Claim vs. Opinion
Is this a claim or an opinion?
Video games are better than books.
Opinion
Is this a fact or an opinion?
"Pizza is one of the most delicious foods in the world."
Opinion because this is a subjective statement. (It's different for everyone and depends on your feelings.)
Should we call a person mean names when we disagree with them? Why / why not?
NO! Because it is rude and people won't listen to you so you won't be able to persuade / convince them.
What are 4 types of evidence?
Does this evidence prove the claim? Why / why not?
Claim:
Dogs are better than cats because they are better friends.
Evidence:
Statistics show that dogs care more for and love to spend more time with their owners.
Yes because it is directly related and shows the claim is true.
Is this a claim or an opinion?
Video games are better than books because they are more interactive.
Claim
Is this a good way to share your opinion? Why / why not?
"In my honest opinion, books are better than video games."
Yes, because it uses some good language to introduce a subjective thought.
Which sounds stronger and more certain, A or B? Why / Why not?
A: "I mostly agree with you, but would like to add..."
B: "I somewhat agree with you, but I think that maybe..."
A because it uses "mostly" and also only wants to add some more information, while B uses "somewhat" and "thinks that maybe".
Which type of evidence is something that someone important and relevant said about the topic?
Quote
Does this evidence prove the claim? Why / why not?
Claim:
Robot teachers are better than human teachers because they can know everything.
Evidence:
Robots don't get hungry, tired, or emotional.
No because the evidence isn't related to "knowing everything".
What do you need to add to turn a simple opinion into a full claim?
A reason / evidence / explanation
Is this a good way to give your opinion? Why / why not?
"I know that..."
No because if you "know" it is true, it isn't an opinion.
Which sounds more rude / direct, A or B? Why?
A: "I totally disagree with you."
B: "I'm afraid I must disagree with you."
A because it doesn't include any language to make it sound softer, it just directly and fully disagrees.
Which type of evidence uses numbers and true things to prove the claim?
Facts / Statistic
Does this evidence prove the claim? Why / why not?
Claim:
Robots are better teachers than humans because they don't waste time on emotions.
Evidence:
When I was a kid, I had a teacher who really paid attention to our emotions and I think it made us all better students.
No because it seems to prove the opposite of the claim.
Does the evidence support the claim in the following sentence?
Books are better than video games at telling stories because their entire development is about telling a story. A famous author said "I can really devote my time to creating a good story when writing a book because I don't need to do anything else but write!"
Yes
If we want to turn our opinion into a good argument that will persuade / convince other people, what should we include?
Evidence and Reasoning
Which sounds more polite, A or B? Why?
A: "I'm sorry, but I must disagree because..."
B: "I'm sorry, but that's wrong because..."
A because it expresses regret that they are in disagreement where B also expresses regret, but then directly blames the other speaker.
Which type of evidence show a time where the claim was true?
Example
If you read this evidence, what do you think the claim will be?
Evidence:
"95% of students say that they don't learn anything from homework."
Claim:
"Students shouldn't be given homework because it doesn't help them."
Does the evidence support the claim in the following sentence?
Books are better than video games because they can teach us new things. Research shows that 98% of children who both read books and play video games have better vocabulary than students who only read books but play no games.
Not really
Which sounds more uncertain, A or B? Why / why not?
A: "I think that students should have tons of homework every night."
B: "I think it's possible that tons of homework every night might be good for students."
B sounds more uncertain because it uses adjectives (possible) and modal verbs (might) to "hedge" the sentences (make it sound like we aren't making a definitive statement).
Which is the most polite AND certain sentence? Why? (A, B or C)
A: "I am somewhat in disagreement with you because..."
B: "Although you make a good point, I mostly disagree because..."
C: "Although you are very smart, I somewhat disagree because..."
B because it both compliments the speaker and expresses certain disagreement (mostly).
Which type of evidence will give the personal experience of the speaker (or someone else) to show how the claim can be true?
Story / Anecdote
If you read this evidence, what do you think the claim will be?
Evidence:
Even video games with deep and interesting stories are usually based in an imaginary world that doesn't include information about the real world.
Claim:
"Student can't learn from video games because they don't have real information."