Dr.

Surriya Shaffi Mir

1
Evaluating Texts Lesson 16

One vital aspect of reading comprehension is

the ability to assess and evaluate the text. This
means, first of all, that the reader should be
fully aware of the writer’s intention of his
point of view, and possible bias. In order to
evaluate a text the student must be able to
discriminate facts from opinions. It is an
important part of reading competence that the
reader should be aware of the way his
judgement is influenced one way or another. 2
So far you have had practice in distinguishing
facts from opinion. In today's lesson you shall
first have practice in distinguishing the
writer’s Tone, and second, you shall look at
argumentation - which is very central to the
material that we read. Writers make a point
and then support the point. You as a
successful reader must learn to recognize the
point and recognize the support for the point
made by the writer.
3
TONE
Look at the five statements expressing different
attitudes about a ‘shabby house.’ Label each
statement by choosing the most appropriate tone
from the word bank.

optimistic bitter tolerant

sentimental humorous sympathetic

4
1. This may be a shabby, run-down
looking house, but since I lived here in my
childhood it has a special place in my heart.
(sentimental)
2. This may not be the best looking house in
the neighborhood, but it’s not really that bad.
(tolerant)
3. If only I had a decent job, I wouldn’t be
reduced to living in this ramshackle dump.
(bitter)
5
4. This place is in need of some costly
renovation, and I expect the landlord to
get around to them any day now.
(optimistic)
5. When I leave this joint, I plan to empty
rubbish bins of all the neighboring
flats into it so I can leave the place
exactly as I found it. (humorous)

6
Now I helped you in this exercise. See if you
can do the next one on your own. But before
you do the next exercise I must tell you
something about IRONY. This is a commonly
used tone and one which you may not be
familiar with. When writing has an ironic tone,
it says one thing and means the opposite. Irony
is found in everyday conversation as well as in
writing. Irony always involves ‘discrepancy’ -
meaning that something doesn’t quite fit - and it
usually takes two forms situational and verbal.

7
(I) Situational irony occurs when the
discrepancy lies in the situation itself.
You expect something but something
else happens. Or a situation calls for an
expected response but something
unexpected happens instead e.g. there
is a house on fire and you expect the
fire fighter to aim a water hose / pipe at
the fire, but instead he aims a petrol
pipe / hose. That would be very
ironical.
8
 Or you may have heard of the
situation in a play by the American
playwright, William Inge’s ‘A Social
Event’ where the proud Hollywood
couple’s. Afro- American maid has an
invitation to a special event to which the
couple has NOT been invited: very
ironical situation indeed.

9
(ii) Verbal irony occurs when there is
discrepancy between what is said and what is
meant. e.g. Usually the exact opposite, or a near
opposite, is what is meant: an eager cricket player
looks out of the window and sees that it is raining.
“Oh, great!” he says, meaning exactly the
opposite. Another example to illustrate this: After
seeing a terrible performance by an actor in a
movie someone might say “Now that’s an actor
who is sure to win the Best Actor Award for this
year!” – Both e.gs. Illustrate verbal irony.
10
Now you will look at three short passages each
of which illustrates a tone given in the box.
Remember the tone reflects the author’s
attitude. To find the tone of a paragraph, ask
yourself what attitude is revealed by its words
and phrases.
caring pessimistic objective
optimistic angry critical
11
(i) Research on rats has shown that when
animals live in crowded conditions they live
disorderly, violent lives. Human beings are
no exception. Crowded cities are models of
lawlessness, and the traffic-clogged roads
encourage drivers to be aggressive. As urban
areas continue to grow in population
density, these types of problems will also
grow. That means more violence and more
fighting over available resources.

12
(ii) Those addicted to drugs probably feel
terrible about themselves even if they don’t
show it, and harsh judgements only worsen
their self-image. What these people need are
programs to rehabilitate them in society as
well as help rid themselves of their
addictions. It is also important we should take
a sympathetic view of their problem and open
our hearts and minds to these troubled
persons.

