Claims: Fact, Value and Policy

Explicit and Implicit Claims in a Text

• A claim poses two sides, prompting agreement or disagreement from the audience.
• Critical reading helps differentiate clearly stated claims from suggested ideas within a written work.
• In reading, highlighting explicit information is vital, as it's clearly stated and unambiguous.
• Implicit details require inference based on textual clues.

Types of Claims

• Claims can be categorized into fact, value, and policy.

Claim of Fact

• A claim of fact asserts a condition that existed, exists, or will exist, based on data.
• It makes statements about reality, provable as correct or incorrect through factual evidence.
• It necessitates potential for controversy, conflict, and conversion, differing from universally accepted truths.
  • Example: Excessive alcohol consumption leads to illness.
  • Example: Pandemic-level diseases come from wildlife viruses.
  • Example: Deforestation may slow global warming.

Claim of Value

• A claim of value argues the merit of something, expressing approval or disapproval.
• It relies on judgment and evaluation within a philosophical or moral framework.
  • Example: Immunotherapy is less effective than chemotherapy in fighting cancer overall.
  • Example: Euthanasia is a violation of life and unacceptable.
  • Example: The dolomite "white sand" is an idiotic idea for Manila Bay.

Claim of Policy

• A claim of policy advocates for implementing a specific course of action.
• It contends that certain conditions should exist or actions should occur or be avoided to resolve an issue.
  • Example: A dress code should be introduced for all students.
  • Example: All Filipinos should have access to healthcare.
  • Example: The death penalty should be imposed for heinous crimes.

Critical Reading as Reasoning

• Critical reading goes beyond surface level, employing processes, models, questions, and theories for enhanced clarity and comprehension.
• It entails recognizing the text's content and reflecting on its implications, demanding focus and concentration.
• Encompasses activities like thinking, comprehending, interpreting, and contemplating.
• Summarizing, annotating, contextualizing, paraphrasing, and outlining.

Reasoning

• Reasoning justifies and clarifies through statements.
• It articulates ideas, supports perspectives using existing knowledge and experience.
• Critical reading enables effective claim reasoning.

Anchor Standards for Reading

• Anchor Standards are broad literacy skills that guide reading development and focus on comprehension and textual analysis.
• Sound reasoning is a central aspect of those standards.
• Anchor Standard 1 focuses on close reading and logical inferences, with evidence cited from the text.
• Valid inferences and logical conclusions are emphasized in reading instruction.
• Anchor Standard 2 covers central ideas and themes.
• Analyzing the development of central idea or theme drives students to apply logic.
• Anchor Standard 3 involves declarative knowledge and conceptualization.
• Students need to know the what, who, when, how and why in texts.
• Anchor Standard 4 focuses on word choice, connotations and figurative language, requiring words and phrases be interpreted.
• Anchor Standard 5 deals with text structure and the interdependence of sections.
• Students need to understand the structure supports central ideas and element interactions.
• It contains an element of logical reasoning
• Anchor Standard 6 focuses on assessment, indicating high level of cognition, and relies on reasoning skills.
• Anchor Standard 7 involves understanding visual, quantitative, and multimedia information alongside basic text.
• The students apply higher level thinking skills to different information formats and reach conclusions.
• Anchor Standard 8 focuses on dissecting arguments to determine validity and effectiveness.
• Aligns with argumentation covered in first writing standard.
• Anchor Standard 9 regards comparisons between texts, after they have been carefully read for comprehension.

Steps in Critical Reading as Reasoning

• Identifying assertions, formulating counterclaims, and determining evidence.
• An assertion is a statement made to declare something or express a firm belief.
• Examine evidence and assess its support of the argument.

Identifying and Assertion

• Look for statements of opinion.
• Check of evidence is lacking.
• Consider the tone of the text.

Formulating Counterclaims

• Counterclaims contrast the main argument and serve to rebut a previous claim.

Determining Evidence

• Evidence is the details the author provides to support their claims.
• Readers assess reasoning, distinguish arguments, and determine whether conclusion are biased.

