Chapter Ten:

Critical Reading
Skilled readers can recognize an
authors point and the support for that
point.
Critical readers can evaluate an
authors support for a point and
determine whether that support is solid
or not.
Reading critically includes these skills:
Separating fact from opinion
Detecting propaganda

CRITICAL READING:
Separating Fact from Opinion

Fact
A fact is information that can be proved true through
objective evidence: physical proof or the spoken or
written testimony of witnesses.
Here are some factsthey can be checked for accuracy and thus proved
true:
Fact: The Quad Tower is the tallest building in this city.
(A researcher could go out and, through inspection, confirm that the
building
is the tallest.)

Fact: Albert Einstein willed his violin to his grandson.

(This statement can be checked in historical publications or with
Einsteins estate.)

Fact: On September 11, 2001, terrorists destroyed the New York

World Trade
Center, killing thousands.
(This event was witnessed in person or on television by millions, and its

Opinion
An opinion is a belief, judgment, or conclusion
that cannot be objectively proved true. As a result,
it is open to question.
Here are some opinions:
Opinion:The Quad Tower is the ugliest building in the city.
(Theres no way to prove this statement because two people can
look at the
same building and come to different conclusions about its beauty.
Ugly is a
value word, a word we use to express a value judgment. Value or
judgment words are signals that an opinion is being expressed.)

Opinion:Einstein should have willed his violin to a museum.

(Who says? Not his grandson. This is an opinion.)

Opinion:The attack on the World Trade Center was the worst act of
terrorism
in the history of humankind.
(Whether something is worst is always debatable. Worst is another

CRITICAL READING:
Detecting Propaganda
Propaganda uses emotional appeals
instead of presenting solid evidence to
support a point.
Advertisers, salespeople, and politicians often lack
adequate factual support for their points, so they
appeal to our emotions by using propaganda
techniques.
Part of being a critical reader is the ability to
recognize and resist these propaganda

Six Common
Propaganda Techniques
Bandwagon
Testimonial
Transfer
Plain Folks
Name Calling
Glittering Generalities

1. Bandwagon
The bandwagon technique tells us to buy a product
or support a certain issue because everybody else
is doing it.
A TV commercial may claim that more and more
people are
watching the evening news with a certain
anchorperson.
A cell phone ad may show people in many different
kinds
of occupations using a certain cell phone.
A political ad may feature people from all walks of life
speaking out in support of a certain candidate.

2. Testimonial
The testimonial approach tells us to buy a product
or support a certain issue because a celebrity is
endorsing it.
The idea behind this technique is that the testimony
of someone we admire will influence us.
Famous athletes appear as spokespersons for all
sorts of products, from soft drinks to automobiles.
Movie and TV stars make commercials endorsing
products and political issues.
Remember, though, that famous people get paid to
endorse products. Also, they are not necessarily
experts about the products or issues they promote.

3. Transfer
In transfer, the most common type of propaganda
technique, products or candidates try to associate
themselves with something that people admire or
love.
A political candidate holds a sign saying Vote for Me
and stands next to a beauty queen wrapped in a U.S.A.
banner.
A beautiful, sexy woman (or an American flag or other
patriotic
symbol) is used to promote a product, candidate, or cause.

The idea behind this technique is that we will transfer the

positive feelings we have for a beautiful, sexy-looking person
or our country
to the product or candidate.

4. Plain Folks
In the plain folks technique, people
present themselves as ordinary, average
citizens, hoping
we will identify with them and like them.
Political candidates try to show they are just plain
folks by
talking about hard times in their lives. They also pose
for
photographs while wearing a hard hat or mingling
with
everyday people.
The presidents of some companies appear in their
own ads,
trying to show that their giant corporations are just

5. Name Calling
Name calling is the use of emotionally

loaded language or negative comments to

turn people against a rival product,
candidate, or movement.
A political candidate labels an opponent soft,
radical,
or wimpy.
In a taste test, consumers describe the other
leading
brand of spaghetti sauce as too salty and thin
and

6. Glittering Generalities
A glittering generality is an
important-sounding but unspecific
claim about some product, candidate,
or cause.
An ad calls a certain television set simply the
best.
A campaign slogan claims that the person
running
for office is the right candidate for our city.

But no specific evidence is offered to

support the claim. Words like best and right

CRITICAL READING:
Recognizing Errors
in Reasoning
Fallacies are errors in reasoning that take the place of the
real support needed in an argument.
A valid point is based on a rock-like foundation of solid support.
A fallacious point is based on a house of cards that offers no real
support at all.

Two common fallacies were discussed in Chapter 9, Argument:

Changing the subject distracts us from the issue by presenting
irrelevant support that actually has nothing to do with the argument.

Hasty generalization is a fallacy in which a point has inadequate

support. Drawing a conclusion on the basis of insufficient evidence is
the same as making a hasty generalization.

Six Other Common Fallacies

Three Fallacies That Ignore the Issue
Circular Reasoning
Personal Attack
Straw Man
Three Fallacies that Oversimplify the Issue
False Cause
False Comparison
Either-Or

Three Fallacies That Ignore the Issue

Circular reasoning repeats the point instead of
giving evidence for it.
Mr. Green is a great teacher because he is so wonderful at teaching.

Personal attack ignores the issue and concentrates

instead on the character of the opponent.
Senator Brills opinions on public housing are worthless. He cant even
manage to hold his own household togetherhes been married and
divorced three times.

Straw man falsely claims that an opponent holds an

extreme position and then opposes that position.
Ms. Collins opposes capital punishment. But letting murderers out on
the street to kill again is a crazy idea. If we did that, no one would be
safe.

Three Fallacies That Oversimplify

the Issue
False cause assumes that because event A came
before event B, event A caused event B.
The Macklin Company was more prosperous before Ms. Williams
became president. Clearly, she is the cause of the decline.

False comparison assumes that two things being

compared are more alike than they really are.
It didnt hurt your grandfather to get to work without a car, and it
wont hurt you either.

Either-or assumes that there are only two sides

to a question.
People who oppose unrestricted free speech are really in favor of
censorship.

Chapter
Review
In this chapter, you learned that critical readers evaluate an
authors support for a point and determine whether that support is
solid or not. Critical reading includes the following three abilities:
Separating fact from opinion. A fact is information that can be proved
true through objective evidence. An opinion is a belief, judgment, or
conclusion that cannot be proved objectively true. Much of what we read is a
mixture of fact and opinion, and our job as readers is to arrive at at the best
possible informed opinion. Textbooks and other effective writing provide
informed opinionopinion based upon factual information.
Detecting propaganda. Advertisers, salespeople, and politicians often
try to promote their points by appealing to our emotions rather than our
powers of reason. To do so, they practice six common propaganda
techniques: bandwagon, testimonial, transfer, plain folks, name calling, and
glittering generalities.
Recognizing errors in reasoning. Politicians and others are at times
guilty of errors in reasoningfallacieshat take the place of the real support
needed in an argument. Such fallacies include circular reasoning, personal
attack, straw man, false cause, false comparison, and either-or.