29.3.10

Argument -- 50 Argument Topics

1. Is global climate change man-made?
2. Is the death penalty effective?
3. Is our election process fair?
4. Do colleges put too much stock in standardized test scores?
5. Is torture ever acceptable?
6. Should men get paternity leave from work?
7. Is a lottery a good idea?
8. Do we have a fair taxation system?
9. Do curfews keep teens out of trouble?
10. Is cheating out of control?
11. Are we too dependent on computers?
12. Are parents clueless about child predators on the Internet?
13. Should animals be used for research?
14. Should cigarette smoking be banned?
15. Are cell phones dangerous?
16. Are law enforcement cameras an invasion of privacy?
17. Are test scores a good indication of a school’s competency?
18. Do we have a throw-away society?
19. Is child behavior better or worse than it was years ago?
20. Should companies market to children?
21. Should the government have a say in our diets?
22. Does access to condoms prevent teen pregnancy?
23. Does access to condoms irresponsible, dangerous, or bad behavior?
24. Are actors and professional athletes paid too much?
25. Are CEO’s paid too much?
26. Do violent video games cause behavior problems?
27. Should creationism be taught in public schools?
28. Are beauty pageants exploitive?
29. Should English be the official language in the United States?
30. Should the racing industry be forced to use biofuels?
31. When should parents let teens make their own decisions?
33. Should the military be allowed to recruit at high schools?
34. Should the alcoholic drinking age be increased or decreased?
35. Does age matter in relationships?
36. What age is appropriate for dating?
37. Should gay couples be able to marry?
38. Are there benefits to attending a single-sex school?
39. Does boredom lead to trouble?
40. Does participation in sports keep teens out of trouble?
41. Is competition good?
42. Does religion cause war?
43. Should the government provide health care?
44. Should girls ask boys out?
45. Is fashion important?
46. Are girls too mean to each other?
47. Is homework harmful or helpful?
48. Should students be allowed to grade their teachers?
49. Is the cost of college too high?
50. Is college admission too competitive?

2.3.10

Links to Useful Reading Sites

Links to Useful Reading Sites

Strategies for Textbook Comprehension

1.
This is great site for generally improving all the study skills students need for academic success, one of the best I've seen.
2.
This site offers a very clear explanation of SQ3R. Be sure, too, to check out the home page. This is a wonderful site with a page for every conceivable academic topic, from taking lecture notes to improving memory.
3.
I believe that knowing how to synthesize different sources into a meaningful unit or whole is one of the essentials skills of academic success. In my opinion, in fact, it is the backbone of all thoughtful research. If you are interested in understanding what it means to synthesize sources and in learning how to synthesize information for different purposes or assignments. please see this excellent website:

Specific Skills and Concepts

1.
Offers numerous cartoons about teachers and students, most of which can provide the basis for drawing inferences.
2.
Uses syllogisms to highlight the chain of reasoning involved in drawing conclusions.
3.
Offers a point-by-point explanation of when attribution is absolutely necessary and when it isn't.
4.
This is an excellent link for learning how you can improve your listening skills. Unlike many other links, which tell you to pay attention (duh), this one tells you how to improve listening skills by learning how to pay attention, even when the subject matter is not of automatic interest. (The creators of this site would like users to be aware that all materials are copyrighted.)
5.
Paradoxes are statements that seem to be contradictory, but in fact make sense once you think about them. Interpreting them is a great critical reading exercise that will keep your mind sharp. Try your hand at the quiz on this site.
6.
Suggests that critical thinking should be presented in the context of responsible thinking as a way of helping students more readily understand the practical relevance of thinking critically.
7.
I believe that knowing how to synthesize different sources into a meaningful unit or whole is one of the essentials skills of academic success. In my opinion, in fact, it is the backbone of all thoughtful research. If you are interested in understanding what it means to synthesize sources and in learning how to synthesize information for different purposes or assignments, please see this excellent website.
8.
You can learn a lot about reading by thinking about how writers put thoughts into words. This is an excellent site for writing advice. But if you want to understand the function of transitions, the "transitions" document that you can open from this site is definitely worth checking out. It's great because it lists many different transitional words and phrases but it also discusses the other ways writers use transitional material to help readers move smoothly and quickly from one idea to another.
9.
This site has some good information about how to go about doing academic work. It's quite comprehensive and addresses, for instance, listening along with reading. It also describes the structure of academic writing within the context of journals, and that subject doesn't normally get nearly enough attention. Don't be put off by the fact that it is listed as a web site for ESL students. There is a lot here that could benefit native-speakers as well.

Reading for Thinking: Additional Materials

Reading for Thinking: Additional Materials






































Links to useful reading sites


Exercises for specific skills

1. 
Drawing conclusions
2. 
Recognizing patterns
3. 
Drawing the appropriate inference
4. 
Fact Versus Opinion in Textbooks
5. 
Understanding Allusions

Tutorials

Fact and Opinion

Handouts

Ten Allusions Common to Writers

Contributing writer: Ann Marie Radaskiewicz
Last change made to this page: 05/09/08

