2019-10-08 Writing: facts and opinions

Greg Malivuk
gmalivuk@staffordhouse.com
http://www.pastebin.com/u/gmalivuk - Notes from all classes
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Homework: p. 168-169 - Read about video games and violence and then answer the questions about the paragraph on p. 169.
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1 Violent video games are harmful to young people.
  “In my opinion” (and in conclusion, “I feel”)
2 three
3 First of all
  A second reason...is that
  A third reason is that
4 Why the first one?
	- It’s based on facts and studies. It’s more universal.
	(But there’s no emotional impact, and we don’t know the methods of the research.)
  Why the last one?
	- It has strong emotional impact. It’s an extreme example.
	(But the writer doesn’t prove any connection between the example and video games.)
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Topic Sentence: In my opinion...people.
A.  changes in behavior
	1.  more aggressive thoughts and angry feelings
	2.  more fights and arguments with teachers
B.  make people less sensitive to violence
	1.  entertaining to kill
	2.  Noah Wilson
C.  kids with problems may not understand violence isn’t a good solution
	1.  Columbine
Conclusion: For these three reasons,...banned.
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The Columbine shooters had gone bowling the morning before they killed their classmates.
- Does this prove that bowling leads to violent behavior?
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p. 170 part A - write the adjective form of each noun
1 violent
2 harmful
3 aggressive
4 angry
5 sensitive
6 entertaining
7 imaginative
8 emotional
part B - choose the correct form in each sentence
1 violence
2 harm
3 entertainment
4 aggression
5 emotional
6 imagination
7 entertaining
8 sensitivity
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My neighborhood is a very safe place.
I enjoy living there because of the safety.
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Facts and Opinions
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facts are objective; they’re the same for everyone
	If you and I disagree about a fact, at least one of us is wrong.
opinions are subjective; they can be different for different people
	If you and I disagree about an opinion, neither of us is necessarily wrong.
	We can “agree to disagree”.
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true fact: It is 17 degrees in Boston right now.
“false fact”: It is 25 degrees in Boston right now.
unverified fact: It is 17 degrees in New York right now.
conjecture/guess: It’s probably about 17 degrees in New York right now.

opinion: It is too cold to go swimming.
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p. 172 practice 3 - Decide if each stateement is a fact or opinion
A. 		fact
	1.	fact
	2. 	fact
B. 		opinion (or unverified fact - we could check whether they in fact make people less sensitive)
	1. I believe that...children. opinion
	2. 	fact
	3. 	fact (She really did claim this.)
C. In my opinion...solution. opinion
	1. 	fact
	2. Two students...school. fact
	3. 	fact
I feel...banned. opinion
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What facts could support the opinion, “It’s too cold to swim today”?
	- the temperature of the water and the air
	- the number of other people swimming
	- the typical relationship between temperature and people swimming
	- the effects of cold temperatures on the body (e.g. hypothermia)
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Homework: list some facts that (if true) could support these two opinions
	1. It is bad to learn English.
	2. Everyone should become vegetarian.