1. STEP 10 CRITICAL READING p. 399
Houston Community College – Fall 2018
Elizabeth Coiman-Lopez, BAT., MS.

2. SEPARATING FACT FROM OPINION p. 399
Critical Readers can evaluate an author's support for a point.
Critical Readers can determine whether that support is solid or not.
READING CRITICALLY:
Separating FACT from OPINION
2. Detecting PROPAGANDA
3. Recognizing errors in REASONING.
SEPARATING FACT FROM OPINION p. 399

3. Facts are solidly grounded and can be checked for accuracy.
OPINION
Facts are solidly grounded and can be checked for accuracy.
Facts can be proved true through objective evidence.
The evidence may be physical proof or the spoken or written testimony of witnesses.
PRACTICE p
Opinions are afloat and open to question.
An Opinion is a belief, judgment, or conclusion that cannot be objectively proved true.
It is open to question.
PRACTICE p
FACT and OPINION p. 400

4. POINTS ABOUT FACTS and OPINIONS p. 403
POINTS ABOUT OPINIONS
Statements of FACT may be found to be untrue.
Factual statements report an observed reality, subjective statements interpret reality.
It’s raining outside, (objective)
Textbook authors try to be as factual as possible.
Most textual materials are based on scientific and study, therefore, textbooks authors do their best to present us with all the FACTS and objective informed opinions.
PRACTICE p
Opinions use VALUE WORDS, that contain judgment such as:
Best great beautiful
Worst terrible bad
Better lovely good
Worse disgusting wonderful
VALUE WORDS are generally SUBJECTIVE.
The weather is bad. (subjective)
For a farmer, the bad weather might be a good weather for him.
SIGNAL WORDS: should ought to
Many essays, editorials, political speeches, and advertisements may contain facts, but those facts are often carefully selected to back up the authors ‘opinion.
PRACTICE p
POINTS ABOUT FACTS and OPINIONS p. 403

5. DETECTING PROPAGANDA p. 407- 409
Critical Readers need to recognize away whether there is solid support for the point in question
Critical Readers need to recognize propaganda techniques for the emotional fluff they are
3. TRANSFER Technique:
The most popular technique, in which products or candidates try to associate themselves with something that people admire or love.
Answer p. 409
4. PLAIN FOLKS Technique:
Some people do not trust political candidates who are rich or well-educated, because if elected, they might not understand the problems of the average working person.
This technique presents the candidates as ordinary, average citizens, and they are just “plain folks” (BETO & CRUZ).
Presidents of large companies appear in their own ads, trying to show that their giant corporations are just family businesses run by plain folks.
1. BANDWAGON Technique:
“to jump on the bandwagon”, means to join the “parade” or to do what many others are doing.
This technique tells us to buy a product or support certain issue because, “everybody is doing it”.
Answer p. 408
2. TESTIMONIAL Technique:
Testimonials of famous people influence the viewers that admire these people.
Famous people are paid to endorse products and they might not me experts about what they are endorsing.
DETECTING PROPAGANDA p

6. DETECTING PROPAGANDA p. 410
Critical Readers need to recognize propaganda techniques for the emotional fluff they are
Critical Readers need to recognize whether there is solid support for the point in question
6. GLITTERING GENERALITIES Technique:
It might sound important, but it is an unspecific claim about some product, candidate, or cause.
It cannot be proved true or false because lack of evidence.
Words such as: great, magical, ultimate, simply the best are used.
Answer p. 410
PRACTICE p
5. NAME CALLING Technique:
Used with emotionally loaded language or negative comments to turn people against a rival product, candidate, or movement.
For example: a political candidate labeling an opponent as soft, radical, or wimpy.
Answer p. 410
DETECTING PROPAGANDA p. 410

7. ERRORS IN REASONING are also called FALLACIES.
FALLACIES, take the place of the real support needed in an argument.
A valid point is based on a rock-like foundation of solid support
A fallacious point is based on a house of cards that offers no real support at all.
It is often used in political arguments, due to deliberate manipulation or careless thinking.
ERRORS IN REASONING p. 412