Week 5 Claims

Module 3

RUBY JOSEPHINE LOUISE JABILLES

JAGOBIAO NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL

0
CONTENT STANDARD
The learner realizes that information in a written text may be selected and
organized to achieve a particular purpose.

PERFORMANCE STANDARD
The learner critiques a sample of each pattern of development focusing on
information selection, organization, and development.

LEARNING COMPETENCY
The learner identifies claims explicitly or implicitly made in a
written text (EN11/12RWS-IIIij-6, 6.1-6.3).

Learning Objectives:

1. Identify claims explicitly or implicitly made in

a written text
2. Identify the types of claims: fact, policy and
value

1
 PRE-TEST

Analyze each statement below. Identify whether it claims a Fact, Value or Policy.

_____ 1. Living in the countryside is better than living in the city.

_____ 2. Other planets have been visited by people.

_____ 3. Football is more exciting that basketball.

_____ 4. ASEAN Integration should be made part of the curriculum.

_____ 5. Following healthy diet with enough rest and exercise will make you healthy.

_____ 6. Birds are the most lovable pets.

_____ 7. Law is more encompassing profession than Medicine.

_____ 8. Students should wear their identification card anytime, anywhere in the school campus.

_____ 9. The PBO industry should hire single individuals.

_____ 10. Schools should adopt a recycling program.

ACTIVITY 1. Look at the picture and answer the questions below.

Answer the following questions.

1. What is directly stated in the picture?

_________________________________________________________________________
2. What does the picture say?
_________________________________________________________________________

2
 CONCEPTS
CLAIMS
A claim is an arguable
statement – an idea that a
TYPES OF CLAIMS speaker or writer asks an
audience to accept (del
Claim of FACT Gandio, 2008).
- Asserts that a condition has existed, is existing, or will exist It is an opinion, idea or
and are based on facts or data assertion. It is also called a
- Are often qualified by such terms as generally, probably, or position. It is a statement that
as a rule is not considered accepted
- Asserts a stand regarding a debatable topic by all.
In strategic discourse,
Example: a claim is a statement we
Research studies are conducted to improve human make to an audience with an
condition. anticipation that they should
Climate change has already become an issue in the agree with it.
country.
For example:
Claim of VALUE
- Involves judgments and evaluations • I think we should have
- Judges whether something is good/bad, right/wrong, a universal health care.
just/unjust, ethical/non-ethical, etc • I believe the
- Are simply expressions of taste, preferences and government is corrupt.
prejudices • We need a revolution.

Example:
EXPLICIT vs IMPLICIT
Musical comedy is the best form of entertainment.
Implicit is directly
Communication is better than computation.
stated or implied while
Explicit is directly stated and
Claim of POLICY
spelled out.
- Advocates a specific course of action
- Asserts that specific policies should be instituted as
solutions to problems Examples:
We have not finalized
- Almost always “should” or “ought to” or “must” are included
the decision but have an
in this claim
implicit agreement.
There is a morality
Example:
implicit in his writings.
The mayor should suspend the classes today.
Let me be explicit, I do
Local Malls should provide more parking spaces.
not support this.
He said explicitly, you
will not attend the concert.

Note: To identify the claims in a

text, focus on the first and last
sentences of a paragraph.

3
 ENHANCEMENT ACTIVITIES

Exercise 1. Identify whether the stated claim is a Fact, Policy or Value. (10 points)

_____ 1. The use of civil disobedience during the Civil Rights struggle was reasonable,
moral and necessary.

_____ 2. Fetal tissue research is wrong.

_____ 3. The private ownership of automatic and semi-automatic weapons in the United
States should be banned.

_____ 4. Opera is not as entertaining as musical comedy.

_____ 5. The death penalty as used in the United States is ineffective and impractical.

_____ 6. Fetal tissue research should not be funded by the United States government.

_____ 7. Generally, public secondary schools in America are not adequately preparing
students for college.

_____ 8. The death penalty as applied in the United States is immoral.

_____ 9. Recovered memory should be disallowed as evidence in American courts.

_____ 10. The possibility of an asteroid or meteor hitting Earth is great enough that the
Federal government should be finding plans to prevent it.