23.2.10

Is of Identity Test

1. A statement is either true or false.
2. Mules are stubborn.
3. A pig is a dirty animal.
4. God is everywhere.
5. A boy who won’t fight is a coward.
6. Snake is an ugly word.
7. College graduates earn more than other people.
8. The word dog is a four footed animal.
9. A person who kills another person is a murder.
10. Women are mothers.
11. A boy who never lies is good.
12. Teachers think they’re smarter than other people.
13. Neighbors are nosey.
14. Pretty girls are stuck up.
15. Seeing is believing.
16. Adam and Eve were the first human beings.
17. It takes two to make a bargain.
18. He that believeth not shall be damned.
19. The good die young.
20. There is one basic cause for all effects.
21. The wildest colts make the best horses.
22. Humans can talk.
23. No one wants to die.
24. Barking dogs don’t bite,
25. Death is not forever.
26. Americans are not communists.
27. Dreams often foretell our lives.
28. Everything comes if only a man will wait.
29. Anything believed by most of the people must be true.
30. What goes up must come down.
31. Water flows downhill.
32. A wool skirt is warm.
33. A circle is round.
34. Iron is strong.
35. An orange is not green.
36. A leaf is green.
37. A knife is sharp.
38. A pencil is round.
39. Feathers are soft.
40. The sky is blue.
41. Needles are sharp.
42. One sits in a chair.
43. A pitcher holds water.
44. A piece of iron is heavy.
45. A house is either frame or brick.
46. A drunkard is a sinner.
47. Ministers are good men.
48. Everything that is true can be proved.
49. Big boys are bullies.
50. It is never all right to kill,
51. Children should always obey their parents.
52. Children are born bad.
53. Plants grow in soil.
54. Questions have no answers.
55. No one gets by with anything bad without getting caught.
56. Telling dirty jokes is bad.
57. A good soldier is a patriot.
58. Women movie stars are beautiful.
59. People are just naturally mean.
60. Cats hate dogs.
61. Flowers are pretty.
62. Health is Wealth.
63. Love is holy.
64. Money is evil.
65. The smartest people are the most successful
66. Select ONE of the following five statements which you feel is most characteristic of you:
a. I like almost everyone.
b. I am very careful in choosing my friends.
c. I like more people than I dislike.
d. I make no friends until they prove worthy of me.
e, I like and dislike about the same number of people.

16.2.10

TFY Chapter Four -- Inferences: What Follows

Glossary
Chapter 4
Description versus Interpretation Pure description provides factual details that convey an accurate objective depiction of a subject. Interpretation makes inferences and judgments about the subject.
Evidence Evidence is a sign or proof that something is true or that it has or had existence.
Generalization A generalization is a statement derived from the study of a number of cases that summarizes something characteristic about these cases.
Infer To use imagination and reasoning to fill in missing facts. To connect the dots.
Justify To justify a claim means to defend and support a claim.
Obvious The obvious is something that is unconcealed and easy to see. Yet we may neglect to pay close attention to the obvious because it is so familiar.
Principal claim and reasons These are the two parts of an argument. The principal claim is the thesis or conclusion. The reasons support this claim through evidence or other claims. A claim is an assertion about something.
Thinking Purposeful mental activity such as reasoning, deciding, judging, believing, supposing, expecting, intending, recalling, remembering, visualizing, imagining, devising, inventing, concentrating, conceiving, considering.

13.2.10

How to Manage Time and Set Priorities

How to Manage Time and Set Priorities
Key Point
Good time management means defining priorities and scheduling activities.

What Are the 3 Rules for Effective Time Management?

   1. Don't create impossible situations.
   2. Define priorities.
   3. Avoid distractions and lack of focus.

Don't Create Impossible Situations.

Don't get trapped into doing too much. Don't try to work full time and take a full load. Don't take too many lab classes. Use time to create success, not failure. Be realistic about school. For most classes, plan to study 2 hours for every 1 hour of class.

Make time your friend
not your enemy.

Identify your first priority classes and do whatever it takes to succeed. Drop second priority classes or reduce work hours if necessary.

Define Your Priorities Using the 3-List Method.

Plan your work,
then work your plan
All time management begins with planning. Use lists to set priorities, plan activities and measure progress. One approach is the 3-list method.

List #1 - The weekly calendar.
Create a weekly calendar. Make it your basic time budgeting guide. List your courses, work, study time, recreation, meals, TV, relaxation, etc.

Plan to study first priority classes when you work best. Be flexible, adapt your schedule to changing needs. Keep your schedule handy and refer to it often. If it doesn't work, change it.

List #2 - The daily "Things to Do".
Write down all the things that you want to do today. Note homework due or tests or subjects you want to emphasize. Include shopping and personal calls, etc.

This list is a reminder. Use it to set daily priorities and to reduce decision-making and worry. If time is tight, move items to your long-term list.

Rewrite this list each morning. Use visualization to help you focus on what to do. This list is also a measure of your day-to-day success. Check off items as you finish them and praise yourself for each accomplishment.

List #3 - Goals and other things.
This can be one or two lists, a monthly list and or a long-term list. Put down your goals and things you have to do. What do you want to accomplish over the next month or year? What do you need to buy?

Use this list to keep track of all your commitments. If you're worried about something, put it on this list. The purpose of this list is to develop long-term goals and to free your mind to concentrate on today.

Avoid Distractions and Lack of Focus.

Time is precious. Yet many people waste time by getting stuck in one or more of the following habits.

Procrastination - putting off important jobs.

Crises management - being overwhelmed by the current crisis. No time for routine matters.

Switching and floundering - lack of concentration and focus on one job.

Television, telephones and friends - these are all ways of avoiding work.

Emotional blocks - boredom, daydreaming, stress, guilt, anger and frustration reduce concentration.

Sickness - getting sick and blowing your schedule.

In all of these cases, the first step is to recognize the problem and resolve to improve. Use priority lists to focus attention. Try positive self-talk. To avoid distractions, find a quiet place to study, the library or a study hall. Get an answering machine.

from http://www.marin.edu/~don/study/5time.html

9.2.10

Cognitive Information Processing Model

[CIPChart_img+copy.gif]

Memory Vocabulary

•Chapter Vocabulary
•memory
•acronym
•key word
•mnemonic
•long-term memory
•acrostic
•memory cue
•rote learning
•short-term memory
•sensory memory
•chunking

C3 -- Facts Glossary

Glossary
Chapter 3
Absolute An absolute is something that is perfect, complete, always true, something never to be doubted or questioned.
Certain Certain is a characteristic of something fixed, assured, or inevitable.
Fact A fact is something proven to be true, real, existing or to have existed.
Fiction Fiction is an idea or story based on imagination rather than reality.
Objective/subjective Objective is to be impartial, free of bias or prejudice. Subjective is to be swayed by bias or prejudice rather than facts and evidence.
Plausibility This standard weighs the reasonability of a event or explanation.
Principal claim and reasons These are the two parts of an argument. The principal claim is the thesis or conclusion. The reasons support this claim through evidence or other claims. A claim is an assertion about something.
Probability This standard estimates the likelihood that an event occurred or will occur.
Reliability This is another standard: that the data was confirmed to be fact by a reputable independent source. Reliability also means that the confirmation proved dependable over time.
Thinking Purposeful mental activity such as reasoning, deciding, judging, believing, supposing, expecting, intending, recalling, remembering, visualizing, imagining, devising, inventing, concentrating, conceiving, considering.
Verifiability This is a standard for determining facts; that they can be tested and confirmed to be either true and/or in existence or past existence or not.
Verify To verify is to test and confirm the truth, accuracy, or existence of something.

