evalauting text

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Evaluating a Text By : Mrs . Najmunnisa Siddiqui

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Page 1: Evalauting Text

Evaluating a Text

By : Mrs . Najmunnisa Siddiqui

Page 2: Evalauting Text

Evaluating a Text• When reading a text, it is important to ask yourself

questions about the value of the text. .• In evaluating the credibility of an information source

there are several key areas to consider:• the Authority of the author and the publisher: Are they

well qualified to speak to the topic at hand? • Audience :Who is the intended audience for the

information being presented? the Objectivity of the author

• the Quality of the work • Coverage of the work • Currency: How recently was the research done and the

work published? Is this text fact or opinion? If fact, is it true? If opinion, do

I agree? Can this writer be trusted?

Page 3: Evalauting Text

Guidelines to Appraising a Research Paper

• Title:– Is it informative, interesting and to the point? – What main ideas are presented in the text?

• Authority:• Who is the person – or organization -- responsible for compiling

and presenting the information? • Check to see if there is information available on the author/s.• Do they have any special experience or degrees that might

make them a more reliable source than someone else? If you cannot find an individual author (or editor, or artist or director) is there a sponsoring organization that might be considered reliable?

• If you know them to be acknowledged experts in the subject area covered then there is good chance the research work will be of high standard (though it would be dangerous to assume this without further critical review of the paper!)when was the text produced?

Page 4: Evalauting Text

Audience

• What type of audience is the author addressing?

• Is the publication aimed at a specialized or a general audience?

• Is this source too elementary, too technical, too advanced, or just right for your needs?

Page 5: Evalauting Text

Objective Reasoning • Does the author state the goals for this publication? Inform, explain, educate ,Advocate ,or Sell a product

or service • Is the information covered fact, opinion, or propaganda? It

is not always easy to separate fact from opinion. Facts can usually be verified; opinions, though they may be based on factual information, evolve from the interpretation of facts. Skilled writers can make you think their interpretations are facts.

• Does the author exhibit a particular bias? • Commitment to a point of view

• Does the information appear to be valid and well-researched, or is it questionable and unsupported by evidence? Assumptions should be reasonable.

Page 6: Evalauting Text

• Read the abstract and/or introduction • Examine the work for

– Challenging language – Images or graphic styles (e.g., text in color or

boldface type) to persuade you of the author's point of view

– Propaganda – Author's arguments or supporting facts – Author's conclusions

• Bibliography that includes multiple points of view • Verify facts and statistics with a reliable source • Examine cited sources

Page 7: Evalauting Text

To evaluate quality:

• Is the information well-organized? • Logical structure • Main points clearly presented • Author's argument is not repetitive • Has the author used good grammar? • Are there spelling or typographical errors?

Page 8: Evalauting Text

To evaluate quality:

• Are the graphics (images, tables, charts, diagrams) appropriate and clearly presented?

• Clearly labeled

• Descriptive title

• Understandable without explanatory text

Page 9: Evalauting Text

• Is the information complete and accurate? • Facts and results agree with your own

knowledge of the subject • Facts and results agree with those of other

specialists in the field • Documents sources (a very important

indicator of quality)• Describes methodology • Addresses theories and facts that may negate

the main thesis

Page 10: Evalauting Text

Look at the headings to indicate structure

• Read carefully for errors

• Consider other ways to present the information

• Verify facts and statistics with a reliable source

Page 11: Evalauting Text

• Compare publication dates and content to other sources you have found

• You should seek out multiple points of view and include a diversity of sources and ideas.

• Look for gaps in your arguments and evidence

• Facts • Statistics • Evidence

Page 12: Evalauting Text

To evaluate currency:

• When was it published?• Look for a publication or copyright date on the

– Title page (books, journals) – Reverse of the title page (books) – Cover (journals, magazines, newspapers) – Table of contents (journals, magazines) – Bottom of the page (web sites)

• Dates on web pages may indicate

Page 13: Evalauting Text

• Is your topic one that requires current information?

• Has this source been revised, updated, or expanded in a subsequent edition

• Topic areas requiring the most up-to-date information .