4
Exercise 2. Read the text inside the box and answer the questions below the text. (10 points)

Brevity Is An Asset

by George Plimpton

A sensible plan, if you have been asked to speak to an exact limit, is to talk your speech
into a mirror and stop at your allotted time; then cut the speech accordingly. The more
familiar you become with your speech, the more confidently you can deliver it.

As anyone who listens to speeches knows, brevity is an asset. Twenty minutes is ideal. An
hour is the limit an audience can listen comfortable.

In mentioning brevity, it is worth mentioning that the shortest inaugural address was
George Washington's - just 135 words. The longest was William Henry Harrison's in 1841.
He delivered a two-hour 9,000-word speech into the teeth of a freezing northeast wind. he
came down with a cold the following day, and a month later died of pneumonia.

1. What is the claim of the text?

________________________________________________________________________

2. Is the claim explicit or implicit? Justify.

________________________________________________________________________

3. What is the type of claim? Justify.

________________________________________________________________________

4. Who do you think is the target reader of the text? Why?

________________________________________________________________________

5. What prompted the author to write the text?

________________________________________________________________________

5
Exercise 3. Read the text below.

The K to 12 Program was introduced in the Philippines with the aim of providing sufficient
time to master concepts and skills, prepare graduates for higher education, produce lifelong
learners, and prepare students for middle level skills development, entrepreneurship and
employment (Republic of the Philippines Official Gazette). Hence, the program added two
years, of Senior High School (SHS). The courses that can be learned from SHS include
accounting, welding, machinist work, agriculture, music, medical technology, and culinary and
hospitality work.

Although the intention of adding SHS is commendable, some critics claim that there is still a
mismatch between our schooling system and working system. As regards the implementation
of SHS, some people are concerned about the lack of learning materials provided to the
schools. For example, during the school year 2013-2014, learning materials for one school in
Tondo arrived during the last two quarters of the school year. The lack of sufficient facilities,
such as classrooms, chairs, and computer laboratories, is also a problem. Moreover, more
students require more teachers, but there seems to be a lack of teachers as well. Colleges and
universities also assert that they will be losing revenues with the implementation of SHS since
there will be no enrollees for the first year in 2016.

Despite these observations, DepEd is optimistic that these shortages and problems will be
overcome as they claim that these are being addressed. Meanwhile, the Coordinating Council
of Private educational Associations (COCOPEA) lauds DepEd’s implementation of the K to 12
Program. According to its chairman, additional two years of education should not be seen as a
burden.

A. Answer the following questions on a separate sheet of paper. (12 points)

1. What do you think is the stand of the author? Is he/she for or against the implementation
of SHS? Justify your answer.
2. What is the central claim of the text?
3. Who do you think is the target reader of the text? Why?
4. What was currently happening when the text was written? What prompted the author to
write the text?
5. Do you think there is sufficient and valid evidence against and for SHS? Justify your
answer.
6. Based on your own experience, should SHS continue to be implemented?

B. Complete the following table by writing the statements from the text above that fall under the
appropriate type of claim. You can also use another sheet of paper. (6points)

Claim of Fact Claim of Value Claim of Policy

6
 ASSESSMENT

A. Identify whether the stated claim is a FACT, VALUE or POLICY. (10 points)

_____ 1. Swimmers are more attractive than volleyball players.

_____ 2. Soda contains nothing to improve one’s wellness.

_____ 3. Plants are more valuable than animals.

_____ 4. One’s religious inclination determines his/her positive interdependence.

_____ 5. “A family that prays together stays together.”

_____ 6. A clean environment creates a happy and peaceful society.

_____ 7. The Department of Environment and Natural Resources should take equal precautions
toward climate change.

_____ 8. Sleeping eight hours a day makes a person productive.

_____ 9. Research activity needs to be part of the curriculum.

_____ 10. We need to elect council officers to address to address certain concerns of the
people in the barangay.

B. Cut out a news article/editorial or excerpt from newspapers/magazines. Paste on a short

bond paper. Read the article and identify the type of claim present and support with
reasons/explanations. (10 points)

