Lesson 10: Reading about Issues

Purpose

The purpose of this lesson is to help you understand how to evaluate text that contains both facts and opinions.

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What You Will Learn

After completing this lesson, you should be able to do the following:

1. Understand the difference between fact and opinion.
2. Recognize bias in nonfiction text.
3. Recognize persuasive tone in nonfiction text.
4. Use active reading strategies to understand nonfiction text.
5. Define and identify prepositional phrases.

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Reading Assignment

The discussion will instruct you when to complete each reading assignment.

Daybook of Critical Reading and Writing

• Unit 10: Reading About Issues, pages 155–172

Writers Express

• Prepositions, page 434
• Using Facts and Opinions Correctly, page 347
• Writing Persuasive Essays, pages 94–99

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Discussion

Reading about Issues

Being an active reader means questioning what an author is saying and evaluating it for bias (the author’s personal opinion). That does not mean that it is bad to write about your opinions. On the contrary, writing about something you care about makes the writing come alive and connects to the emotions of the reader. However, as a writer, you must be aware of how you present your topic. As a reader, you must reflect upon which items in a writing are actually facts and which are really opinions.

Issue-related articles present differing opinions. Because the authors support their opinions using facts, or things that may be presented as facts, readers must be careful to distinguish fact from opinion. As you read, you form your own opinions based on information presented. Sometimes an author really attempts to present both sides of an issue. Other times, an author may present what we call a “biased” presentation of a subject. Looking at the author’s tone can help you to understand an author’s attitude about the subject.

Since authors often write to influence readers, you need to be aware of how you are being influenced. As a writer, you will use these same techniques to influence readers. As a reader, it is important to form your own opinions. This type of reading is the most difficult, because you must be alert to how the author is influencing your thinking.

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Read and Practice

Facts vs. Opinions

Facts are pieces of information that can be proven (either true or false). You can look them up in a book, ask someone directly, or do an experiment. Here are some examples of facts.

Of the quarter of a million marchers, as many as 60,000 were white.
James Haskins wrote There Was a Time.
Homer Plessy brought a suit against the Louisiana Railroad Company.

These are all facts, because you could prove them either right or wrong by looking them up. When you are deciding if something is fact or opinion, you are not really looking at whether a piece of information is true or false. For example, if I incorrectly said, “Fred Haskins wrote There Was a Time,” this would not be considered an opinion just because it is not true. It is a false fact, but that does not make it opinion.

Opinions are pieces of information that a person may believe to be true but that cannot be proven. Although you may agree with an opinion statement, or even if most people agree with an opinion statement, that still does not make it a fact. Here are some examples of opinions from your reading in the Daybook, pages 156–160.

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

Freedom is an important right for all people.

Life for blacks in the North was better than in the South.

Even though these statements might look like facts, because it would seem that most people would agree with them, they cannot be proven. Thus, they are opinions.

Self-Check: As you read from There Was a Time, ask yourself the questions below. Once you have written your responses, check your answers.

1. What information can be looked up in a book?
2. Do you find more facts or opinions in this article?
3. How does the author use facts to support an opinion?
4. Why is it important for a reader to know the difference between facts and opinions?

Self-Check: On page 159, you are asked to find facts to support two of the opinions expressed by James Haskins. Once you have written down the facts you found, check your answers.

Write: The paragraph that you write on page 160 will be the beginning of a persuasive essay you will write for your progress evaluation. Pay particular attention to choosing a topic you have strong feelings about. Keep notes of facts and opinions you come up with as you complete the rest of your Daybook activities. This will help you prepare to write your own persuasive writing. Be sure to use both facts and opinions in your paragraph. Be sure to back up opinions you have with factual information that you really could prove.

NOTE: The Internet is a wonderful place for looking up information. However, you must always keep in mind that information on many sites is not necessarily true. Be careful about the sites you visit and the information you pull from those sites. Anyone can post anything on the Internet and make it look like factual information.

Beware of Bias

Bias is writing that favors one side of an issue over another. It’s easy to let bias appear when you are writing about an issue you are passionate about. A good reader who is using questioning techniques understands when an author is showing bias. You might notice words like “authentic,” “undoubtedly,” and “of course,” as you read. Words like this are meant to bring readers over to the author’s perspective. Sometimes you can tell the author’s position by the amount of space given to one side or the other.

Self-Check: Read “Loch Ness” on pages 161–163 in the Daybook. Once you have written your response on page 163 about the author’s bias, check your answers.