NEW WORDS FOR THE NEW MILLENIUM


NEW WORDS FOR THE NEW MILLENIUM

BLAMESTORMING: Sitting around in a group, discussing why a
deadline was missed or a project failed, and who was
responsible.

CHAINSAW CONSULTANT: An outside expert brought in to reduce
the employee headcount, leaving the top brass with clean
hands.

CUBE FARM: An office filled with cubicles.

IDEA HAMSTERS: People who always seem to have their idea
generator running.

MOUSE POTATO: The on-line, wired generation's answer to the
couch potato.

PRAIRIE DOGGING: When someone yells or drops something loudly
in a cube farm, and people's heads pop up over the walls to
see what's going on.

SITCOMs: (Single Income, Two Children, Oppressive Mortgage)
What yuppies turn into when they have children and one of them
stops working to stay home with the kids.

STARTER MARRIAGE: A short-lived first marriage that ends in
divorce with no kids, no property and no regrets.

STRESS PUPPY: A person who seems to thrive on being stressed
out and whiny.

SWIPED OUT: An ATM or credit card that has been rendered
useless because the magnetic strip is worn away from extensive
use.

TOURISTS: People who take training classes just to get a
vacation from their jobs. "We had three serious students in
the class; the rest were just tourists."

TREEWARE: Hacker slang for documentation or other printed
material.

XEROX SUBSIDY: Euphemism for swiping free photocopies from
one's workplace.

ALPHA GEEK: The most knowledgeable, technically proficient
person in an office or work group.

CHIPS & SALSA: Chips = hardware, Salsa = software. "Well,
first we gotta figure out if the problem's in your chips or
your salsa.

Story A Questions


Story A Questions

Questions on Story A


1 .The scientist had never been seasick before.

2.The purpose of the voyage was primariiy pleasure and sight-seeing.


3.The story lists various incidents which follow the killing of a bird.

4.After the scientist shot the albatross the troubles happened.

5.No scientist’s name was mentioned in the story.

6.The scientist was surprised to see a white albatross in the vicinity.
7.The scientist was not from a university or college. 8.The scientist asked the captain for permission to kill the bird.

9.It took the crew members less than five minutes to reel in the seventeen hundred feet of cable,

1O.A lost gear made it necessary for the ship to return to the west coast.

11 .Fortunately, the net cables never fouled up.

12.A ship was chartered by a scientist.

13.The net was ripped in the bottom of the sea.

14.The cook was fired because of his objection to the killing of the bird.

15 .Larson broke a leg.

1 6.After the bird was killed the mishaps occurred.

17.The white albatross was sighted near Australia.

1 8.When an albatross was sighted flying near the ship the scientist asked permission to kill it.

19.The net was not damaged.

20.The troubles happened after the albatross was killed.

21 .The scientist was less influenced by the old sea superstition than were the members of the crew.

22.The ship, propelled by a motor, was in difficulty after the gear broke.
23 .Permission to kill the bird was given by the captain.

24. Seventeen hundred feet of cable were reeled in by hand.

25 .The bird that was killed was an albatross.

26.The sailors were not disturbed when the scientist violated the old sea superstition.

27.The person who fell down a hatch ladder was a man named Larson.

28.Larson broke one of the ribs of the ship.

29.The scientist did not want the bird as a specimen for the university museum.
30.The naturalist did not charter the ship.

31 .The scientist did not asked the crew for permission to kill the albatross.

32.The scientist attention was called to the old sea superstition that bad luck follows the killing of the white albatross.

33.The naturalist did not ask permission to kill the bird on order to secure it as a museum specimen.

34.The scientist expected to see a white albatross in that vicinity.

35 .The scientist was influenced by the warning of the crew.

36.The cook did not leave his job.

37.The captain broke one of his ribs.

38 .The bird was killed against the captains orders.

3 9.The crew members were only to frighten the scientist by protesting against the killing of the bird.

40.A lost gear was not the reason the ship landed.

41 .The crew protested against the killing of the bird.

42.Jackie Larson became seasick before the albatross was killed.

43.The scientist’s aide was Jackie Larson.

44.The bird was not killed.

45.The bird was killed by scientist.

46.The cook helped reel in the seventeen hundred feet of cable.

47.While the crew men were undoubtedly upset by the scientist’s action the cook was the only man to actually leave his job.

48.A scientist fell down a hatch ladder.

Story A


Story A

STORY A

(1)A certain west coast university scientist chartered a ship for exploration purposes.

(2) When a large white bird was sighted the scientist asked permission to kill it.

(3)He stated that white albatrosses are usually found only off the cost of Australia.

(4)He wanted the bird as a specimen for the university museum.
(5)The crew protested against the killing of the bird, calling the scientist’s attention to the old sea superstition that bad luck followed the killing of a white albatross.
(6)Nevertheless the captain granted permission to kill the bird and the bird was killed.

(7)These mishaps happened after the bird was killed:

(8)The net cables fouled up three times.

(9)The net caught on the bottom and was ripped to shreds.

(1O)The shaft on the main winch snapped and it took the crew members five hours to reel in by hand 1700 feet of cable.

(1 1)A rib was broken when Jackie Larson, a scientific aide, fell down a hatch ladder.

(12)The scientist became seasick for the first time in his life.

(13)Lost gear forced the ship to head for land.

(14)The cook left his job.

8.2.10

Fact Or Opinion Answers




==================================================================


1. Fact
2. Fact
3. Opinion
4. Fact
5. Opinion
6. Fact
7. Fact
8. Opinion
9. Opinion
10. Fact


Fact or Opinion?

Fact or Opinion?