Article/Excerpt: ________________________________________________________

Type of Claim: _________________________________________________________

Reasons/Explanation: ___________________________________________________

Rubric:

10 – The ideas are clear, comprehensive and well-organized and free from grammatical errors.
8 – The ideas are clear and comprehensive, well-organized but contain grammatical errors.
6 – Ideas are clear, comprehensive but not well-organized and contain grammatical errors.
4 – Ideas are clear but not comprehensive, not well-organized and contain grammatical errors.
2 – Ideas are not clear, not comprehensive, not well-organized and contain grammatical errors.

7
 A claim is a statement that is not considered accepted by all. It may be unverified or
controversial to a certain degree.
There are three types of claims: Claim of Fact which asserts some empirical truth; Claim of
Value which asserts a judgement of some sort; and Claim of Policy which asserts that an action
should be taken.
A claim of fact is verifiable, debatable, specific and objective.
A claim of value requires a standard to verify.
A claim of policy suggests a solution or a policy.

APPLICATION

The first part of your Performance Task is to read the given article carefully and answer the
questions that follow. (20 points)

Why ‘Smart’ Objects May Be a Dumb Idea by Zeynep Tufekci

*see Appendix for the full text

Questions

1. What is the main claim of the author?

2. What is the main purpose of the author?
3. What is her tone in delivering the message and how is this tone shaped by the language
used?
4. What is the background of the author?
5. Who are the target readers of the article?
6. What was the context for writing the article? What was the current sociopolitical, economic,
and cultural situation when it was written?
7. Do you think there is sufficient and valid evidence that supports the main claim of the author?
Justify your answer.
8. What are the other important pieces of information that might probably be missing? How would
these missing pieces of information influence the overall structure, tone and message of the
article?
9. What is the nature of the hyperlinks in the article? Are they leading toward a certain
interpretation? Justify your answer.
10. What are the logical fallacies and manipulative language used by the author, if there are any?
Was she accurate and objective in presenting the ideas?

8
 REFLECTION

Answer the following questions.

1. What were your misconceptions about the 2. What new or additional learning have you
topic prior to taking up this lesson? you had after taking up this lesson in
terms of skills, content and attitude?

ADDITIONAL ACTIVITY

Research and read on materials about Hypertext and

Intertext.

References
Barrot, J. S. (2016). Academic Reading and Writing for Senior High School. C&E Publishing
Inc.

Dayagbil, et. al. (2016). Critical Reading and Writing for the Senior High School. Lorimar
Publishing Inc.

Writing Explained. (2020). https://writingexplained.org/implicit-vs-explicit-

difference#:~:text=This%20is%20what%20separates%20these,leaves%20no%20room%20for%20un
certainty.

9
APPENDIX

Why ‘Smart’ Objects May Be a Dumb Idea

By Zeynep Tufekci
Aug. 10, 2015

A FRIDGE that puts milk on your shopping list when you run low. A safe that tallies the cash that is
placed in it. A sniper rifle equipped with advanced computer technology for improved accuracy. A car
that lets you stream music from the Internet.

All of these innovations sound great, until you learn the risks that this type of connectivity carries.
Recently, two security researchers, sitting on a couch and armed only with laptops, remotely took
over a Chrysler Jeep Cherokee speeding along the highway, shutting down its engine as an 18-wheeler
truck rushed toward it. They did this all while a Wired reporter was driving the car. Their expertise
would allow them to hack any Jeep as long as they knew the car’s I.P. address, its network address on
the Internet. They turned the Jeep’s entertainment dashboard into a gateway to the car’s steering,
brakes and transmission.

A hacked car is a high-profile example of what can go wrong with the coming Internet of Things —
objects equipped with software and connected to digital networks. The selling point for these well-
connected objects is added convenience and better safety. In reality, it is a fast-motion train wreck in
privacy and security.