Write: On page 164, you are asked to write a completely biased essay. You might use the same topic that you chose for page 160, except that you will present only one side. You may actually find that this is rather easy to accomplish, because it is often easiest to present things that support our opinions. However, make sure that you still choose a topic that has a pro (for) and con (against) side to it.

When you are asked to present the “pros and cons” about a topic, you are being asked to present both sides of an issue. Practice using words with strong connotations to state your opinions. (Remember that the connotation of a word is its emotional appeal; the denotation is the dictionary meaning of the word.)

This activity will help you realize that biased articles can be very persuasive, but they lack support and are easily argued against, because they contain limited information.

Presenting Both Sides

Self-Check: Now you will read an article that presents both sides of an issue: “Schools Crack Down on Peanuts,” on pages 165–166. As you read the article, place a plus (+) beside passages that support a ban on peanuts and a minus (-) beside passages that are against the ban. If you are not writing in your book, make a two-column page as you have done for earlier lessons. Put “support” passages in one column and “against” passages in the other column. Once you have completed the exercises on page 167, check your answers.

Presenting both sides of an issue is actually quite difficult for writers, because they must put aside their own views to present both points of view. This does not mean that the author’s own opinion will not come through in the article, but the author must provide a balance between the pros and cons of a topic.

Write: You might have done something similar to what an author presenting both sides does, if you have ever had to make a decision about something and written down the pros and cons of that decision. For example, if you have $10 and are trying to decide whether to go to the movies or save it for an upcoming vacation, you could write down all the reasons to use it for the movie and all the reasons to save it for vacation instead. By doing this, you are presenting both sides.

As a writer, you can do the same thing with a topic you are writing about. Remember this prewriting strategy for the essay you will be writing at the end of this lesson. When you write your letter for page 168, be sure to use support (provide evidence) for any opinions you state.

A Persuasive Tone

In this activity (pages 169–172), you return to the idea of connotations that we considered in an earlier activity. Opinions are found not only in what an author says about a topic but also in how an author says it. The tone of an essay may bring out strong feelings in the reader. It can make the reader agree or disagree with an opinion.

Self-Check: As you read Galapagos, ask yourself the questions below. Once you have responded, check your answers.

1. How does Ann McGovern’s tone change midway through the article?
2. What specific words does she use to make that change of tone?
3. How are her emotions tied to the facts she presents about the tortoise in the article?

Write: You probably have some strong feelings based on this article. You may find that you can easily identify the author’s position and that you are in agreement with her. The information she presents carries a lot of emotion that connects to the reader. Consider how this article might have been different if it were a diary entry from a sailor on one of those early ships. When you write your entry for page 172, be sure to write in first person. (Use “I,” “me,” “we,” etc.) Share your writings, entries, and answers for this unit with your parent/teacher.

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Self-Check Answers

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.

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.”

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?

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.

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Skill Lesson

Prepositional Phrases

When you speak or write, you use prepositions very often. A preposition relates or connects the noun or pronoun that follows it to another word in the sentence (making a phrase). Prepositions are words that show position or direction and introduce (are the first word in) prepositional phrases. There is a list of common prepositions on page 434 in Writers Express.

Sounds confusing, doesn’t it? Seeing examples of prepositions makes this skill much easier. The noun or pronoun that follows the preposition is called the object of the preposition. Now, that makes sense doesn’t it? Let’s look at the following sentences:

1. We met at the dock.
2. We hiked through the woods.
3. We followed a trail by the stream.
4. The trail ended beside a high stone wall.
5. We climbed up a big rock.
6. We could see the orchard on the other side.

Self-Check: In sentence 1, locate the preposition (“at”). Now find the first noun or pronoun that follows the preposition. In this case, it is “dock.” How do you think “at” and “dock” relate to each other? Yes, “at” tells where these people will meet, “the dock.” Now do the same thing with the rest of the sentences. Put parentheses around the prepositional phrases, then check your answers.

Every prepositional phrase begins with a preposition, and prepositions should always be part of a phrase. There are some words on the list of common prepositions that you will sometimes see used by themselves. When words like “along,” “below,” “in,” “near,” “around,” “down,” “inside,” “off,” “up,” and “under”are used without being part of a phrase, they are actually working as adverbs. Prepositional phrases often answer the same questions that an adverb or adjective answer. They usually work just like an adverb or an adjective.

Self-Check: Look at the following sentences. Underline words that are adverbs and put prepositional phrases in parentheses. When you are finished, check your answers.