• Search catalogs and other databases for more recent editions

• Worldcat • Books In Print • Amazon.com

Page 14: Evalauting Text

To evaluate relevance • Is the content appropriate for your research topic or

assignment? • Scholarly vs. popular • Fact vs. opinion • Format/medium (e.g., book, journal, government report, web

site, etc.) • Subject coverage • Language • Time period • Geographical area • Audience

Page 15: Evalauting Text

References

• References help an audience to verify the facts of an argument, and can be a good indicator of the quality of the author’s research.

• Check whether your resource offers citations and references.

• Use them to evaluate authority and timeliness, noted above.

• Do they indicate bias? • Are the references geared to a sophisticated audience? • Do they provide readers with the complete

information they would need if they wanted to verify the facts as stated by the author, or if they wanted to learn more about the topic?

Page 16: Evalauting Text

To evaluate coverage:

• Does the work update other sources?

• Does it substantiate other materials you have read, or add new information?

• Have you found enough information to support your arguments?

Page 17: Evalauting Text

To evaluate quality

• Is the information well-organized?

• Logical structure

• Main points clearly presented

• Main ideas unified by overarching idea

• Text flows well

• Author's argument is not repetitive

Page 18: Evalauting Text

Definitions

• Opinion: Cannot be same it varies. Opinions refer to a particular person’s (or group’s) feeling, thought, judgment, belief, estimate, and/or anything that is not 100 percent true and can’t be proven.

• Opinions cannot be proven or verified by an impartial source, because they only express an individual point of view.

• Opinions argue one point of view, and you can disagree with an opinion.

• Statements about the future are always opinions, because you cannot prove the future. It didn’t happen yet!

Page 19: Evalauting Text

• View: cannot be a fact and also varies

• Fact: Facts can be all or some of the following: can be proven, real for all people and places, can be duplicated, can be observed, historical, or 100 percent true, but fact can also be changed e.g., of 20 million populations in Malaysia in 2000, but after 5 years it is change.

Page 20: Evalauting Text

Fact

Names places dates Can be proven

Page 21: Evalauting Text

May sound like a fact

Based on judgment Varies

Feelings

Cant be proven

Opinion

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OPINION SIGNAL WORDS

believe best/worst expect

• feel in my opinion least/most

• may/may not might/might not my impression is…

• my perspective is.. my point of view is... my sense is…

• possibly probably should

• should not think

Page 23: Evalauting Text

• Examples: • Special Vitamin Cereal is the best cereal because it

has more vitamins. – (Opinion: Signal word “best”; cannot be proven; a

point of view) • Scientists believe that the world is billions of years old.

– (Opinion: signal word “believe”; cannot be proven and is only a theory)

• There are nine hundred students in this school. – (Fact: can be proven by checking school records)

• Brazil is the largest country in South America. – (True Fact: can be proven by checking reference

books) • Paraguay is the largest country in South America.

– (False Fact: can be proven to be false by checking reference books)

Page 24: Evalauting Text

•You should work at least one week before quitting your job.

(Opinion: signal words, “at least”, “should”; cannot be proven; advice)

•The thinking of medical doctors is that the disease is not curable.

(Opinion: signal word, “thinking”; has not been proven beyond doubt.)

•There are eight million people in the city of New York. (Fact: can be proven true or false by checking census records)

•The United States will always be a democracy. (Opinion: future tense “will-” can never be proven; it didn’t happen yet)

Page 25: Evalauting Text

Exercise

• All people must breathe to live. • All people love basketball.• Blue is the best color. • He is stupid. • Abraham Lincoln was a United States president.• North Carolina is a southern state.• I don’t like broccoli. • Fire needs oxygen to burn. • Pizza tastes great. • Most people have two arms and legs.

Page 26: Evalauting Text

• The USA has biggest economy in the world.• Shakespeare wrote text books• Quaid e Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah was the

founder of Pakistan.• Smoking can be dangerous.• I assume that 95% criminal cant read.• Poor education causes 75% crime