1. Mr. Jones has two sons and one daughter.
Fact
Opinion

2. That picture is by Rembrandt.
Fact
Opinion


3. Her house is really beautiful.
Fact
Opinion


4. My friend has six fingers on one hand.
Fact
Opinion


5. That boy is the nicest person in the school.
Fact
Opinion


6. The group will stop in Denver overnight.
Fact
Opinion


7. L. Frank Baum wrote "The Wizard of Oz".
Fact
Opinion


8. I will finish before the rest of the class.
Fact
Opinion


9. The Bulls are better than the Knicks.
Fact
Opinion


10. Nine plus one equals ten.
Fact
Opinion

2.2.10

Frames of Language

Box Quiz


Decode the following boxes:   (Hint:  the answer to #20 is "downtown")







1.

  exxposure
2.

  dashotrk
3.

     left
    chicken
4.

 the ears wet
5.

  gegs
       sgeg
  ggse
6.

  YYY men
7.

f                     f  
r                     r
i   standing      i
e     miss         e
n                     n
d                    d
s                     s

8.

                 s
                 t
          street
                 e
                 e
                 t


9.

  fi$$$st

10.

                 p
                 i
                 a
                 n
                 o

11.

   dark fun
12.

  sec     ond
13.

  nia
     g
       a
         r
          a
14.

  tified with iron
  tified with iron
  tified with iron
  tified with iron
15.

                                             p
                 a
                 y
                m
                 e
                 n
                 t
                 
16.



  Get          me
17.

         sands
         a     a
         n     n
         d     d
          sands


18.

      cycle
      cycle
      cycle
19.

                 0
             Ph.D.
              M.A.
              B.A.
20.

                 t
                o
                w
                n

1.2.10

TFY Glossary C2 -- Word Precision


Glossary
Chapter 2
Critical readingCritical reading is analytical and evaluative reading based on accurate neutral comprehension of the material.
DefinitionA concise explanation of the meaning of a word that shows us its boundaries.
Principal claim and reasonsThese are the two parts of an argument. The principal claim is the thesis or conclusion. The reasons support this claim through evidence or other claims. A claim is an assertion about something.
Term and classTerm refers to the word defined and class refers to the largest family to which the term is related.
ThinkingPurposeful mental activity such as reasoning, deciding, judging, believing, supposing, expecting, intending, recalling, remembering, visualizing, imagining, devising, inventing, concentrating, conceiving, considering.
WordWord is a sound or group of sounds that communicate meaning. These sounds are also translatable into written symbols.
Word conceptA concept is a abstract idea or principle conveyed in a word.
Word connotationWord connotation refers to the additional shades of meaning and emotional associations that a word may carry.
Glossary

31.1.10

Reading Time

SUMMARY


CHAPTER 4: MANAGING READING TIME
Comprehension should be your main reading goal, not how fast you read.

• Develop a general study schedule that shows specifically when you plan to study for each class and for how long.

• Choose the times you study based on when you are most alert, and determine the length of time of each study session using your reading averages for the subjects you are taking.

• Track your reading rates so you can create daily reading plans that set realistic goals for your classes each week.

The following reading tips are presented in this chapter and will contribute to your becoming a more efficient reader:

• reading quickly, when it is appropriate

• skimming

• regressing or rereading

• subvocalizing

• pacing

For Lexophiles Only

FOR YOU LEXOPHILES: (LOVERS OF WORDS)


1. A bicycle can't stand alone because it is two-tired.

2. What's the definition of a will? (It's a dead giveaway)

3. Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana.

4. A backward poet writes inverse.

5. In democracy it's your vote that counts. In feudalism it's your count that votes.

6. She had a boyfriend with a wooden leg, but broke it off.

7. A chicken crossing the road is poultry in motion.

8. If you don't pay your exorcist you get repossessed.

9. With her marriage she got a new name and a dress.

10. Show me a piano falling down a mineshaft and I'll show you A-flat minor.

11. When a clock is hungry it goes back four seconds.

12. The man who fell into an upholstery machine is fully recovered.

13. A grenade thrown into a kitchen in France would result in Linoleum Blown apart.

14. You feel stuck with your debt if you can't budge it.

15. Local Area Network in Australia: the LAN downunder.

16. He often broke into song because he couldn't find the key.

17. Every calendar's days are numbered.

18. A lot of money is tainted. 'Taint yours and 'taint mine.

19. A boiled egg in the morning is hard to beat.

20. He had a photographic memory which was never developed.

21. A plateau is a high form of flattery.

22. The short fortune-teller who escaped from prison was a small medium at large.

23. Those who get too big for their britches will be exposed in the end.

24. When you've seen one shopping center you've seen a mall.

25. Those who jump off a Paris bridge are in Seine.

26. When an actress saw her first strands of gray hair she thought she'd dye.

27. Bakers trade bread recipes on a knead to know basis.

28. Santa's helpers are subordinate clauses.

29. Acupuncture is a jab well done.

30. Marathon runners with bad footwear suffer the agony of defeat

Vocabulary Skills

SUMMARY


CRCB:  Chapter 2: DEVELOPING College VOCABULARY


Vocabulary skills are among the most important comprehension strategies you can learn.  By increasing your vocabulary, you increase your understanding of textbook information. A rich vocabulary:

·         allows you access to many types of reading material.
·         enhances your academic abilities.
·         increases your chances of getting the job of your choice.
Although no one knows the meaning of every word, or interrupts his or her reading to look up every unfamiliar word in a dictionary, using the simple strategies presented in this chapter will help you figure out and remember the meaning of new words. These strategies include:

·         using context clues
·         using word analysis
·         writing in your textbook
·         creating word maps
·         understanding denotation and connotation
·         using the Card Review System (CRS)
·         using new vocabulary daily when you talk and write

 



New Words for the New Millenium

BLAMESTORMING: Sitting around in a group, discussing why a
deadline was missed or a project failed, and who was
responsible.

CHAINSAW CONSULTANT: An outside expert brought in to reduce
the employee headcount, leaving the top brass with clean
hands.

CUBE FARM: An office filled with cubicles.

IDEA HAMSTERS: People who always seem to have their idea
generator running.

MOUSE POTATO: The on-line, wired generation's answer to the
couch potato.

