Understanding Factual Information, Subjectivity, Bias, and Discrimination

Factual Information vs. Subjective Content

• Factual information refers to statements that can be verified or proven to be true.
• Subjective content involves judgment, feeling, opinion, intuition, or emotion rather than factual information.

Bias and Prejudice

• Bias refers to unfairly choosing or favoring someone or something because of personal beliefs.
• Prejudice involves unfairly judging someone or something because of what you believe in.

Types of Discrimination

• Sexism: gender or sex bias
• Homophobia: dislike against LGBTQ+
• Racism: stereotypes against a particular race
• Xenophobia: extreme hatred against a race
• Misogyny: violence and hatred towards women
• Misandry: violence and hatred towards men
• Classism: discrimination based on social status
• Elitism: belittling people because of perceived superiority regarding money, looks, or intelligence
• Ageism: discrimination based on age
• Nationalism: believing one's race is superior
• Religious prejudice: judging based on religious beliefs

Avoiding Biases in Writing

• Generalization: avoiding stated or implied "all" or "never" assertions
• Evidence: supporting statements with research
• Assumptions and professions: being aware of one's own biases and how they may be expressed in writing
• Objectivity: avoiding sympathy and overly favorable opinions to maintain objectivity

Fallacy, Fact, Opinion, and Bias

• Fallacy: incorrect information or illogical reasoning
• Fact: a statement that is true and can be verified or proven
• Opinion: an idea or statement of someone
• Bias: poor decision-making in favor of a certain thing

Types of Fallacies

• Unsupported Claim: information believed solely because credible people say so
• Emotional Appeal: targeting the audience's emotions to agree
• Faulty Logic: illogical reasoning
  • Slippery Slope: overreacting to a domino effect
  • Post Hoc: faulty cause and effect
  • Ad Hominem: personal insult or attack

Types of Argument Patterns

• ME FIRST:
  • Thesis statement
  • First pro
  • Second pro
  • Con-refutation
  • Conclusion
• YOU FIRST:
  • Thesis statement
  • Con-refutation
  • First pro
  • Second pro
  • Conclusion
• POINT BY POINT:
  • Thesis statement
  • First con + refutation
  • Second con + refutation
  • Third con + refutation
  • Conclusion

Viewing and Listening

• Viewing: an active process of attending and comprehending visual media
• Re-viewing: preparing to view by activating schema
• During Viewing/Schema: viewing visual text to understand the message
• Post/After Viewing: responding to visual text, rating, relating, and learning

Listening

• Hearing: perceiving what is heard, but without understanding
• Listening: understanding and paying close attention to what is heard
• Active Listening: focusing and paying attention to appreciate and understand what is heard
• Passive Listening: understanding but not focusing on what is heard