the author’s point. © 2005 Pearson Education Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers

Argument  First, find the author’s point.  Example:  “Credit card companies should not place heavy penalties on late payments, or charge high fees for services. They are providing a service for profit, but should not abuse this privilege. It is unfair and unethical.” © 2005 Pearson Education Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers

Argument  Next, look for support for the argument.  Are there facts or opinions?  Facts are objective support.  Opinions are emotional support.  (What support was offered for the point in the last paragraph?) © 2005 Pearson Education Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers

Argument  Next, ask:  Is the support adequate?  Are there enough relevant facts?  Is the author qualified to give an expert opinion on this subject?  Look for emotional language and words with positive or negative connotations. © 2005 Pearson Education Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers

Argument Review: True or False?  1. An argument is a false statement from an author.  2. Support for a valid argument should be emotional.  3. Objective support is factual  4. Some authors may not be qualified to give an expert opinion. © 2005 Pearson Education Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers

Argument Review: True or False?  5. Emotional support is based on facts. © 2005 Pearson Education Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers

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