Evaluation Guide for Critical Reading

• Content: Evaluate comprehensiveness and appeal.
• Objectivity: Identify the author's stand and presentation of facts
• Significance: Consider the issue's meaning and reader connection.

Evaluative Statements

• Provide enhanced explanation to showcase strengths and weaknesses via writing.
• They demand careful and critical reading
• They judge a text's content and properties when commenting or evaluating work.

Formulating Evaluative Statements

• Read carefully.
• Understand/check for fallacies.
• Formulate assertions/counterclaims.

Logical Fallacies

• Oversimplification: Offers a simple solution to a complex problem without complete understanding.
  • Example: "The climate has changed before, so current global warming is natural."
• Hasty Generalization: Draws a broad conclusion from limited or unrepresentative evidence.
  • Example: "My grandparents don't understand Social Security benefits."
• Post Hoc, Ergo Propter Hoc: Confuses sequence with causation.
  • Example: "Every time I wear orange, we win."
• Begging for Question: Bases conclusion on an unsupported premise.
  • Example: "Lying it wrong because people should tell the truth."
• False Analogy: Draws misleading comparison between unrelated ideas.
  • Example: "If we can put a man on the moon, we can cure the common cold."
• Either/Or Thinking: Presents only two options when more exist.
  • Example: "Either you love your job, or you hate it."
• Non Sequitur: Conclusion unrelated to established evidence.
  • Example: "The witness was sincere, so her testimony was credible."

Assertion

• A statement to declare or express a belief.

Types of Assertions based on Certainty

• Fact: Objectively provable statements.
  • Example: Water boils at 100 degrees Celsius.
• Opinion: Difficult to verify objectively.
  • Example: Chocolate is the best ice cream flavor.
• Preference: Personal choice without obligation to prove truth.
  • Example: Prefer reading books.
• Convention: Socially accepted ways, not objectively verifiable.
  • Example: Shaking hands to greet.

Counterclaims

• They rebut an essay and contrasting points of view.
• Knowing and acknowledging the two sides makes text well-informed
• Use counterclaims to address reader concerns.
  • A counterclaim is blue.
  • A rebuttal is red.
  • For example: Concern of Francesca who want to take a trip to Boracay

Hedges

• Minimize criticism
• Hedges Types
  • Verbs: appear, seem, tend
  • Modal: can, could, may, might
  • Adjectives: likely, unlikely
  • Adverbs: perhaps, possibly
  • Expressions: based on data, in the view of many

Concession Words

• Showing acknowledgement
• Useful for counterarguments
• Examples: although, even though, though, whereas, while

Informational Texts

• Informational texts covey knowledge about the topic
• They have titles, vocabulary and visual elements
• Reading Tip #1 - Connect new information to prior information
• Reading Tip #2 - Determine what you want the text to teach you
• Reading Tip #3 - Look over the sections prior to reading it

Textual Evidence

• Consolidated facts taken from differing texts
• Requires a good anaylizer
• Evidence Types: Facts, statistics, illustrations and expert testamonies
• Formatted: Directly, Paraphrase and/or Summarized

Academic Writing

Book Review

• Describes and evaluates
• Notes: Overall, Structure and Style
• Length: 100 - 500 words or above

Book Reviews - Points to Note

• Author’s purpose
• Author’s main points
• Does the author have expertise?
• Book success
• How to start with title and author

Starting

• What are the themes?
• Add content to readers
• Quote fact

Article Critique

• Article critiques can be used for strengths and weaknesses

How to?

• Step 1 - Summarize
• Step 2 - Personal opinion
• Step 3 - Why? Effectiveness? Persuasiveness?
• Step 4 - So What? Recommendations
• Article summaries tell of findings and theories

Article Authors:

• Clarify problems to readers
• Summarize to readers of research stage
• Contradictions, Gaps of literature
• Solving problems

Report Content

• How the project fits and draws attention
• Relate the project
• How the project raises questions

Key Features

• Methodology?
• Definitions
• Positions
• The project in relation to literature extends, questions, pulls together and analyzes

Organization

• Thematic
• Chronological
• Perspective
• Theoretical Frameworks

Research Report

• Reports of how to present
• What's the purpose and the results