Lesson 10: Reading about Issues

Self-Check Answers

Facts vs. Opinions

1. You can look up dates, names, and numbers.
2. There are more facts than opinions in this article.
3. The author states facts first and then follows up with an opinion.
4. It is important for a reader to know the difference between facts and opinions, so he or she doesn’t think something is true when it might not be.

 

On page 159, facts supporting opinions might include those listed below:

“Blacks were still not free.”

1. There were signs that read “White” and “Colored.”
2. A black person could be arrested for talking back to a white person.

“The March on Washington was a high point in the civil rights movement.”

1. It was an integrated march.
2. It was a peaceful march with only three arrests.

Beware of Bias

You probably thought that the author was biased in favor of the existence of Nessie. Key words that you might have noticed are “respected,” “authentic,” and “undoubtedly.” You may also have noted the sentence, “Undoubtedly, of course, Nessie is not alone.”

Presenting Both Sides

An example of a “support” passage is “Peanut allergies are more serious than most allergies.”

An example of an “against” passage is “Other people say that people with allergies should take the responsibility of avoiding dangerous food.”

Did you notice that the author uses headings to divide the essay into the pro and con sides?

A Persuasive Tone

1. At first, she shows great excitement about seeing the turtles. In the second entry, she shows that she is angry about what is happening to the tortoises.
2. The author uses emotional statements such as these:
   
   I’m so excited.
   I’m so mad I could cry!
   Oh, those poor creatures.
   No wonder…
   The good news is….
   
   
3. The author chooses the facts that support her anger. She says that tortoises have declined because explorers depleted their numbers and rats eat tortoise eggs and young tortoises.