1. Jeremy saw the window washers high above.
2. They did not stop during the rain.
3. The workers did not see Jeremy below.
4. Julia saw a house near a small stream.
5. She saw a light inside.
6. A young girl stepped outside the door.

Adjective prepositional phrases tell which, what kind of, and how many, so they modify nouns and pronouns. Adverbial prepositional phrases tell how, when and where, so they modify verbs. Look at sentences 2, 4, and 6 in the exercise above. Each contains an adverbial prepositional phrase, because each phrase tells when or where about a verb.

Self-Check: In the sentences below, put parentheses around prepositional phrases. Then tell whether each is an adjective or adverbial phrase. (There may be more than one prepositional phrase in each sentence.) Once you have finished, check your answers.

1. The girl in the television commercial wore a green dress to rehearsal.
2. Dara Sims works here after school.
3. Why don’t you bring your little brother to the picnic?
4. What did you do in school today?
5. Her name is listed in the book’s index as “Bloomer, Amelia.”
6. Behind the little boy stood his father.
7. The football with the autograph sailed through the air and into the hands of the receiver.
8. Our grandparents from Colorado came on Sunday.
9. Please stay with the group.
10. Nara told the boys in the class the directions.

How did you do? See, it’s not really hard, is it? Prepositional phrases work just like adjectives and adverbs to tell more about nouns and verbs. They give readers more information and make writings more vivid and interesting.

Now it is time to complete your last progress evaluation for this course. I hope you have learned many things that will help you with future courses you might take and that I have helped you to become an active reader and a better writer!

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Self-Check Answers

1. We met (at the dock).
2. We hiked (through the woods).
3. We followed a trail (by the stream).
4. The trail ended (beside a high stone wall).
5. We climbed (up a big rock).
6. We could see the orchard (on the other side).

1. Jeremy saw the window washers high above.
2. They did not stop (during the rain).
3. The workers did not see Jeremy below.
4. Julia saw a house (near a small stream).
5. She saw a light inside.
6. A young girl stepped (outside the door).

1. The girl (in the television commercial – adjective) wore a green dress (to rehearsal – adverb).
2. Dara Sims works here (after school – adverb).
3. Why don’t you bring your little brother (to the picnic – adverb)?
4. What did you do (in school – adverb) today?
5. Her name is listed (in the book’s index – adverb) as “Bloomer, Amelia.”
6. (Behind the little boy – adverb) stood his father.
7. The football (with the autograph – adjective) sailed (through the air – adverb) and (into the hands – adverb) (of the receiver – adjective).
8. Our grandparents (from Colorado – adjective) came (on Sunday – adverb).
9. Please stay (with the group – adverb).
10. Nara told the boys (in the class – adjective) the directions.

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Progress Evaluation

You should now complete the lesson 10 progress evaluation. Be sure to reread the general requirements for progress evaluations from the overview.

Instructor-evaluated; 25 points

Return to page 160 in your Daybook to begin prewriting. Your assignment is to write a persuasive essay on a topic you have strong feelings about. You will include both facts and opinions, and you will try to present information in a balanced way, presenting both the pros and cons.

Pages 94–99 in Writers Express give you step-by-step instructions for completing a persuasive essay. The textbook also gives you some student examples to look at. One important thing to remember is that a persuasive paper ends with a “call to action.” In other words, you want your reader to do something or to think a particular way. Make sure that you use facts and opinions supported by information to lead your reader to your point of view.

Your essay should be a page or two in length. You are expected to use the same writing conventions that have been outlined in earlier assessments and writing assignments. Look back over the grammar lessons you have done in this course and be sure that you have followed these rules in your writing.

If you are having trouble, check the Web Sites page for links to some helpful sites about persuasive writing.

After you have done your prewriting, research for your topic, and a rough draft, revise and edit and write your final draft. Look at the checklist below to see if you have covered everything for this assessment.

Have you done the following things?

• Taken a clear stand on an issue and fully supported it with appropriate personal or factual information
• Included numerous specific details that support your stand
• Chosen an organization that is logical and does not jump around
• Shown that you understand the type of audience you are writing for and used language and arguments that they will understand
• Made good language choices to help influence the reader to agree with you
• Made few spelling and grammatical errors

Your work will be evaluated by an instructor using a scoring guide.

Scoring Guide

Review the scoring criteria.

Congratulations! You have now finished this course and the evaluations that accompany it! Pat yourself on the back and thank your parent/teacher for helping you become a better reader and writer!

Note: Progress evaluations must be submitted in sequence, and you cannot submit more than three progress evaluations in a seven-day period.

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