13
(iii) When I hired Mughal Carpets to install
a new wall-to-wall carpet in my drawing
room, I relied on the company’s reputation
for quality work. However, I was deeply
dissatisfied with the dreadful job their
workers did in my room. The carpet is
poorly fitted as in one corner it is creased
while in the other the floor shows through. I
am exasperated with the work of Mughal
Carpets and am thinking of asking my
lawyer to sue them. 14
ARGUMENT
A good argument is one in which you make
a point and then provide support
(persuasive and logical evidence) to back it
up. For e.g. if you make the statement “My
neighbors are inconsiderate” we expect you
to provide supporting details which would
enable others to see and judge whether
yours neighbours are really inconsiderate or
not.
15
Now if you added: “They play loud music at
night, their children play and scream loudly
outside my house, and their dog barks all
day long”. You have provided solid support
to your earlier statement “my neighbors are
inconsiderate”.
- To help you distinguish between point
and support for that point or conclusion and
reasons for that conclusion, let us jointly do
an exercise.
16
In the following groups of statements, one
statement is the point and the others are
support for the point. Identify each point
with a (P) and identify each statement of
support with an (S).
I — Cats refuse to learn silly tricks just
to amuse people.
— Cats seem to be more intelligent
than dogs.
— Dogs will accept mistreatment, but
a cat if mistreated, it runs away. 17
2. If workers go on strike, they now lose their jobs to
replacement workers.
Conditions in factories are tougher than they used
to be.
In many industries workers have had to take wage
cuts.
3. - Often you’ll have to wait half an hour for a route
no. 5 bus, and then three will turn up at once.
- Sometimes route no. 5 buses will drive past you
at a bus stop, even though they aren’t full.
18
 Route no.5 seems to be assigned the most
ramshackle buses, ones that rattle and have
broken seats.
When ever possible, people should not ride the
route no. 5 bus.
.

19
 In the first type – fallacies that ignore the issue
you will find the writer may change the subject, or
indulge in circular reasoning, or give way to personal
attack, or may create an imaginary opponent. In the
second type – FALLACIES that
overgeneralize/oversimply issues – the writer may
draw hasty conclusions on the basis of insufficient
evidence, or assume that because a certain event
follows an earlier event, the subsequent event was the
cause of the earlier event, or may make false
comparison or analogy, or the either-or-fallacy.

20
First I shall show you examples of unsound reasoning and then
you shall do a few exercises which will give you practice in
spotting them in your reading.
A. FALALCIES THAT IGNORE THE ISSUE (3 types)
a) changing the subject (b) circular reasoning
c) personal attack
a) Changing the Subject
In this method of argument the writer tries to divert the
audience’s attention from the true issue by presenting evidence
that has nothing to do with the argument. e.g. The honourable
member of the National Assembly is a capable leader. He has a
busy family life and prays daily in the area mosque.
21
Mention of the member’s family life and religious life
sidesteps the issue of just how capable a leader he is.

22
Exercise 1
The proposed new dam is going to be a disaster. The
plans were drawn up nearly thirty years ago, when the
affected area was lightly settled. Now, a generation
later the area is thickly populated and hundreds of
families would be displaced if the dam is built. There
are already many forces working for the break up of
the family unit in Pakistan these days.
The environment will also be negatively affected by
the construction of the dam. Hundreds of birds will
lose their natural habitat and may die out.
23
-a. Which sentence is not a sound argument in
support of the author’s conclusion that the proposed
dam is a disaster?
b) Circular reasoning. In this the supporting reason
is the same as the conclusion. e.g. “Mr. Abid is a
great science teacher because he is so wonderful at
teaching.” We do not know why Mr. Abid is a great
teacher. No real reasons are given – the statement
merely repeats itself.

24
Exercise 2
Try to spot the circular reasoning in the following
arguments.
i) Since persons under 18 are too young to vote the
voting age should not be lowered below age 18.
ii) Taking vitamin C is healthy, for it improves your
well-being.
If you look closely at these arguments you will
notice the reasons merely repeat an important part of
the conclusion. The careful reader wants to know the
reason, supporting evidence, not a repetition.
25
In the first argument the author uses the idea that
persons under 18 are too young to vote as the
conclusion and the reason of the argument. No real
reason is advanced for why persons under 21 are too
young to vote.
In the second argument the word healthy, which is
used in the conclusion, conveys the same idea as well-
being. Conclusion and reason are used as one.

26
c) Personal Attack: This kind of fallacy often
occurs in political debate. Here the issue under
discussion is ignored and the writer or speaker focuses
attention on the opponent’s character. e.g.
“The Honourable Member of National Assembly
views on the tax bill are not worthy of consideration.
His father also held similar views when he was a
member of the assembly”. As you can see from this
example it ignores he issue - the tax bill – and
concentrates on personal character. It is always easy
recognizing personal attack.

27
Exercise
Which one of the following statements contains an
example of personal attack.
1. Our cricket team is not going to win the next World
Cup. We have acquired the services of a useless
coach.
2. We should support the Zila Nazim’s proposal for
tax collection. He has the biggest collection of
wealth by not paying the taxes.
3. The people who oppose the new traffic ticketing
system are not concerned about traffic rules. 28
B. FALLACIES THAT OVERGENERALIZE/
OVER SIMPLIFY ISSUES (4 types)
a) Hasty generalization (b) false cause
(c) false comparison (d) either- or fallacy
a) Hasty generalization: This is a very common
fallacy A person who draws a conclusion on the
basis of insufficient evidence is making a hasty
generalization. The following example will make
this amply clear.

29
B. FALLACIES THAT OVERGENERALIZE/ The
Iranians are a very stupid people as they have no
talent for mathematics. Two Iranian boys took
maths course with me once, and they were at the
bottom of the class.
Forming a conclusion about a whole nation on the
basis of two examples (boys) is an illogical jump.

30
Exercise
Three statements are given followed by four possible
conclusions. Three of these are hasty
generalizations which cannot logically be drawn
from the evidence given, and the fourth one is a
valid conclusion. Choose the one conclusion you
think is valid.
1. The first time I went to the sea-side at Karachi my
face got sun-burnt.
2. The second time I went to the seaside I couldn’t
swim because the water was too cold.
31
3. The third time I went to the seaside at Karachi I
stepped on a star fish and had to go the hospital to
have the spikes removed from my foot.
Out of the four conclusions given which one
would you choose as the most valid.
a) The seaside is unsafe & should be closed to the
public.
b) The seaside is a polluted place.
c) I have had a series of bad experiences.
32
d) The seaside is not a place to visit.
Which one did you choose. Obviously the correct
answer would be c.
b) False Cause: You have probably heard some one
says as a joke, “I know there is going to be a dust
storm today because I washed my hair”.
Now the two events mentioned have no connection
whatsoever. Well that was just to tell you how often
in life we make such wrong associations – we
assume Cause-and-effect situations are not
33
easy to analyze, as people tend to oversimplify them
by ignoring other possible causes. To identify an
argument using a false cause, look for alternate
causes. Look at the following argument:
The Atlas Tyre Company was more prosperous
before Mr. Hamid joined it as chairman. Clearly, he
is the cause of its decline.
Event A: Mr. Hamid became company chairman.
Event B: The Atlas Tyre Company’s income
declined.
34
Well, other causes could have been responsible for the
. May be the policies of the previous chairman have
now begun to affect the company, or perhaps the
market conditions have changed. It’s easy but
incorrect to assume that just because A came before
B, therefore A caused B.
.

35
Exercise: Which one of the following statements
contains an example of false cause?
1. You better get a job soon or face the fact that you
are lazy and want to live off others.
2. Murree has terrible weather. I visited there for a
week last July and it rained continuously.
3. After visiting my friend today, I came home with a
headache. I must be allergic to his house.

36
(c) False Comparison: This is the third type of error
in reasoning –when you assume that two things are
more alike than they really are. For instance read
the following argument:
In our village we leave our doors unlocked all the
time, so I don’t think its necessary for you in the
city to have locks on your front door.
To judge whether or not the above statement is a false
comparison consider if the two situations are alike.
The two situations are not alike-one is in a city
where there may be a lack of security.
37
Exercise: Decide which one of the following
statements contains an example of false
comparison.
1. You’ll either have to work hard at the job or face
the fact that you’ll be turned out.
2. It doesn’t hurt your colleagues getting to work on
foot and it won’t hurt you either.
3. Of course, ban on pillion riding will work in
Pakistan. It’s worked in other countries, hasn’t it?

38
(d) Either – or fallacy: We often assume there are only
two sides to a question. Offering only two choices
when more actually exist is an either- or fallacy.
Consider the following example:
Those who oppose unrestricted speech are in reality
in favour of censorship.
This statement ignores the fact that a person can believe
in free speech and at the same time believe in laws that
prohibit people from making false statements which
damage another person’s reputation-i.e. slander. Now
remember only some issues/problems have two sides
only- for instance you either pass the exam or you
don’t but most issues/problems have several facets or
39
sides.
Exercise: Decide which one of the following statements
contains an example of either-or fallacy.

1. The maid-servant went off duty early, and then the gold
bracelet was discovered missing, so she must have stolen
it.
2. Eat your apple, or you won’t grow up strong, and
healthy.
3. As I don’t use a ballpoint pen to write so it’s not
necessary for you to use one either.

40
In today’s lesson we looked at different ways to develop
effective reading and clear thinking – and these were:
identifying purpose and tone and evaluating
arguments. These were aimed at developing advanced,
critical levels of comprehension. In the next lesson we
shall look at an another way of developing
comprehension.

Allah Hafiz

41