PRAIRIE DOGGING: When someone yells or drops something loudly
in a cube farm, and people's heads pop up over the walls to
see what's going on.

SITCOMs: (Single Income, Two Children, Oppressive Mortgage)
What yuppies turn into when they have children and one of them
stops working to stay home with the kids.

STARTER MARRIAGE: A short-lived first marriage that ends in
divorce with no kids, no property and no regrets.

STRESS PUPPY: A person who seems to thrive on being stressed
out and whiny.

SWIPED OUT: An ATM or credit card that has been rendered
useless because the magnetic strip is worn away from extensive
use.

TOURISTS: People who take training classes just to get a
vacation from their jobs. "We had three serious students in
the class; the rest were just tourists."

TREEWARE: Hacker slang for documentation or other printed
material.

XEROX SUBSIDY: Euphemism for swiping free photocopies from
one's workplace.

ALPHA GEEK: The most knowledgeable, technically proficient
person in an office or work group.

CHIPS & SALSA: Chips = hardware, Salsa = software. "Well,
first we gotta figure out if the problem's in your chips or
your salsa.

Critical Thinking Links from Text

Text Online site:
http://highered.mcgraw-hill.com/sites/0072473762/information_center_view0/


Learning Style Inventories
http://www2.ncsu.edu/unity/lockers/users/f/felder/public/ILSdir/ilsweb.html
Fill out this questionnaire, submit responses and receive feedback. This site can be
used to help confirm your learning style preference.
http://www.chelt.ac.uk/gdn/discuss/kolb1.htm
Kolb's Learning Style Inventory (for faculty)
http://www.ntlf.com/html/pi/9511/article1.htm
McKeachie's article on learning styles (for faculty)
http://www.ncsu.edu/felder-public/Papers/LS-Prism.htm
Matters of Learning Styles (for Faculty)
http://www.ncsu.edu/felder-public/Papers/Secondtier.html
Learning Styles in Science
http://cyg.net/~jblackmo/diglib/styl-a.html
Learning Styles and Pedagogy (for faculty)
Concentration
http://www.loyola.edu/studycenter/studyskills.html
Provides general study skills information, including concentration and learning styles.
http://www.kcmetro.cc.mo.us/longview/humanities/english/memcon.htm
Provides quick information on memory and concentration strategies.
Good for review purposes.
http://www.k-state.edu/counseling/concentr.html
Offers explanation and practice of concentration strategies
including the spider technique.
http://adulted.about.com/library/weekly/aa091601a.htm
Study Time! How to Make the Most of It
http://www.ipfw.edu/casa/txtr.html
Pre-Reading Tips
Test Taking Strategies
www.csbsju.edu/academicadvising/help/testskil.html
Test Taking Skills -- Essay Questions
http://www.glencoe.com/ps/peak/studyskills/pitfalls/pitfalls.html
Study and Test Taking Skills for Peak Performance
http://www.cs.gasou.edu/student/test10.html
The Ten Commandments for Taking a Test
http://www.bucks.edu/~specpop/tests.htm
The Basics of Effective Test Taking
Vocabulary Enhancement
http://webster.commnet.edu/grammar/vocabulary.htm
Building a Better Vocabulary
http://www.smsu.edu/studyskills/new/vocabulary.html
Tips for a Greater Vocabulary
Memory
http://www.ucc.vt.edu/stdysk/stdyhlp.html
Strategies for Improving Concentration and Memory
http://www.mtsu.edu/~studskl/mem.html
Memory Principles
http://www.csbsju.edu/academicadvising/help/remread.html
Remembering What You Read
Mnemonics
http://www.wm.edu/OSA/dostud/moresski/memory.htm
Improving Your Memory Skills
Time Management Tips
http://www.bucks.edu/~specpop/time-manage.htm
Managing Your Reading Time
http://www.rio.maricopa.edu/distance_learning/tutorials/study/time.shtml
http://www.d.umn.edu/student/loon/acad/strat/time_manage.html
Time Management Tips
http://www.usu.edu/arc/idea_sheets/time.htm
Utah State Time Management System
http://www.csulb.edu/~tstevens/patsm96.htm
Self-Management
http://www.mheso.state.mn.us/mPg.cfm?pageID=688
Managing your Time
Speed Reading
http://www.brainquicken.com/px_project_article.asp
Brain Quicken - Speed Reading Technique
Will it work for you?
http://www.ucc.vt.edu/stdysk/suggest.html
Suggestions for Improving Reading Speed
http://www.utexas.edu/student/utlc/handouts/512.html
Brief Suggestions for Increasing Reading Speed
http://www.readingsoft.com/quiz.html
Speed Reading Quizzes
Main Ideas
http://gwired.gwu.edu/counsel/counsel.php?id=2140
Top Ten Tips for selecting Main Ideas
http://www.ccis.edu/departments/cae/studyskills/mainidea.html
Reading for the Main Ideas
http://users.dhp.com/~laflemm/reso/mainIdea.htm
Main Idea Exercises
http://vclass.mtsac.edu:920/readroom/Mainidea.htm
Main Idea Exercises
http://english.glendale.cc.ca.us/topic.html
Finding Main Ideas in Paragraphs
Finding Details
http://vclass.mtsac.edu/amla-51/Supporting%20Details/details.htm
Supporting Details
Textbook Reading Systems
http://www.ucc.vt.edu/stdysk/sq3r.html
SQ3R -- A Reading System
http://www.arc.sbc.edu/sq3r.html
Reading Methods
http://www.mindtools.com/sq3r.html
Mind Tools -- Increasing Your Retention of Written Information
Textbook Marking
http://www.ucc.vt.edu/stdysk/stdyhlp.html
Study Skills Self-Help -- Textbook Marking
http://www.psywww.com/mtsite/mindmaps.html
Improving Notetaking with Concept Maps (also good for Chapter 11)
http://www.hlnd.wnyric.org/diffinstruction/cornell%20note%20taking.htm
Cornell Notetaking Method
Using Visuals
http://www.mindtools.com/mindmaps.html
Mind Tools
http://www.brazosport.cc.tx.us/~lac/mindmap.htm
Mind Mapping
http://www.ourtimelines.com/
Create Your Own Family Time Line
http://www.lionden.com/using_outlines.htm
Using Outlines
Arguments
http://www.mccallie.org/wrt_ctr/What%20Should%20Students%20Know%20to%20Succeed%20in%20College.doc
%20to%20Succeed%20in%20College.doc
What Should Students Know to Succeed in College
http://www.intrepidsoftware.com/fallacy/
Logical Fallacies
http://www.nizkor.org/features/fallacies/
Fallacies
http://www.sjsu.edu/depts/itl/graphics/main.html
Mission Critical -- a full-scale tutorial for critical thinking
Advanced Critical Reading
http://www.le.ac.uk/castle/resources/mcqman/mcqappc.html
Helpful review and practice of Bloom's Taxonomy.
http://www.litstudies.com/BloomTaxonomy.htm
More on Bloom's Taxonomy
Evaluating Websites
http://www.google.com/help/features.html
Tips on Mastering a Google Search
http://www.library.ucla.edu/libraries/college/help/critical/index.htm
Evaluating Sites
http://www.library.cornell.edu/okuref/research/skill26.htm
Critically Analyzing Information Sources







