1. © 2003 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman Publishers PowerPoint by JoAnn Yaworski West Chester University A Community of Readers, 3/e Roberta Alexander and Jan Lombardi Chapter 8 Facts and Opinions Living in a Diverse Society

2. © 2003 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman Publishers Facts Statements that include yData yStatistics yVerifiable information Example y“In the entire period from 1700 to 1775, more than 350,000 African slaves entered the American colonies.”

3. © 2003 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman Publishers Opinions General statements that are yinterpretations of facts yvalue judgments yqualifying words Examples yImmigration is good for the United States. yImmigration is detrimental to the American worker.

4. © 2003 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman Publishers Qualifying Words Qualifying words indicate yjudgments ydegree yintensity Examples ygood ybad, detrimental ypositive ynegative yterrific yawful

5. © 2003 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman Publishers Inclusion zWhich facts are actually included? zIt is impossible for authors to include every known detail about a specific topic. zAs a reader, you expect experts to select the most important information. zThe criteria the author uses to include or exclude information influences your understanding of what you read.

6. © 2003 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman Publishers What Is the Author’s Worldview? zEvaluate facts and opinions by recognizing the author’s worldview or perspective. zThe Author’s Worldview = How he or she understands the world and shapes his or her opinions and decisions to include or exclude certain facts.

7. © 2003 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman Publishers How Are Worldviews Formed? zEconomic position in society zSex: male or female zWhere we come from: inner city? Suburbs? zOur ethnicity and/or religion zOur experiences zOur friends and families and their opinions

8. © 2003 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman Publishers What Is the Author’s Purpose? zThe author’s purpose for textbook writing is primarily to inform. zThe author’s worldview influences which facts the author chooses to present. zTextbook writers explain their worldview or approach to the subject at the beginning of the book in the preface or introduction to the text.

9. © 2003 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman Publishers Is the Author Biased? zMost textbook writers attempt to present the facts without trying to influence the readers’ opinion about the material. zThey try to present both sides of an issue so readers can objectively form their own opinions based on the information. zIf an author writes only from his or her perspective and does not include other perspectives, his or her work might be called subjective. zIf the information is presented subjectively and the author does not try to fairly present both sides of an issue, readers should identify the writing as biased.

10. © 2003 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman Publishers What Is the Author’s Tone? yMatter of Fact yNostalgic yRegretful yConfessional yHopeful yMoral yObjective yRomantic yAuthoritative yExuberant yIronic yNegative yPositive ySarcastic yCautionary yFormal z zThe writer’s choice of tone lets us see how the writer feels about the topic he or she is writing about. z zThe author’s choice of connotative or denotative vocabulary influences the tone. Possible Tones

11. © 2003 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman Publishers “Freeing Choices” by Nancy Mairs zWhy does Mairs call her essay “Freeing Choices”? zHow effective do you think Mairs’ essay is in defending the rights of differently abled Americans? Explain your answer.

12. © 2003 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman Publishers “America Singing” by Garrett Hongo zFrom which parts of the world did Hongo notice that immigrants had been arriving in great numbers? zIn your community, from where have the most recent immigrants arrived? zIn paragraph 13 Hongo says he thinks many people fear the arrival of immigrants. What do you think is your community’s attitude toward recent immigrants? Why?

13. © 2003 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman Publishers Reader’s Checklist 3Facts 3Opinions 3Qualifying Words 3Inclusion 3Worldview 3Purpose 3Objective Writing 3Subjective Writing 3Bias 3Tone

14. © 2003 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman Publishers Visit the Web The Web sites listed below provide more information on the theme of living in a diverse society. 1. Multicultural Collaborative (http://www.mcc-la.org/) 2. Gender Public Advocacy Coalition (http://www.gpac.org/index.html) 3. American Civil Liberties Union (http://www.aclu.org/) 4. National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (http://www.nnirr.org/)

15. © 2003 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman Publishers Visit the Alexander/Lombardi Companion Website http://www.ablongman.com/alexander