The early Internet was intended to connect people who already trusted one another, like academic
researchers or military networks. It never had the robust security that today’s global network needs.
As the Internet went from a few thousand users to more than three billion, attempts to strengthen
security were stymied because of cost, shortsightedness and competing interests. Connecting
everyday objects to this shaky, insecure base will create the Internet of Hacked Things. This is
irresponsible and potentially catastrophic.

That smart safe? Hackers can empty it with a single USB stick while erasing all logs of its activity —
the evidence of deposits and withdrawals — and of their crime. That high-tech rifle? Researchers
managed to remotely manipulate its target selection without the shooter’s knowing.

Home builders and car manufacturers have shifted to a new business: the risky world of information
technology. Most seem utterly out of their depth.

Although Chrysler quickly recalled 1.4 million Jeeps to patch this particular vulnerability, it took the
company more than a year after the issue was first noted, and the recall occurred only after that
spectacular publicity stunt on the highway and after it was requested by the National Highway Traffic
Safety Administration. In announcing the software fix, the company said that no defect had been
found. If two guys sitting on their couch turning off a speeding car’s engine from miles away doesn’t
qualify, I’m not sure what counts as a defect in Chrysler’s world. And Chrysler is far from the only
company compromised: from BMW to Tesla to General Motors, many automotive brands have been
hacked, with surely more to come.

Dramatic hacks attract the most attention, but the software errors that allow them to occur are
ubiquitous. While complex breaches can take real effort — the Jeep hacker duo spent two years
researching — simple errors in the code can also cause significant failure. Adding software with
millions of lines of code to objects greatly increases their potential for harm.

10
The Internet of Things is also a privacy nightmare. Databases that already have too much information
about us will now be bursting with data on the places we’ve driven, the food we’ve purchased and
more. Last week, at Def Con, the annual information security conference, researchers set up
an Internet of Things village to show how they could hack everyday objects like baby monitors,
thermostats and security cameras.

Connecting everyday objects introduces new risks if done at mass scale. Take that smart refrigerator.
If a single fridge malfunctions, it’s a hassle. However, if the fridge’s computer is connected to its
motor, a software bug or hack could “brick” millions of them all at once — turning them into plastic
pantries with heavy doors.

Cars — two-ton metal objects designed to hurtle down highways — are already bracingly dangerous.
The modern automobile is run by dozens of computers that most manufacturers connect using a
system that is old and known to be insecure. Yet automakers often use that flimsy system to connect
all of the car’s parts. That means once a hacker is in, she’s in everywhere — engine, steering,
transmission and brakes, not just the entertainment system.

For years, security researchers have been warning about the dangers of coupling so many systems in
cars. Alarmed researchers have published academic papers, hacked cars as demonstrations,
and begged the industry to step up. So far, the industry response has been to nod politely and fix
exposed flaws without fundamentally changing the way they operate.

In 1965, Ralph Nader published “Unsafe at Any Speed,” documenting car manufacturers’ resistance
to spending money on safety features like seatbelts. After public debate and finally some legislation,
manufacturers were forced to incorporate safety technologies.

No company wants to be the first to bear the costs of updating the insecure computer systems that
run most cars. We need federal safety regulations to push automakers to move, as a whole industry.
Last month, a bill with privacy and cybersecurity standards for cars was introduced in the Senate.
That’s good, but it’s only a start. We need a new understanding of car safety, and of the safety of any
object running software or connecting to the Internet.

It may be hard to fix security on the digital Internet, but the Internet of Things should not be built on
this faulty foundation. Responding to digital threats by patching only exposed vulnerabilities is giving
just aspirin to a very ill patient.

It isn’t hopeless. We can make programs more reliable and databases more secure. Critical functions
on Internet-connected objects should be isolated and external audits mandated to catch problems
early. But this will require an initial investment to forestall future problems — the exact opposite of
the current corporate impulse. It also may be that not everything needs to be networked, and that the
trade-off in vulnerability isn’t worth it. Maybe cars are unsafe at any I.P.

The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/11/opinion/zeynep-tufekci-why-smart-objects-

may-be-a-dumb-idea.html

11