CRCB CHAPTER 14. EVALUATING INTERNET RESOURCES

SUMMARY CHAPTER 14 EVALUATING INTERNET RESOURCES

Evaluating Internet Sources of information helps you determine if they are reliable and useful. Knowing how to critically evaluate Internet material not only helps you become a better student, but will help you in your work life beyond college. Use the Internet source evaluation system described in this chapter as a tool for assessing websites. As a reader and thinker, become an “open minded skeptic” by considering each website’s Relevancy, Reliability, Credibility and Accuracy using the following seven steps: 1.Know your purpose. 2. Double-check facts and resources. 3. Consider the source. 4. Evaluate content. 5. Determine intended audience. 6. Evaluate the writing. 7. Use what you already know.

CRCB CHAPTER 13. READING BEYOND THE WORDS

SUMMARY CHAPTER 13 READING BEYOND THE WORDS

Critical reading comprehension involves challenging yourself to understand what you read in your textbooks at different levels of complexity. Bloom’s taxonomy lists six levels of critical thinking-knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation-that you can use to deepen your understanding of textbook material. By creating and answering questions at each of these levels, you will be better able to predict the kinds of questions your instructor will ask on an exam and better prepare to answer them.

CRCB CHAPTER 12 IDETIFYING AND EVALUATING ARGUMENTS

SUMMARY CHAPTER 12 IDENTIFYING AND EVALUATING ARGUMENTS

Recognizing arguments as you read lets you critically examine an author’s line of reasoning. Arguments have the structure of at least one reason and one conclusion. One way to detect them is to look for an author’s conclusions and then track the reasons he or she used to reach them. Another way is to look for the argument word clues an author uses to indicate when reasons are being presented and conclusions stated. Arguments can be evaluated using specific criteria including determining dependability, distinguishing fact from opinion, and detecting fallacies. The two primary types of arguments are deductive and inductive. Deductive arguments have at least one premise that logically leads to a conclusion. If the premise or premises of a deductive argument are true, then the conclusion is true. Inductive arguments begin with a series of specific observations and conclude with a generalization that logically flows from them. As they are based on limited observations, even well-constructed inductive arguments cannot be considered absolutely true.

CRCB CHAPTER 11. READING, UNDERSTANDING, AND CREATING VISUAL AIDS

SUMMARY CHAPTER 11 READING, UNDERSTANDING, AND CREATING VISUAL AIDS

An effective reading and study strategy is to make your own visual aids. To create an effective visual aid, you have to recognize the important elements in what you are reading and be able to prioritize and organize them in a logical and useful format. It will quickly become obvious how well you know the material; you can’t draw a diagram or devise a table if you don’t understand what you have read or heard.

CRCB CHAPTER 10 TEXRBOOK MARKING

CHAPTER 10 SUMMARY TEXTBOOK MARKING

Always mark information that is unclear, to remind yourself to find out what it means before you are tested on the material.
A personalized system will work well as long as it is consistent, makes sense to you, and achieves the main goal of textbook marking: showing the relationships between ideas in what you read.

CRCB CHAPTER 9 USING PREVIEW, STUDY- READ, AND REVIEW (PSR) STRATEGIES

CRCB CHAPTER 8 TEXTBOOK METHOD OF ORGANIZATION

CHAPTER SUMMARY
Text book authors usually organize information using certain classic methods or patterns.

TFY Chapter 11 INDUCTIVE REASONING AND INDUCTIVE FALLACIES

CHAPTER SUMMARY INDUCTIVE REASONING AND INDUCTIVE FALLACIES

Inductive reasoning is used as a method for obtaining information when it would be impossible to examine all the data available. This is done by taking statistical samplings or by making extrapolations.
The five basic rules for evaluating the reliability of hypotheses based on statistical samplings are as follows:, the greater is its probability of being
a. The greater the size of the sample, the greater is its probability of being representative of the whole of a class.
b. A sampling must be representative in order to reliable result.
c. One counter example can refute a generalization arrived at through inductive reasoning.
d. Statistical evidence should be offered in sufficient detail for verification.
e. When evaluating the result of polls, it is important to examine both the polling agency and the polling question for bias.

TFY CHAPTER 12 DEDUCTIVE REASONING: HOW DO I REASON FROM PREMISE?

CHAPTER SUMMARY DEDUCTIVE REASONING: HOW DO I REASON FROM PREMISES?

Deductive reasoning is the process of starting with one or more statements called premises and investigating what conclusions necessarily follow from these premises.
Deduction is the subject of formal logic, whose main concern is with creating forms that demonstrate reasoning.
Logic has its own technical vocabulary.

TFY CHAPTER 10 FALLACIES: WHAT'S FAULTY ARGUMENT?

CHAPTER SUMMARY FALLACIES: WHAT’S FAULTY ARGUMENT?


Word ambiguity uses undefined and vague words in a argument, seeking to gain an advantage by using words that could be interpreted in more than one way.
Misleading euphemisms are word that hide meaning by wrapping a less acceptable idea in positive or neutral connotations. The use of euphemisms is fallacious in an argument when the goal is to be evasive, to mislead, or to disarm awareness and objections.
Circular reasoning is the assertion or repeated assertion of a conclusion as though the conclusion were a reason. It can also pretend that no supporting reasons are needed. Circular reasoning assumes what it is supposed to prove.

TFY CHAPTER 9 ARGUMENT: WHAT'S A GOOD ARGUMENT?

CHAPTER SUMMARY

ARGUMENT: WHAT’S A GOOD ARGUMENT

The conclusion of an argument is the last step in a reasoning process. However, it may be stated at any time during an argument or not at all.
Reasons support conclusions. They may be generalizations that could function as conclusions in another context. Once the argument’s main conclusion is uncovered, the reasons offered in support becomes clear.
Arguments state and defend a claim. Usually they also attempt to persuade. Arguments disguised as reports slant the facts and language toward a bias.
Reports that only relate events or state facts cannot be analyzed as though they were arguments.
An issue is a selected aspect of a topic of controversy upon which positions may be taken either pro or con. Issue are stated in neutral terms often beginning with the word should and ending with a question. The following questions can serve as guidelines for analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of arguments:
a. Are the reasons adequate to support the conclusion?
b. Are there any hidden assumptions?
c. Are any central words ambiguous or slanted so as to incite prejudice?
d. Are there fallacies of reasoning?
e. Is any important importation missing?
f. Is any information false or contradictory?

TFY CHAPTER 8 VIEWPOINTS: WHAT'S THE FILTER?

TFY CHAPTER 8 SUMMARY

VIEWPOINTS: WHAT’S THE FILTER?

Critical thinking means leaning to recognize viewpoints and how they shape the content of any message.
Viewpoints-like assumptions, opinions, and evaluations-can either be consciously or unconsciously assumed.
We communicate best when we are aware of our own viewpoint and can understand and respect the viewpoints of others as well.
Unconscious viewpoints include the egocentric, ethnocentric, religiocentric, androcentric, and anthropocentric.
Periodicals can express viewpoints through images, words, and in the framing given to information. Framing decisions made by an editor can exercise a hidden influence over the reader.