READING AND WRITING MODULE

Critical Reading, Evaluative Statements, and Textual Evidences

LESSON 1: Critical Reading as Reasoning

Critical reading is a more active way of reading. It is a deeper and more complex engagement with a
text. Critical reading is a process of analyzing, interpreting and, sometimes, evaluating. When we read
critically, we use our critical thinking skills to question both the text and our own reading of it. In the
process of reading, readers become the author of their understanding. Their understanding is their own
creation, based on the evidence they find, the knowledge they bring to their reading, and the inferences they
draw (Kurland, 2002).
Critical readers are able to interact with the texts they read through carefully listening, writing,
conversation, and questioning. They do not sit back and wait for the meaning of a text to come to them, but
work hard in order to create such meaning. Critical readers are not made overnight. Becoming a critical
reader will take a lot of practice and patience. Depending on your current reading philosophy and
experiences with reading, becoming a critical reader may require a significant change in your whole
understanding of the reading process (Pavel, n.d.). Meanwhile, reasoning is the process of thinking about
something in a logical way in order to form a conclusion or judgment. It is the drawing of inferences or
conclusions through the use of reason (Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, 2017).

Steps to Follow for Critical Reading

1. Self-Reflect
What experiences, assumptions, knowledge, and perspectives do you bring to the text? What biases might
you have? Are you able to keep an open mind and consider other points of view?
2. Read to Understand
a. Examine the text and context: Who is the author? Who is the publisher? Where and when was it written?
What kind of text is it?
b. Skim the text: What is the topic? What are the main ideas?
c. Resolve confusion: Look up unfamiliar words or terms in dictionaries or glossaries. Go over difficult
passages to clarify them

As a critical reader you should reflect on the following:

1. What the text means
After critically reading a piece you should be able to take notes, paraphrasing - in your own words - the key
points.
2. What the text describes
You should be confident that you have understood the text sufficiently to be able to use your own examples
and compare and contrast with other writing on the subject in hand.
3. Interpretation of the text
This means that you should be able to fully analyze the text and state a meaning for the text as a whole.

LESSON 2: Formulating Evaluative Statements

Identifying Assertions
When someone makes a statement investing his strong belief in it, as if it is true though it may not
be, he is making an assertion. Assertion is a stylistic approach or technique involving a strong declaration, a
forceful or confident and positive statement regarding a belief or a fact. Often, it is without a proof or any
support. Its purpose is to express ideas or feelings directly (Ramones, 2018).
 According to Ramones there are different types of assertion that can be used in formal or informal
writing.
1. Basic Assertion
It is a statement used to express the writer's feelings, beliefs, and opinions directly. This type of
assertion is usually used in writing formal papers like thesis and dissertation.
Example: The Philippines has an advanced civilization before the colonization of Spain. Form and branches
of government, social structure and the existence of ancient writing are some of the evidence that proves the
advancement of the precolonial period.
The first sentence is considered as the basic assertion. The second sentence contains evidence that support
the assertion.
2. Emphatic Assertion
It is a statement used to express empathy or on how a person understands the feelings and emotions
of the literary author. This can be used on writing a formal or informal paper.
It is usually composed of two parts: 1) the first part is the statement that recognizes the situation or
even the feelings of the characters on the text being read 2) the second statement where the writer states his
stand about the situation.
Example: I know that the Philippines, before pre-Spaniard’s colonization has their system of writing called
the ‘baybayin’. This alone proves that the Filipinos are literate as opposed to the Spaniards claim.
The first part recognizes the situation based on the text being read. The second part contains the writer’s
stand on the situation presented.
3. Language Assertion
It is a statement used to express the feeling and preference of the writer. It is called I-Language
because it focuses on the writer and is using the pronoun ‘I’. This type of assertion is recommended if the
author wants to express negative feelings and opinion. This is best used in writing a review or reflection
paper.
It is composed of three parts:
1. The first part contains the accurate information from literary work, especially the topic the writer
disagrees with (When you. . .).
2. The second part includes the effect or feeling of the writer towards the topic (It affects/I feel...).
3. The last part includes the preference or recommendation of the writer (Therefore, I prefer/I want...).
Example: Upon reading that the ancient Filipino civilization is divided into three social classes namely the
‘maharlika’, ‘timawa’ and ‘alipin’, I feel proud because of the civilization social advancement and at the
same time sad because of the promulgation of social differentiation. With this finding, I want to do further
research on the existence of these social classes’ stigma.
The example given is divided into three parts that includes the feelings and preference of the writer.

