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Question 1. What is the Passage Type?
Question 2. What is each paragraph about?
Question 3. What is the Organization??
Question 4. What is the Big Idea?
Question 5. What is the author’s purpose?
Ask yourself: What is the author’s axe to grind? What is the author’s
agenda?
It may not be to overthrow of the world, but there’s some reason the author
wrote the passage. Often essays will have a policy idea or suggestion to fix
the problem (discussed most often in the last paragraph). In the weakest case,
the author might simply want to educate people about a subject or clear up a
misconception.
The trick here is that academic camouflage often disguises the main idea. Writers
try to sound objective. Don’t let that fool you. There is always something the author wants you to convince you of, or at least, get you to learn
from the passage.
Be careful to distinguish fact from opinion.
Though they look like facts, some statements in the essay may be false claims
or unsupported opinions loaded with bias. Academics are “idea salesmen”
and very tactful ones at that. They will write their persuasive and heavily
biased essays in a manner to seem factual. Pay close attention to the language
in order to distinguish fact from opinion. The author’s purpose for writing
the essay and his or her convictions are found in these subtle statements of
opinion.
Take our passage on water management, for example. Some of the author’s
statements are fact, but many are opinion. Try this:
FACT or OPINION?
1. "One of the most persistently troubling parts of national domestic
policy is the development and use of water resources."
OPINION – “the most troubling”
indicates feeling, not fact. The author’s opinion is that the development
of water resources is one of the most troubling parts of national domestic policy.
This is not necessarily the ultimate truth. Some people may not think that development
of water resources is problematic.
2. "In the arid parts of the land, it has recently become clear that
climate varies over time, with irregular periods of serious drought followed
by wet periods marked by occasional floods."
FACT – This statement is a review of recent
scientific findings about climate. No opinion here…yet. However, the author
is using data regarding drought periods to back up later claims about water
being mismanaged.
3. "Again and again these shortcomings have proved to be the consequences
of inadequate study of water flow: of soil, of factors other than construction
technology and of faulty organization."
OPINION – This statement, though written
in a professional manner, is loaded with bias. “Again and again”
indicates frustration on the author’s part. He or she is sure that administrative
failure has caused “inadequate study” of water flow.
4. "In 1959, the Senate Select Committee on National Water resources
found that twenty different national commissions or committees charged with
examining these problems and seeking solutions had emphasized with remarkable
consistency the need for coordination among agencies dealing with water."
FACT – The author is citing
specific research conducted by a Senate committee. He or she is using
these findings to back up the claim that water is mismanaged due to
administrative failure. However, this statement, alone, contains no
opinion.
Summary:
Every author has a purpose for writing his or her passage. The author’s
purpose can be found in his or her subtle statements of opinion.
Fact vs. opinion
Authors write in such a way that it is difficult to distinguish one from
the other. Pay close attention to language that indicates conviction. |
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