Transcript Chapter Ten: Critical Reading

Critical Reading
Skilled readers can recognize an author’s
point and the support for that point.
Critical readers can evaluate an author’s
support for a point and determine whether
that support is solid or not.
Reading critically includes these skills:
• Separating fact from opinion
• Detecting propaganda
• Recognizing errors in reasoning
CRITICAL READING:
Separating Fact from Opinion
Fact
A fact is information that can be proved true through
objective evidence: physical proof or the spoken or written
testimony of witnesses.
Here are some facts—they can be checked for accuracy and thus proved true:
Fact: The Quad Tower is the tallest building in this city.
(A researcher could go out and, through inspection, confirm that the building
is the tallest.)
Fact: Albert Einstein willed his violin to his grandson.
(This statement can be checked in historical publications or with Einstein’s estate.)
Fact: On September 11, 2001, terrorists destroyed the New York World Trade
Center, killing thousands.
(This event was witnessed in person or on television by millions, and it’s in records
worldwide.)
Opinion
An opinion is a belief, judgment, or conclusion that
cannot be objectively proved true. As a result, it is open
to question.
Here are some opinions:
Opinion: The Quad Tower is the ugliest building in the city.
(There’s no way to prove this statement because two people can look at the
same building and come to different conclusions about its beauty. Ugly is a
value word, a word we use to express a value judgment. Value or
judgment words are signals that an opinion is being expressed.)
Opinion: Einstein should have willed his violin to a museum.
(Who says? Not his grandson. This is an opinion.)
Opinion: The attack on the World Trade Center was the worst act of terrorism
in the history of humankind.
(Whether something is “worst” is always debatable. Worst is another
value word.)
Points about Fact & Opinion
1. Statements of fact may be found to be untrue.
Ex: A new breed of tarantulas may be discovered whose bite is
Deadly to humans. The original fact that tarantulas are not
Deadly would be wrong.
2. Value words equal opinions.
Ex: Best, Worst, Better, Great, Beautiful, etc.
3. The words should and ought often signal opinions.
Ex: Couples with young children should not be allowed to divorce.
4. Don’t mistake widely held opinions for facts.
Ex: Used-car salesmen proclaims, “This is an exceptional vehicle.”
5. Most of what we hear mixes fact & opinion! Use judgment!
CRITICAL READING:
Detecting Propaganda
Propaganda uses emotional appeals instead of
presenting solid evidence to support a point.
Advertisers, salespeople, and politicians often lack
adequate factual support for their points, so they appeal
to our emotions by using propaganda techniques.
Part of being a critical reader is the ability to recognize
and resist these propaganda techniques.
Review
Critical readers evaluate an author’s support for a point and determine
whether that support is solid or not. Critical reading includes the following
three abilities:
• Separating fact from opinion. A fact is information that can be proved true
through objective evidence. An opinion is a belief, judgment, or conclusion that
cannot be proved objectively true. Much of what we read is a mixture of fact and
opinion, and our job as readers is to arrive at at the best possible informed opinion.
Textbooks and other effective writing provide informed opinion—opinion based upon
factual information.
• Detecting propaganda. Advertisers, salespeople, and politicians often try to
promote their points by appealing to our emotions rather than our powers of reason.
To do so, they practice six common propaganda techniques: bandwagon, testimonial,
transfer, plain folks, name calling, and glittering generalities.
• Recognizing errors in reasoning. Politicians and others are at times guilty of
errors in reasoning—fallacies—hat take the place of the real support needed in an
argument. Such fallacies include circular reasoning, personal attack, straw man, false
cause, false comparison, and either-or.