Factors to be considered before Formulating Assertion:

1. Determine the type of paper you are going to write – and can either be formal or informal paper.
2. Determine the type of literary work you are going to examine including novel, poem, journal article or
theatre play. It is best to include facts and evidence after every assertion. This is done to make a strong stand
on every claimed assertion.

Common Types of Assertion According to the Degree of Certainty

Source: [Link]/identifying-assertions
1. Fact
This is a statement that can be proven objectively by direct experience, testimonies of witnesses,
verified observations, or the results of research. Because statements of fact can be double-checked for
accuracy, there is general agreement about the truth they posit.
Example: The sampaguita’s roots are used for medicinal purposes, such as an anesthetic and a sedative.
This statement is a fact because it can be directly verified by experience or reliable research reports.
2. Convention.
A convention is a way in which something is done, similar to traditions and norms. Conventions
depend on historical precedents, laws, rules, usage, and customs. Thus, their truthfulness is verified by how
commonly held definitions and beliefs are interpreted.
Example: The sampaguita belongs to the genus Jasminum of the family Oleaceae.
This statement is a convention because it is based on a classification system made up by scientists and is
acceptable to the scientific community.
3. Opinion.
Opinions are based on facts, but are difficult to objectively verify because of the uncertainty of
producing satisfactory proofs of soundness. Opinions result from ambiguities; the more ambiguous a
statement, the more difficult it is to verify. Thus, they are open to disputes.
Example: The popularity of sampaguita flowers is most evident in places of worship.
The above statement is an opinion because it is based on an observation that needs to be proven by studies
and repeated observation; there are too many factors involved that make explicit judgment difficult.
4. Preference
Preferences are based on personal choice; therefore, they are subjective and cannot be objectively
proven or logically attacked.
Example: Sampaguitas are the most beautiful and most fragrant of all flowers.
This statement is a preference because it says a lot about the type of flowers that the writer likes, instead of
objectively comparing the qualities of sampaguitas to that of other flowers.

Formulating Counterclaims
Counterclaims provide an opposing viewpoint to the central claim. Including a counterclaim in your
writing helps you to prove that yes, your opinion is best-substantiated/ most widely supported one. By
giving the opposition a voice and then knocking it down, the writer demonstrates a deep competence and
familiarity with the topic- provided that s/he can effectively address the counterclaim.
Introducing the Counterclaim
Start off introducing the counterclaim with phrases such as:
The opposing view is that….
Some people think…
Some may say that….
Others may believe…
After you introduce the counterclaim, you then have to discuss why the counterclaim is incorrect.
You can start of the rebuttal in a number of ways, such as:
Despite this information….
Nevertheless…
However…
This is your opportunity to prove why the opposing viewpoint is wrong.
Example:
Some may believe that team sports could intimidate children. Some children may be physically smaller
than others. Others may not be as athletic as other team members. When they cannot run as fast as other
team members, or are not as agile, they fear (and may receive) ridicule. However, learning to work as part of
a team is essential to success in many other areas. Children have to learn to cooperate both at home and
school. In school, children are expected to work together without conflict. At home, children are expected to
be part of the family team and help with chores that need to be done. (Source: [Link])
LESSON 3: Determining Textual Evidence
Textual evidence uses information from an originating source or other texts to support an argument. It deals
with facts in writing and the strategies used to figure out whether or not the information is factual. Textual
evidence comes into play when an author presents a position or thesis and uses evidence to support the
claims. Think of textual evidence as the driving force behind debates. Debates take a position and then use
facts as supporting evidence. You can take any debate position you want, but without facts to back up your
argument, you can’t prove your point. When evaluating textual evidence, it should be precise, descriptive
and factual.