TFY Glossary

Glossary
Chapter 1
Accommodation Accommodation is achieved when we can do the thinking needed to create a new schema or modify an old schema in order to explain a new experience.
Assimilation Assimilation is achieved when we can integrate new experiences into existing schemas.
Disequilibrium The confusion and discomfort felt when a new experience cannot be integrated into existing schemas.
Equilibrium A stable inner feeling of well being that we feel when our thinking enables us to modify or create a new schema that better explains our world.
Hypothesis Hypothesis is a trial idea, tentative explanation, or theory that can be tested and used to further an investigation.
Observe To watch with attentive awareness.
Perceiving To regard and interpret what the senses tell us.
Principal claim and reasons These are the two parts of an argument. The principal claim is the thesis or conclusion. The reasons support this claim through evidence or other claims. A claim is an assertion about something.
Schema Schemas are the mental files in which we store our explanations of experiences.
Sensing To make use of such senses as sight, hearing, and touch.
Thinking Purposeful mental activity such as reasoning, deciding, judging, believing, supposing, expecting, intending, recalling, remembering, visualizing, imagining, devising, inventing, concentrating, conceiving, considering.
Glossary
Chapter 2
Critical reading Critical reading is analytical and evaluative reading based on accurate neutral comprehension of the material.
Definition A concise explanation of the meaning of a word that shows us its boundaries.
Principal claim and reasons These are the two parts of an argument. The principal claim is the thesis or conclusion. The reasons support this claim through evidence or other claims. A claim is an assertion about something.
Term and class Term refers to the word defined and class refers to the largest family to which the term is related.
Thinking Purposeful mental activity such as reasoning, deciding, judging, believing, supposing, expecting, intending, recalling, remembering, visualizing, imagining, devising, inventing, concentrating, conceiving, considering.
Word Word is a sound or group of sounds that communicate meaning. These sounds are also translatable into written symbols.
Word concept A concept is a abstract idea or principle conveyed in a word.
Word connotation Word connotation refers to the additional shades of meaning and emotional associations that a word may carry.
Glossary
Chapter 3
Absolute An absolute is something that is perfect, complete, always true, something never to be doubted or questioned.
Certain Certain is a characteristic of something fixed, assured, or inevitable.
Fact A fact is something proven to be true, real, existing or to have existed.
Fiction Fiction is an idea or story based on imagination rather than reality.
Objective/subjective Objective is to be impartial, free of bias or prejudice. Subjective is to be swayed by bias or prejudice rather than facts and evidence.
Plausibility This standard weighs the reasonability of a event or explanation.
Principal claim and reasons These are the two parts of an argument. The principal claim is the thesis or conclusion. The reasons support this claim through evidence or other claims. A claim is an assertion about something.
Probability This standard estimates the likelihood that an event occurred or will occur.
Reliability This is another standard: that the data was confirmed to be fact by a reputable independent source. Reliability also means that the confirmation proved dependable over time.
Thinking Purposeful mental activity such as reasoning, deciding, judging, believing, supposing, expecting, intending, recalling, remembering, visualizing, imagining, devising, inventing, concentrating, conceiving, considering.
Verifiability This is a standard for determining facts; that they can be tested and confirmed to be either true and/or in existence or past existence or not.
Verify To verify is to test and confirm the truth, accuracy, or existence of something.






Glossary
Chapter 4
Description versus Interpretation Pure description provides factual details that convey an accurate objective depiction of a subject. Interpretation makes inferences and judgments about the subject.
Evidence Evidence is a sign or proof that something is true or that it has or had existence.
Generalization A generalization is a statement derived from the study of a number of cases that summarizes something characteristic about these cases.
Infer To use imagination and reasoning to fill in missing facts. To connect the dots.
Justify To justify a claim means to defend and support a claim.
Obvious The obvious is something that is unconcealed and easy to see. Yet we may neglect to pay close attention to the obvious because it is so familiar.
Principal claim and reasons These are the two parts of an argument. The principal claim is the thesis or conclusion. The reasons support this claim through evidence or other claims. A claim is an assertion about something.
Thinking Purposeful mental activity such as reasoning, deciding, judging, believing, supposing, expecting, intending, recalling, remembering, visualizing, imagining, devising, inventing, concentrating, conceiving, considering.






