Chapter 11 Evaluating the Author’s Technique



Critical Reading and Thinking

Chapter 9: Evaluating the Author’s Message

Elaborating, or thinking about and reacting to what you read, helps you to remember more of what you read and prepares you to write about or discuss the ideas.

Making Inferences

An inference is a reasoned guess about what you don’t know based on the evidence you are given. When an author implies an idea, it is up to the reader to infer the meaning the author intended.

A few guidelines for making inferences

• Be sure to read and understand the literal meaning first, i.e. vocabulary, allusions

• Ask yourself questions

o What is the author suggesting through the stated information?

o Look at the facts and details. Is there some idea which is supported or proved?

o For what purpose did the author include these facts and details?

• Use all the clues provided by the writer

• Consider the writer’s purpose

• Verify your inference

Evaluate the source

• Reliable?

• Up-to-date?

• Biased?

• Does it include references?

• Can the information be verified with another source?

• Ask a librarian or other informed person

Examine the Author’s Qualifications

Distinguish Between Fact and Opinion

Facts

• can be verified, demonstrated, or proven

• rely on denotative language

• are not affected by a writer's or reader's personality, background, or culture

• cannot be disagreed with

Opinions

• cannot be verified or proven

• sometimes rely on connotative language

• are influenced by a writer's personality, background, or culture (bias)

• can be disagreed with

• can be justified or unjustified

Connotative (slanted) language

• plays on readers' emotions

• evokes a mood or emotional reaction

• can be positive or negative

Denotative language

• conveys direct, specific meaning, without implication or overtone

• is neutral or objective

Which word is positive? negative? neutral?

1. The woman was (happy, silly, laughing).

2. The crowd was (fanatical, enthusiastic).

3. The worker was (slow, thorough).

4. Mike is (honest, blunt, rude).

5. The model was (skinny, slender, thin).

6. The movie was (strange, original, creative).

7. The manager is (confident, arrogant, self-assured).

8. The car was (ancient, old, classic).

9. The movie was (lengthy, eternal, epic)

10. Susan is (old, antique, ageless).

Identify the Author’s Purpose

1. To inform, teach, explain

2. To persuade

3. To sell

4. To amuse or entertain

5. To describe

Identify the Author’s Purpose

• Consider the source and intended audience

• Consider the point of view

o Is the author biased?

o Objective?

• Is the writer trying to prove something about the subject?

o Is the writer trying to persuade the reader to do something? Believe something?

Identify the Author’s Tone

← Is the writer or speaker

◦ Angry?

◦ Enthusiastic?

◦ Cynical?

◦ Neutral or objective?

◦ Admiring?

Evaluate the Data and Evidence

• Facts

• Statistics

• Examples

• Reasons

• Personal experiences (anecdotal evidence)

• Appeal to authority (quotes from experts)

• References to research

• Comparisons and analogies

• Cause-effect relationships

• Emotional appeals—ideas are targeted toward needs or values

o Physiological needs (food, drink, shelter)

o Psychological needs (sense of belonging, sense of accomplishment, sense of self-worth, sense of competency)

Reading an Argument

• Identify the issue.

• Identify the claim, position, idea, or action the writer is trying to convince you to accept

• Read the article or essay completely and underline key evidence

• Evaluate the evidence:

o What types of evidence (i.e. facts, examples, statistics)

o Is the evidence relevant?

o Is the evidence sufficient?

• Watch for conclusions.

• Reread the argument. What is its content and structure? What is implied or suggested?

• Write a brief outline of the argument, listing its key points.

Chapter 10 Evaluating the Author’s Technique

Reading with a critical eye and a questioning attitude are important skills.

Why Evaluate the Author’s Technique?

* You will learn to evaluate and interpret an author’s message.

* You will become more successful in reading and evaluating a wide range of authors and sources.

* You will be able to select accurate, reliable, information to include in papers and speeches.

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Figurative Language

• Usually a non-literal comparison between two unlike things that share a common characteristic

• Allows writers to create images or paint pictures in the reader’s mind

• Allows the writer to create an impression or suggest an idea without directly stating it

o The mayor bellowed like a bear.

o Mr. Smith is a pit bull about this issue.

Types of Figurative Language

• Simile—non-literal comparison using the words “like” or “as”

• Metaphor—comparing two things that are not literally the same

• Personification—attributing human characteristics to ideas or objects

• Hyperbole—extravagant exaggeration to make a point

Ask the following questions:

• Why did the writer make the comparison?

• What is the basis of the comparison?

• Is the comparison accurate?

• What image does the comparison create? How do the images make you feel about the subject? Is the comparison positive or negative

• Are there several interpretations possible?

Please identify the following types of figurative language.

a. simile

b. metaphor

c. hyperbole

d. personification

1. Her makeup is at least three inches thick.

2. The candidate was in hot water over his racist remark.

3. My comments were as welcome as ants at a picnic.

4. The environmentalists are creating a storm of controversy over this issue.

5. Joe is a cynic who believes that an honest public official is as rare as a unicorn.

6. Asking for more tax dollars is like kicking sand in the taxpayers’ faces.

7. Just when Mr. Kay thought he had the campaign won, a cloud appeared on his horizon—in the shape of his opponent’s rising popularity.

8. The movie of the year…of our generation! The greatest performance of our time!

9. The new law offers taxpayers light at the end of the tunnel.

10. Mr. Moffit works as fast as a turtle—a turtle with arthritis.

11. The tornado attacked the town with deadly intent.

Allusions: references to well-known religious, literary, artistic, or historical works or sources.

• An allusion makes a connection or points to similarities between the writer’s subject and the reference.

• Check references by typing in key words on a search engine such as Google ().

• What does the allusion mean?

• Why did the writer include the allusion?

• What does the allusion contribute to the overall meaning of the work?

Allusions--examples

← Calling someone a “Scrooge” or using the phrase “Bah, humbug!”

← The phrase “His name is Mudd.”

← Calling a situation a “Catch-22”

← Referring to a thief as “a modern-day Robin Hood”

← Saying someone has a “Mona Lisa smile”

← Saying someone has “an Achilles’ heel”

Examples of poor reasoning

• False alternatives—The writer states or implies that there is only one possible solution to a problem

• Irrelevant evidence

• Cardstacking--Leaving out or suppressing information or evidence

• Appeals to the emotion rather than relevant evidence

• Namecalling, or attacks on people or groups rather than the issue itself.

• Irrelevant Allusions--references to or quotations from the Bible or historical figures when there is no connection to the issue

• Circular reasoning—rather than offering evidence or facts that support his or her opinion, a writer simply keeps repeating his or her point in different words

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