Clues to Look for When Analyzing Textual Evidence

Data that includes the source information
Data are the strongest available pieces of evidence because statistics useanalysis to reach strong,
accurate conclusions.
Example:
In Philippines, from Jan 3 to 4:50pm CET, 26 January 2021, there have been 514,996 confirmed cases of
COVID-19 with 10,292 deaths.
Testimony
Experts give testimony in a number of areas. Testimony doesn’t just mean in the legal sense, like
when someone takes the stand in a court case. Testimony also means providing a set of facts based on
expertise. An experienced and trained car mechanic can provide testimony on the workings of an engine. A
doctor, with years of specialized training, can testify about treatment options for patients. A pilot, with
thousands of
hours of flight time, can testify about the control panel on a jumbo jet. They all have expertise backed by
verifiable factual information. Authors use testimonial information to make their argument in an attempt to
sway their audience.
Statistics and expert testimony are the most reliable ways to analyze textualevidence.
Anecdotal evidence
Anecdotal evidence can be tricky since anecdotes are personal observations that may or may not be factual.
The anecdote, on its own, isn’t really sufficient to persuade the audience. But anecdotes can serve a valuable
literary purpose by keeping the audience engaged and leading them to the facts.
Analogy
“My house is as hot as the sun” is an example of an analogy. But in textual evidence, analogies prove useful
when there’s little available research on a specific topic. Cutting-edge topics have little data because
researchers are in the beginning stages of gathering information.
Here are two examples of analogical evidence:
1. Based on how the audience uses mobile phones, we believe this is the right screen size for tablet
computers.
2. I saw a boring film that has a similar plot to this movie, so therefore, the movie must be boring.
In analogical evidence, the author tries to show a parallel, but you can see the problems, especially in
the movie analogy. Just because one film is boring doesn’t mean a similar movie will also be. That’s why
analogical evidence is the weakest form of evidence.
How to Cite Textual Evidence
1. State your idea. State the idea you had about the text (if you are responding to a specific question, be sure
your idea restates the question).
2. Cite what in the text led you to the idea. Give supporting evidence from the text (by paraphrasing or
directly quoting from a text, you must use quotation marks. Use textual evidence suggested sentence starters
such as: In the first paragraph, the author says…, the text states…, the text describes…, for example…, the
author explains …etc.
3. Explain the evidence. Explain how the quote (s) or paraphrase you pointed out supports your idea.
Sentence starters: This shows…, This means…, This reveal…, This illustrates…, This highlights the
difference between…

Sample Answer
The author’s purpose in writing the text was to make people aware that cats killing birds has
become a problem and that any solution to the problem will be controversial. (Here, the writer answers the
question about the text.) In the first paragraph, the author points out that “cats kill between 1.4 billion and
3.7 billion birds every year.” (Here, the writer includes direct quote from the text as evidence.) The author’s
use of that statistics really catches a reader’s eye because they are such big numbers. This shows just how
big the problem is. (Here, the writer comments on how the quote that was cited as evidence helped form the
text that was stated to answer the question.) Then, in the second paragraph, the author says that there are two
controversial ways to solve the problem, by either catching wild cats and performing surgery on them so
they can’t reproduce or catching and killing them. (Here, the writer paraphrases from the text a second piece
of evidence.) The author was demonstrating that the possible solutions are controversial because most
people probably would not like the idea of cats being caught in order to either operate on them or kill them.
(Here, the writer comments on how the paraphrased text helped form the idea that stated to answer the
question.)
Let Us Enhance
A. Identifying Assertions
Directions. Identify the following sentences whether it is a statement of fact, convention, opinion or
preference.
_________ 1. Social media is defined as the Internet and mobile- based tools and devices that facilitate the
integration of technology, telecommunications, and social interaction.
_________ 2. In 2012, there were 1.4 billion users of social media worldwide.
_________ 3. Many teenagers’ present obsession with taking selfies show they are the most narcissistic
generation.
_________ 4. Facebook is a cooler social media platform than Twitter.
_________ 5. Social networks are the most distracting websites on the Internet.
__________6. Children are learning how to operate mobile devices at increasingly younger ages; many of
them have an idea of how to use a touchscreen tablet before they are two.
_________ 7. Roses grow best in soil made of ¾ clay and ¼ sand and loam.
_________ 8. The rose belongs to the genus Rosa of the family Rosaceae.
_________ 9. The export of cut rose can easily become one of the most lucrative business in the Philippines.
_________ 10. Roses are more beautiful, smell sweeter and are easier to grow than any other flower.
B. Formulating Counterclaims
Direction: Write your counterclaim based on the given claim.
Example:
Claim: Rock music is "changing" the youth and causing them to rebel and do bad actions.
Counterclaim: Some people say that rock music contains lyrics that are both provocative and rebellious. This
point of view makes sense because in the article it states that “one form of rock music, punk rock,
concentrates purely on antisocial subjects as a basis for its songs”. However, rock music itself is not enough
to make a teenager rebel against society because the article also says that the average teenager does not take
it seriously and concentrates more on the musical value of the songs rather than the inner meaning of the
lyrics. Therefore, even though lyrics in rock and roll music show hints of anarchy and social rebellion, it is
not a threat to society.
1. Claim: Bullying is a natural part of our humanity and that preventative measures are ineffective against
this element of the human condition.
Counterclaim:
2. Claim: Every SHS graduate should go to college because it is the only way to get a good job.
Counterclaim: