Critical Reading Unit 3 –

Assuming

IN THIS UNIT YOU WILL:

1. read about how does teachers’ assumption affect the classroom,
2. learn to evaluate the assumptions made by the author in an academic
text, and
3. increase your understanding of the target academic words for this unit
• outbreak • ire • renewable
• ominous • infirm • manpower
• jarring • emergi • acreage
• quarantin ng • assembly
ed • drought • divest
• attribute • shortag
d es

SELF ASSESSMENT OF TARGET WORDS

Think about how well you know each target word in this unit. Then, write it in
the appropriate column in the table!
I have I have I I have tried I use the I use the
never seen the understa to use the word with word
seen word but nd the word, but I confidence confidentl
the I am not word am not in either y, both in
word sure when I sure I am speaking or speaking
before what it see or using it writing and
mean hear it in correctl writing
s sentenc y
e

MORE WORDS YOU NEED

¨ thread (N) : A series of messages, generally grouped by subject, in
which all messages
except the first are replies to previous messages in the
thread.
¨ circulate (V) : to spread or disseminate
Unit 3 – Assumption 22
READING STRATEGY: Evaluating Assumption
An assumption is a point that the author doesn’t even try to prove. Rather
than providing the assumption, the author simply assumes it is true. An
assumption can be expressed only as a complete, declarative sentence
(not a question, not a word or phrase or fragment). It can be either explicit
(directly stated) or implicit (not directly stated but implied). Noticed that
an assumption can be, and often is, perfectly reasonable. Assumptions are
not necessarily errors – they are an indispensable part of any argument,
the bedrock on which it rests.

Types of Assumptions
The assumptions you identify in your reading can be explicit or implicit,
and they can be factual, analytical or relating to values. These two ways
of categorizing assumptions intersect.
¨ Assumptions can be either explicit (directly stated) or implicit (not
directly stated but implied). When you identify someone’s
assumptions, look for both kinds.
o Explicit assumption:
The author states it but makes no attempt to prove it, probably
because he figures out that it is a well-established fact. No
proof needed here.
Example:
“the stranded were poor, black, disproportionately elderly”
o Implicit assumption:
The author never says this, and he certainly never tries to
prove it, but it is basic to the point he is trying to make.
Example:
racism is a bad thing
¨ Assumption can also be factual, analytical, or moral (based on values).
o Factual assumption:
It deals with factual information that can be measured or observed
directly.
Example:
“all men are mortal.”
o Analytical assumption:
They are based on facts, but they go a step further and making
some sort of statement about those facts – interpreting them,
analyzing them, explaining them, evaluating them.
Example:
“larger systemic problems, such as the exclusion of voices
and perspectives of racial minorities and working-class
populations from environmental policy- making, caused
environmental racism”
o Moral assumption:
Unlike factual and analytical assumption, which can be
defended by evidence and reason, it is almost impossible to
prove values. It is either you share them or you don’t. This
assumption depends on abstract ideas such as justice,
 humanity, Independence, belief, etc. This does not mean they
are wrong, just that you are unlikely to convince any one of
them through logical arguments. Example:
“poor people and people of color should not experience unfair
impacts simply because of their socio-economic status”

Unit 3 – Assumption 23
The assumptions you identify in your reading can be explicit or implicit,
and they can be factual, analytical or relating to values. This two ways of
categorizing assumptions intersect. The table below shows how, using the
examples discussed above.

Factual Analytical Moral

larger
systemic
problems,
poor people
such as the
and people of
exclusion of
color should
voices and
not
Expli all men are perspectives
experience
cit mortal of racial
unfair
minorities and
impacts
working-class
simply
populations
because of
from
their socio-
environmental
economic
policy-making,
status
caused
environmental
racism
racism is a
Impli
bad
cit
thing

One thing to note is that the factual and analytical assumptions tend to be
more explicit, while moral assumptions tend to be implicit. This is by no
means always the case, but it is a pretty common pattern.

Exercise 1
Read the following reading passage. There is at least one assumption that
lies behind the statement. Identify it and write down the type of the
assumption.
No. Stateme Assumption Type
nt
1.
2
3.

Exercise 2
Reread the reading passage from unit one, two, and three. Identify the
author’s major assumption of each passage.
Uni Title The Author’s Major Assumption
t
1.
2
 3.

Unit 3 – Assumption 24
BEFORE YOU READ
Read these questions. Discuss your answers in a small group.
1. What do you think this text is about?
2. What will you do when you are in the middle of a crisis?

WHILE YOU READ

Think about these questions:
1. What is the purpose of the article?
2. What can be assumed about the situation in Life Care nursing care
center

REA
D Coronavirus Deaths Tied to Nursing
Center Came Earlier Than
Anyone Knew

“They are prisoners with no information in

there,” said a relative of a resident of the
nursing center where dozens of patients
remain, waiting in their rooms.

SEATTLE — The first public indication that something was wrong inside
the Life Care nursing care center in Kirkland, Wash., came on Friday,
prompting an alarming sign to go up on the front door: “WE ARE HAVING
RESPIRATORY OUTBREAK.”

Since then, officials have announced a series of coronavirus cases, some

of them fatal, from the facility, which has become an ominous symbol of
the dangers the virus poses.

On Tuesday, the authorities made another jarring announcement: The first

virus-related deaths at the nursing center occurred days earlier than
previously known — and well before residents had been quarantined in
their rooms.

A man in his 50s, who was rushed from the facility in a Seattle suburb to a
hospital on Feb. 24, died last Wednesday. On the same day, another
patient from the center, a woman in her 80s, died at her family home. Both
of their deaths have now been attributed to the coronavirus.

The ire of the relatives of those inside was growing with each new revelation.

“Because these are elderly and infirm people, it’s like we are waiting for
them to be picked off, one by one,” said Kevin Connolly, whose 81-year-old
father-in-law, Jerry Wall, has been at Life Care for about a year, recovering
from heart and kidney failure.

Mr. Connolly said about 65 families with relatives in the facility have been
in touch after Life Care emailed the families a generic update yesterday
but left their email addresses visible. “Everybody on that thread started
sharing their stories,” said Jodi Connolly, who said that her father’s
regular nurse was not working and that he had not been told why.

“They are prisoners with no information in there,” she said.

Unit 3 – Assumption 25
The news that two people from the center died of coronavirus days before
officials identified the emerging crisis suggested that the virus had been
circulating inside the facility even longer than had been understood. That
means it may have been a threat to visitors, workers and residents for
days, widening the circle of people who may be at risk.

Nowhere else in the country has been known to have been hit as hard by
the virus as Kirkland.

Seven residents of the Life Care center were dead from the virus, and
seven other people with connections to the home had been sickened by it.
One visitor to the center apparently traveled home to North Carolina
before testing positive for the virus, an outcome North Carolina officials
announced on Tuesday.

Dr. Chris Spitters, the health officer in Snohomish County, north of Seattle,
said resources have become stretched in a way that limits how much
officials can focus on any one case.

Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/03/us/coronavirus-washington-
death.html

AFTER READING : READING COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS

Answer these following questions to check your understanding.
1. What kind of place Life Care nursing center care is?
2. Why did the alarming sign activate?
3. What condition(s) indicate that coronavirus arose?
4. Why was quarantine needed?
5. Why do visitors, workers and residents of this nursing care center
can possibly be infected?

POSTER ANALYSIS QUESTIONS

Pay attention to the poster listed on page 27. While you ‘read’ it, answer the
following questions.
1. What is the message of the infographic?
2. Do online investigation and write down the assumptions behind the
statement on the infographic.

Infographic source: https://www.climatechange-

action.com/volunteer/printable-material-and- resources/poster/
Unit 3 – Assumption 26
Unit 3 – Assumption 27
VOCABULARY ACTIVITIES

NOUN VERB ADJECTIVE ADVERB

...................... quarantine ............................... ...............................

.... ...... ......
...................... attribute ............................... ...............................
.... ...... ......
renewable ...............................
............................... ...............................
......
...... ......
acreage ............................... ...............................
...............................
...... ......
......
assembly ............................... ...............................
...............................
...... ......
......

WRITING AND DISCUSSION TOPICS

1. There is a famous quote says “Always a sure that all assumptions
are wrong”. In a small group, discuss the meaning of this quote and
report the results of your discussion to the class.
2. See the campaign poster below. Do online investigation and write
down the assumptions behind the motto on the poster.

Source: https://encrypted- tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn

%3AANd9GcSDKxVAPUbgxM5Ofn67I10OrVWoxs7i7HhI
kRDeOubS08GFEAvi
Unit 3 – Assumption 28