Unit 6 A CRITICAL THINKING: QUESTIONING OPINIONS


It is important to understand the ways authors select and present evidence. It helps you to assess if the author’s reasoning is clear and if the text is biased or not. It’s a useful skill when evaluating both spoken and written texts.


1


Read each opinion. In each case, is it biased, is it supported by evidence and is the reasoning clear?


Opinion


a b c


a Seeing your doctor to have regular health check-ups can actually harm your health. You have to book an appointment. Your work schedule changes that day and you end up rushing to the doctor’s after work – tired and stressed as you drive badly through traffic queues, knowing that you will have to do overtime to catch up the next day. Your doctor tells you your lifestyle is unhealthy, and this news adds to your already high stress levels. Health check-ups? They make you ill!


b A study, first published in 2022, has found that making healthy lifestyle choices from the age of 20 means that you could, on average, live six years longer. Reducing your intake of sugar, salt and fats reduces your risk of putting on weight and getting serious diseases, while eating more vegetables and fruit reduces the risk of getting heart disease by 30%.


c


Is cycling in big cities good or bad for you? In many cities car travel is so slow that it’s quicker to cycle. You have to buy safety equipment such as a helmet. When you exercise hard you breathe more deeply. Think about the fumes you are breathing from cars and lorries. But also think about the extra exercise you are getting on your way to work. It’s hard to reach any firm conclusions.


2


What do you think about the opinions in 1? Think of evidence to support your own views. Discuss your ideas with a classmate.


Biased? Supported by evidence? Clear reasoning?


C21 skills


100


English for the 21st


Century • Unit 6


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