FAQs - Frequently Asked QuestionsAsk Your Librarian
Information Literacy Section
If you are intrigued by this section, you might take the course, IFS101, which is offered in the MCCCD. It is designed to "In this course we will focus on identifying an information need, locating and accessing information, evaluating the information you find, and presenting it. We will also examine the importance of visual literacy, and explore the social, economic and ethical issues surrounding the use of information." |
What is argument?
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What is not an argument?
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Here are links to daily issues found through media such as npr.org, news, ads, famous speeches, editorials, photographs, public announcements, etc.
Click on the link to explore the issue. And, what is the issue??? If you can turn the topic into a question, you have the issue.
How does one go about determining the basic question or issue? Sometimes it is very simple: The writer or speaker will tell you what it is. Alternatively, the issue may be identified in the body of the text, usually right at the beginning, or it may even be found in the title. When the issue is explicitly stated, it will be indicated by phrases such as the following:
The question I am raising is: Why must we have laws requiring seat belts in cars?
Lowering the legal drinking age: Is it the right thing to do?
Should sex education be taught in the schools? (Browne&Kelley, p. 21)
Once you have found the conclusion, and sometimes it is necessary to realize what the conclusion is, in order to understand the issue, use it as the focus of your evaluation. It is the destination that the writer or speaker wants you to choose. Your ongoing concern is: Should I accept that conclusion on the basis of what is supporting the claim? (Browne&Kelley, p. 23)
"The incessant media bombardment of images (of salacious bodies and mindless violence) on TV and in movies and music convinced many young people that the culture of gratification...a question for insatiable pleasure, endless tintilation, sexual stimulation, is the only way of being human." Connel West, 185.
Now, click Opposing Viewpoints (found in the library online) and find the pros and cons of an issue.
Be ware! The use of words is very deceptive. The master writer knows how to grab us into his or her message and convince us that what is, is true! Or, is it??? See fallacy. Let's take a quiz to determine if our knowledge of fallacies is correct.
The question I am raising is: Why must we have laws requiring seat belts in cars?
Lowering the legal drinking age: Is it the right thing to do?
Should sex education be taught in the schools? (Browne&Kelley, p. 21)
Once you have found the conclusion, and sometimes it is necessary to realize what the conclusion is, in order to understand the issue, use it as the focus of your evaluation. It is the destination that the writer or speaker wants you to choose. Your ongoing concern is: Should I accept that conclusion on the basis of what is supporting the claim? (Browne&Kelley, p. 23)
"The incessant media bombardment of images (of salacious bodies and mindless violence) on TV and in movies and music convinced many young people that the culture of gratification...a question for insatiable pleasure, endless tintilation, sexual stimulation, is the only way of being human." Connel West, 185.
Now, click Opposing Viewpoints (found in the library online) and find the pros and cons of an issue.
Be ware! The use of words is very deceptive. The master writer knows how to grab us into his or her message and convince us that what is, is true! Or, is it??? See fallacy. Let's take a quiz to determine if our knowledge of fallacies is correct.
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