Claims of Fact

"Claims of fact assert that a condition has existed, exists, or will exist and that their support consists of factual information..." (170). Note here that future predictions are classified as claims of fact.

In some cases, we accept something as factually true because we can verify it with our own senses. In other cases, we accept information from trustworthy sources even if we can't verify it ourselves.

Discussion Board: Can you think of a situation in which new evidence challenged or disproved something most people had long accepted as fact? Or do you have a personal experience of revising your belief in a fact--of deciding that something you'd accepted as fact was actually not true?

Here is one interesting example of a regional debate over a "fact":

"How one number touched off big climate-change fight at UW: Just how much the state's snowpack shrank is stirring up heated debate among the region's climate scientists."

Another article, "The Talents of a Middle-Aged Brain," refers to many previous beliefs about aging and the brain that have since been disproven.

? What are qualifiers? Why are they important in making claims of fact? (p. 171)

? In order to accept a claim of fact, what should we consider about the source?

? What is the difference between a fact and an inference? (171-2)

"Picking Sides for the News" (172-174):

This article is fairly dense with statistics. Do you find the presentation of these statistics fairly easy to follow? Are you able to see how the statistics illustrate whatever point the writer is trying to make? Pick a paragraph with several related statistics and see if you can find a way to convey the same information more clearly. If you have skill with using the computer to create visuals, consider representing the information visually. (In MS Word 2007, the Insert menu features a "Chart" function which includes bar, pie, line charts, and more.)

Claims of Value

Claims of value "express approval or disapproval.They attempt to prove that some action, belief, or condition is right or wrong, good or bad, beautiful or ugly, worthwhile or undesirable."

Two main types of value claims:

aesthetics (what is beautiful or ugly...)
issues of morality (what is right or wrong)

Discussion Board: Do you sometimes read reviews of movies, music, books, art, etc., to help you decide what you might want to investigate? What qualities in a review tend to persuade you that a particular artistic work would be worth looking into? Ideally, choose a particular review and discuss specific comments that lead you to believe that you would or would not find this work aesthetically valuable. (You could look at the textbook's sample review of the movie Crash on p. 176 or the review of Saw on p. 189.)

Optional Reading: "Crash" (177-9):
In this review of the movie "Crash," Roger Ebert discusses various reasons that he finds this film good (and even great). As he says, "I believe anyone seeing [Crash] is likely to be moved to have a little more sympathy for people not like themselves." Through his review, we can gather a sense of what qualities, in Ebert's view, are desirable in a movie. Can you tell what these qualities are?

Discussion Board: Within your family or among your friends, are there any disagreements about morality--over what is right or wrong? How would you explain where these differences of opinion come from?

Interesting National Public Radio Feature: "Why Mental Pictures Can Sway Your Moral Judgment." Some dilemmas produce vivid images in our head — and we're wired to respond emotionally to pictures. That can trigger unconscious biases that influence our judgment of right and wrong.

Claims of Policy

Important: Pay special attention to the information in this section. Your final paper will probably be making a claim of policy.

Note the basic steps that go into defending a claim of policy:

Convince your audience that a problem exists

Offer data to prove that present conditions are unsatisfactory

Explain the values that support your claim

Introduce your policy
Explain how your policy will address the problem

? How does making a claim of policy also involve making claims of fact and value?

Optional Reading: "College Life versus My Moral Code" + analysis (180-3)

"Supersize Your Child?" (184-188):
Discussion board: Use any of the questions below as the basis for a post on this essay.

Structure:

Look at the essay’s title and the four subheadings. Is the title effective? What clues do these components of the essay give you about its structure or about Hayes’ position on the issue of genetic modification?

Looking at paragraphs 1-5, what observations can you make about how Hayes chooses to open his essay?

Rhetorical Strategies:

Examine Hayes’ use of questions. How do they function in the essay? Does Hayes attempt to answer his questions?

Support:

Examine the various expert opinions Hayes uses. How do the ideas and quotes from other people line up with his own views? What is Hayes trying to accomplish in the cases where he quotes views that clearly trouble him? Does Hayes incorporate opposing views fairly?

Problem? / Solution?:

What is the problem as Hayes sees it? How does Hayes convince readers that a problem exists? Does Hayes provide evidence that others see the situation as he does? Does Hayes also provide evidence that others see the situation differently?

Optional Reading: "'Saw' Good at Tying Things in Knots"

"Take This Internship and Shove It" (191-193)

Discussion Board: You may use any of the questions following this essay as the basis for making a comment on the situation of paid or unpaid interships.

Optional Reading: "Putting Customers Ahead of Investors" (p. 194) and "Put Profits First" (p. 197)

Valuable Research Database! (please take note for your final paper)
LWTech subscribes to various databases that are valuable for researching persuasive issues. One such database is the Issues and Controversies section of the "Facts on File" data base.

To use the main pathway for accessing this and other LWTech research databases, go to this website: http://lwtclearningcommons.com/ and then select "Research Databases" from the right-hand side of the screen. Facts on File will be one of your choices.

? Does "Issues and Controversies" deal with any issues of particular interest to you?