1. 4 The Art of Critical Reading Reading Critically Mather ▪ McCarthy
PART 4
Reading Critically
Chapter 10
Bias
© 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

2. The Art of Critical Reading The Art of Critical Reading
Mather ▪ McCarthy
The Art of Critical Reading
Mather ▪ McCarthy
Introduction to Bias
A bias is a strong leaning in either a positive or negative direction.
A bias is very similar to a prejudice. Subjective material generally places more emphasis on opinions than facts, and it is more likely to display a strong bias.
Sometimes writers simply state their biases; however, most biases are implied by the writer. So, a critical reader will study the author’s line of reasoning, notice whether opinions are supported by facts and reasons, and then decide if the author’s bias has hindered the making of a good argument.
Chapter 10: Bias
© 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

3. The Art of Critical Reading The Art of Critical Reading
Mather ▪ McCarthy
The Art of Critical Reading
Mather ▪ McCarthy
Even textbooks which primarily deal with factual material, may be affected by author biases.
Authors must decide what facts to include and omit, and what facts to emphasize.
Pay attention to the author’s tone and choice of words to determine if a bias is present.
Such caution is especially important when the material deals with a controversial issue.
Chapter 10: Bias
© 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

4. The Art of Critical Reading The Art of Critical Reading
Mather ▪ McCarthy
The Art of Critical Reading
Mather ▪ McCarthy
Denotative and Connotative Language
The denotative meaning of a word is its exact meaning without the suggestions or implications that it may have taken on. The dictionary definition of a word is its denotative meaning.
The connotative meaning of a word refers to the ideas or feelings suggested by the word. Words that have the same denotative meaning can have much different connotative meanings, but not all words have connotative meanings.
Chapter 10: Bias
© 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

5. The Art of Critical Reading The Art of Critical Reading
Mather ▪ McCarthy
The Art of Critical Reading
Mather ▪ McCarthy
Words that are heavily connotative are often referred to as “loaded” or “emotionally charged.”
Writers who have a particular point of view and want to persuade you to accept that view often make use of loaded words or phrases.
Subjective material is more likely to rely on connotative, rather than denotative, language, and it is more likely to display a strong bias.
Chapter 10: Bias
© 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

6. The Art of Critical Reading The Art of Critical Reading
Mather ▪ McCarthy
The Art of Critical Reading
Mather ▪ McCarthy
Euphemism
When someone substitutes an inoffensive word or phrase for one that could be offensive to someone, they are using a euphemism.
Most of the time euphemisms are used to be polite or to avoid controversy, but they can also be used to purposely mislead and obscure the truth.
Chapter 10: Bias
© 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

7. The Art of Critical Reading The Art of Critical Reading
Mather ▪ McCarthy
The Art of Critical Reading
Mather ▪ McCarthy
An Introduction to Logical Fallacies
Faulty Cause and Effect
In this fallacy, the arguer assumes that because A and B regularly occur together, A must be the cause of B.
Non Sequitur
In a non sequitur argument, the conclusion does not follow from the evidence.
Circular Logic, also called “begging the question”
This fallacy is committed when the conclusion restates the information presented as evidence. You assume as true what you are trying to prove.
Chapter 10: Bias
© 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

8. The Art of Critical Reading The Art of Critical Reading
Mather ▪ McCarthy
The Art of Critical Reading
Mather ▪ McCarthy
Hasty Generalization
We commit this fallacy when we draw a general conclusion from a sample that is biased or too small.
Either/Or (False Dilemma)
This is a fallacy of black-and-white thinking. In this type of fallacy, only two choices are given; there are no shades of gray.
False Analogy (comparing apples and oranges)
In this fallacy, two things that are not really similar are portrayed as being alike.
Chapter 10: Bias
© 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

9. The Art of Critical Reading The Art of Critical Reading
Mather ▪ McCarthy
The Art of Critical Reading
Mather ▪ McCarthy
Ad Hominem (against the man) personal attack (Name-calling)
In this fallacy, the arguer attacks the person making the argument rather than the argument or claim.
Ad Populum (to the people)
This kind of argument seeks to win agreement by making an appeal to common prejudices, values, and emotions. It does not rely on facts or reasoning.
Chapter 10: Bias
© 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

10. The Art of Critical Reading The Art of Critical Reading
Mather ▪ McCarthy
The Art of Critical Reading
Mather ▪ McCarthy
Red Herring
An arguer commits the red herring fallacy when he seeks to distract his audience by raising an irrelevant issue that he claims settles the original point at issue. Attention is directed away from the debatable point to one that most people will agree with.
Slippery Slope
When we assume that the first step will inevitably lead to disaster without presenting the evidence, we are committing the slippery slope fallacy.
Chapter 10: Bias
© 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

11. The Art of Critical Reading The Art of Critical Reading
Mather ▪ McCarthy
The Art of Critical Reading
Mather ▪ McCarthy
Test-Taking Tip
Improving Your Performance on Essay Tests (continued)
Organizing your answer…
This is especially true for “big picture” essay questions.
A traditional essay has an introduction, three paragraphs of development, and a conclusion.
Writing a good introductory statement is very important because it organizes the structure of the essay.
Usually the paragraphs of development each develop one of the main ideas in the introductory statement.
Chapter 10: Bias
© 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.