Evaluating a Text

By : Mrs . Najmunnisa
Siddiqui
 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?
 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?

• critical review of the paper!)when was the text produced?

 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?
 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? 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.
• 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
 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?
 To evaluate quality:

• Are the graphics (images, tables,

charts, diagrams) appropriate and
clearly presented?
• Clearly labeled
• Descriptive title
• Understandable without explanatory 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
 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
• 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
 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

•
• Is your topic one that • Topic areas requiring the
requires current most up-to-date
information? information .
• Has this source been
revised, updated, or • Search catalogs and other
expanded in a databases for more recent
subsequent edition editions
• Worldcat
• Books In Print
• Amazon.com
 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
 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?
 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?
 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
 Difference between Fact and
Opinion
– 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.
– 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.
• 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.
 Fact

Names places dates Can be proven

 Cant be proven

May sound like a fact Feelings

Opinion

Based on judgment Varies

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
• 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)
•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)
 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.
• 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