Glossary
Chapter 5
Accommodation Accommodation is achieved when we can do the thinking needed to create a new schema or modify an old schema in order to explain a new experience.
Assimilation Assimilation is achieved when we can integrate new experiences into existing schemas.
Assumption Assumption is an idea whose truth can be taken for granted.
Assumption Layers Assumption layers can appear beneath simple assertions. Such layers consist of multiple hidden and unexamined assumptions influenced in turn by one or more value assumptions beneath the whole.
Counter claim Counter claim is a response to a claim with a defense or with another claim.
Disequilibrium The confusion and discomfort felt when a new experience cannot be integrated into existing schemas.
Equilibrium A stable inner feeling of well being that we feel when our thinking enables us to modify or create a new schema that better explains our world.
Hidden Assumption A hidden assumption is an unclear and unstated idea assumed to be true that is integral to a line of reasoning. In an argument, it is a hidden premise that cannot be examined for truth and validity. Blind acceptance of a hidden premise can lead to the acceptance of a false or invalid conclusion.
Infer To use imagination and reasoning to fill in missing facts. To connect the dots.
Lateral thinking Lateral thinking solves problems by reviewing options, overcoming assumptions, and inventing new solutions. Vertical thinking follows more conventional step-by-step logic.
Principal claim and reasons These are the two parts of an argument. The principal claim is the thesis or conclusion. The reasons support this claim through evidence or other claims. A claim is an assertion about something.
Schema Schemas are the mental files in which we store our explanations of experiences.
Thesis A thesis is a short summary statement of an idea that an essay intends to prove. It is also called the thesis statement and controlling idea.
Thinking Purposeful mental activity such as reasoning, deciding, judging, believing, supposing, expecting, intending, recalling, remembering, visualizing, imagining, devising, inventing, concentrating, conceiving, considering.
Value or Belief Assumption Value assumption is a belief that we take for granted, one that rarely questioned or even articulated. Remaining hidden and unexpressed, a value assumption can nevertheless shape a chain of reasoning.
Working Assumption A working assumption is a trial idea, theory, strategy, or hypothesis assumed to be true in order to further an investigation. It is a conscious assumption.






Glossary
Chapter 6
Advice Advice is to recommend an opinion to someone else.
Infer To use imagination and reasoning to fill in missing facts. To connect the dots.
Judgment Judgment is a final opinion, decision, conclusion or evaluation about something.
Opinion Opinion is a word used to include an unsupported belief, a supported argument, an expert’s judgment, prevailing public sentiment, and a formal statement by a court.
Personal taste or preference Personal taste or preferences are forms of opinions that express likes or dislikes. They can be irrational and need not be supported with reasons.
Principal claim and reasons These are the two parts of an argument. The principal claim is the thesis or conclusion. The reasons support this claim through evidence or other claims. A claim is an assertion about something.
Thinking Purposeful mental activity such as reasoning, deciding, judging, believing, supposing, expecting, intending, recalling, remembering, visualizing, imagining, devising, inventing, concentrating, conceiving, considering.






Glossary
Chapter 7
Evaluate To determine the value or worth of something.
Evaluations in word connotations Highly connotative words can be chosen to convey a person’s likes and dislikes under the guise of offering facts.
Expectations Mental constructs that anticipate the way things will be or should be.
Infer To use imagination and reasoning to fill in missing facts. To connect the dots.
Opinion Opinion is a word used to include an unsupported belief, a supported argument, an expert’s judgment, prevailing public sentiment, and a formal statement by a court.
Premature evaluation To judge something before one has finished examining it.
Principal claim and reasons These are the two parts of an argument. The principal claim is the thesis or conclusion. The reasons support this claim through evidence or other claims. A claim is an assertion about something.
Propaganda Propaganda is the manipulation of public opinion for the benefit of the propagator.
Relativism Relativism is the belief that concepts such as right and wrong are not absolutes but depend on situations and the cultures.
Skilled Evaluations Skilled evaluations are opinions formed by experts after a careful and impartial study.
Thinking Purposeful mental activity such as reasoning, deciding, judging, believing, supposing, expecting, intending, recalling, remembering, visualizing, imagining, devising, inventing, concentrating, conceiving, considering.






Glossary
Chapter 8
An unconscious viewpoint An unconscious viewpoint is a perspective unidentified by the viewer.
Egocentrism Egocentrism is the assumption that one’s perspective is the only perspective.
Ethnocentrism Ethnocentrism is the assumption that one’s own social or cultural group is superior to all others.
Exterior To be exterior to one’s own viewpoint is to have a detached awareness of one’s viewpoint.
Infer To use imagination and reasoning to fill in missing facts. To connect the dots.
News framing News framing describes the way relative importance can be implied about a news item by layout design, page placement, photos, and the wording of headlines.
Opinion Opinion is a word used to include an unsupported belief, a supported argument, an expert’s judgment, prevailing public sentiment, and a formal statement by a court.
Principal claim and reasons These are the two parts of an argument. The principal claim is the thesis or conclusion. The reasons support this claim through evidence or other claims. A claim is an assertion about something.
Religiocentrism Religiocentrism is the assumption that one’s own religion is superior to all others.
Thinking Purposeful mental activity such as reasoning, deciding, judging, believing, supposing, expecting, intending, recalling, remembering, visualizing, imagining, devising, inventing, concentrating, conceiving, considering.
Viewpoint A viewpoint is a personal or collective perspective consisting of memories, beliefs, and associations from which events are observed and evaluated.






Glossary
Chapter 9
Argument An argument offers reasons to support a conclusion with the intent to persuade.
Conclusion A clear statement of what an argument intends to prove or has proven.
Consistency Consistency refers to standards of logical coherence as well as constancy.
Contradiction A contradiction refers to a part or parts inconsistent with, or illogical to, other parts.
Debate question A debate question is a neutrally stated question designed to provide a focus for pro and con positions on an issue.
Discrepancy A discrepancy, like an incongruity, is something that diverges from an expected standard.
False Information False information refers to information that can be proven to be untrue.
Implied conclusion A conclusion understood but not explicitly stated.
Infer To use imagination and reasoning to fill in missing facts. To connect the dots.
Irreconcilable Irreconcilable are conflicting ideas, beliefs, or information that cannot coexist, such as contradictions.
Issue An issue is a matter of dispute.
Missing Information Missing information refers to essential information purposefully or inadvertently omitted from an argument or report.
Opinion Opinion is a word used to include an unsupported belief, a supported argument, an expert’s judgment, prevailing public sentiment, and a formal statement by a court.
Principal claim and reasons These are the two parts of an argument. The principal claim is the thesis or conclusion. The reasons support this claim through evidence or other claims. A claim is an assertion about something.
Reason A statement offered to explain, justify, or support the conclusion.
Report A report offers objective accounts of events and objective information.
Thinking Purposeful mental activity such as reasoning, deciding, judging, believing, supposing, expecting, intending, recalling, remembering, visualizing, imagining, devising, inventing, concentrating, conceiving, considering.
Topic A topic is a subject that is written or spoken about.






