English 101C/Prof.

Hurley
Midterm: Assessing the Validity of Sources
20 points possible

In a well-developed essay with a clear thesis and abundant support, answer the following
question:

After reading, researching, and thinking critically about climate change, which do you find
more credible: the IPCC’s claim that climate change is manmade and will have disastrous
consequences, as expressed in the New York Times article, or Richard Lindzen’s claims in the
Wall Street Journal that climate change is caused only in minor part by humans and that its
dangers are highly exaggerated by scientists?

Be sure to discuss the validity of each source, using the criteria we discussed in class:

1. The source’s credentials … Is this source truly an expert? How do you know?

2. Funding … Who is funding this source? How might that funding influence how we view the
source?

3. Bias… Does the source appear to be neutral and open-minded, or does the source show
emotion or bias? Does the author have strong political or religious opinions?

4. The scientific method … Was the research done in accordance with the scientific method
(hypothesize, test, and test again)? Does the source acknowledge the limitations of its research?
Does the source avoid making generalizations and jumping to conclusions? Is the source
careful not to confuse causation with correlation?

5. Scientific consensus … Is there a scientific consensus around what the source says? How
broad of a consensus? How credible are the sources that are part of this consensus?

6. Logical fallacies and plausibility …Are the source’s claims based on good logic, or is the
source relying on logical fallacies? Do the claims square with what you already know about the
subject? Is there some side to the issue that the author is not telling (half-truth)?

- When citing a source, please give proper in-text citations (lead-in phrases like “according to”
and/or parenthetical citations). You do not need a Works Cited list.

- When writing in class, keep your introductions/conclusions pretty basic – focus instead on the
body of the paper. When quoting, there is no need to write out the whole quote … you can just
write the beginning and end of the quote, with ellipses in the middle (…).

- Do try to save 5 minutes at the end for proofreading. If you wish to make changes or add
something, you can cross out words and use arrows to insert more information. It doesn’t have
to be tidy; I just have to be able to read it!