Glossary
Chapter 10
Appeal to Bandwagon This fallacy seeks to persuade by appealing to the wisdom of the momentum of a popular opinion.
Appeal to False Authority This fallacy seeks to persuade by citing fake, questionable, or inappropriate authority.
Appeal to Fear This fallacy seeks to persuade by arousing fear that clouds rationality.
Appeal to Pity This fallacy seeks to persuade by arousing pity.
Circular Reasoning This fallacy assumes what it is supposed to prove by reasserting the conclusion, sometimes in different words, as though this conclusion needed no supporting reasons.
Fallacy A fallacy is an invalid, argument that can be deceptive or misleading.
Fallacy of Word Ambiguity This fallacy seeks to gain an advantage in an argument by using vague undefined words that can be interpreted in more than one way.
Infer To use imagination and reasoning to fill in missing facts. To connect the dots.
Misleading Euphemisms This fallacy hides meaning by creating words that make a less acceptable idea seem positive or unrecognizable.
Opinion Opinion is a word used to include an unsupported belief, a supported argument, an expert’s judgment, prevailing public sentiment, and a formal statement by a court.
Personal Attack This fallacy attacks a person’s character without addressing the issue.
Pointing to Another Wrong This fallacy distracts attention from an admitted wrongdoing by claiming that similar actions went unnoticed and unpunished.
Poisoning the Well This fallacy seeks to prejudice others against a person, group or idea so that their arguments cannot be heard on their own merits.
Prejudicial Language This fallacy attempts to persuade through the use of loaded words that convey a bias.
Principal claim and reasons These are the two parts of an argument. The principal claim is the thesis or conclusion. The reasons support this claim through evidence or other claims. A claim is an assertion about something.
Red Herring This fallacy distracts attention away from the lack of proof for a claim by raising irrelevant issues.
Straw man This fallacy misrepresents or caricatures an opponent’s position, then refutes the false replica created.
Thinking Purposeful mental activity such as reasoning, deciding, judging, believing, supposing, expecting, intending, recalling, remembering, visualizing, imagining, devising, inventing, concentrating, conceiving, considering.






Glossary
Chapter 11
Analogical Reasoning Analogical reasoning draws conclusions on the basis of observed correspondences.
Cause A perceived source or consequence of an event.
Conclusion of an inductive study To make a generalization about empirical findings that may or may not confirm the hypothesis tested. It also may not be totally certain.
Either-or Fallacy This fallacy is an argument that oversimplifies a situation, asserting that there are only two choices when actually there are many.
Extrapolation This is an inference based on an estimated projection of known information.
False Analogy This fallacy compares two things that may have some similarities but also significant differences that are ignored for the sake of the argument.
Hasty Generalization This fallacy is a conclusion based on insufficient evidence.
Hypothesis Hypothesis is a trial idea, tentative explanation, or theory that can be tested and used to further an investigation.
Inconsistencies and Contradictions This fallacy makes claims that are contradictory or offers evidence that contradicts the conclusion.
Induction To reason about all members of a class on the basis of an examination of some members of a class.
Infer To use imagination and reasoning to fill in missing facts. To connect the dots.
Loaded Question This fallacy uses a biased question that seeks to obtain a predetermined answer.
Opinion Opinion is a word used to include an unsupported belief, a supported argument, an expert’s judgment, prevailing public sentiment, and a formal statement by a court.
Pattern A perceived design or form.
Principal claim and reasons These are the two parts of an argument. The principal claim is the thesis or conclusion. The reasons support this claim through evidence or other claims. A claim is an assertion about something.
Questionable Statistic This fallacy backs up an argument with statistics that are either unknowable or unsound.
Reasoning through enumeration This is reasoning through counting. Reasoning draws conclusions or inferences from facts or premises.
Reasoning through Statistics and Probability This occurs in inductive reasoning. Statistics is the science of collecting, organizing, and interpreting numerical data. Probability in statistics estimates the ratio of the number of actual occurrences of a specific event to the total number of possible occurrences.
Reasoning with hypotheses To conceive a trial idea and use it to implement an investigation.
Slippery Slope This fallacy is an unwarranted claim that permitting one event to occur will lead to an inevitable and uncontrollable chain reaction.
The empirical or scientific method The empirical or scientific method is based on observation and experiment.
Thinking Purposeful mental activity such as reasoning, deciding, judging, believing, supposing, expecting, intending, recalling, remembering, visualizing, imagining, devising, inventing, concentrating, conceiving, considering.






Glossary
Chapter 12
Deduction Deduction is to draw an inference about a specific instance from a general principle.
Hidden premise Hidden premise is a made claim in support of a conclusion that is implied but not stated. When not exposed, it can lead to the acceptance of a false conclusion.
Infer To use imagination and reasoning to fill in missing facts. To connect the dots.
Logic Logic is the science of good reasoning.
Opinion Opinion is a word used to include an unsupported belief, a supported argument, an expert’s judgment, prevailing public sentiment, and a formal statement by a court.
Principal claim and reasons These are the two parts of an argument. The principal claim is the thesis or conclusion. The reasons support this claim through evidence or other claims. A claim is an assertion about something.
Syllogism A syllogism is the standardized form that makes the structure of a deductive argument visible. A syllogism consists of two premises or claims followed by a conclusion inferred from these premises.
Thinking Purposeful mental activity such as reasoning, deciding, judging, believing, supposing, expecting, intending, recalling, remembering, visualizing, imagining, devising, inventing, concentrating, conceiving, considering.
Valid and sound A valid deductive argument is one in which the conclusion is correctly inferred from the premises. An argument is sound when the conclusion cannot be false because the premises are true and the reasoning is valid.






Creative thinking Creative thinking leads to the invention of something new. It makes use of imagination, challenges assumptions, and engages in problem solving.
Critical thinking Critical thinking brings conscious awareness, skills, and standards to the process of observing, analyzing, reasoning, evaluating, reading, and communicating.
Critical thinking standards Criteria used to attain, describe, and judge excellence in critical thinking.