Section 1 - B: Identifying the writer’s views, claims, feeling and judgements

Section 1 - B: Identifying the writer’s views, claims, feeling and judgements

    Most facts and opinions are presented or argued in argumentative writing. In these argumentative texts, writers often give opinions (they express their viewpoints or oppose someone else’s viewpoints/claims), or make claims (they say they have the answers for the question/problem), give reasons to explain something, give evidence to support their claims, draw implications or predict what will happen, etc. When a reader reads argumentative texts, he or she need to be able to judge the writer’s viewpoint, to see whether he is reading the writer’s subjective opinion or a fact supported by objective evidences and to understand the content of the issue through recognising the writers’ using of some language devices or ‘signal markers’ in comparisons, contrasts, examples, reasons, presumptions, predictions… When writers argue they put forward their own opinions and they often say things like: “This is better than that”, “That problem was caused by this”, “This will change”…

    Sometimes the writer makes his judgements obvious by introducing them with such phrases as: I think we should do this…, I believe…, It is my view that…, For one…, In my opinion…, According to me…, I say…, I would argue that…But often the writer indirectly and implicitly communicates his judgements – whether he agrees or disagrees, approves or disapproves, whether he thinks something is right or wrong - his view bias or standpoint. The writer’s judgements reveal the writer’s attitude towards the things, the events, and the people described. More often than not, the writer tries to lead the readers to the same opinions he makes or to influence the readers to look at things in a certain way by his choice of words, sentence structures, genre, and stylistic devices. If the reader fails to recognize, to feel the writer’s style and tone, he can easily misunderstand the whole passage, even though he understands the meanings of all the sentences of the passage.

    Below are some of the ways in which the writer often uses:

* Emotive and evaluative words: the writer describes states, actions, events and people which imply an attitude as well as describe a characteristic. The right words can make a description come alive and convey exact images, for example:
- He usually manages to bulldoze his way through the committee meetings.
- She is skinny.
- Unfortunately, he failed the exam.

* Similes: the writer compares what he is describing with something else and in doing so he implies his opinion, for example:
- Their furniture was about as comfortable as a castus.
- She sang like a kettle whistling as it boils.
- She smells like a rose.
- The hotel compares favourably with most tents that I have slept in.

* Metaphors: the writer implies a comparison and an opinion. This is a more subtle way of suggesting how one thing is like another, for example:
- I am an island.
- The hotel was a huge and splendid rubbish dump.
- He’s really just a lamb.

* Irony: the writer says one thing but really means the opposite, for example:
- The food was so delicious that I took it home for my dog.
- He sang wonderfully – like a seagull in full flight.

* Exaggeration: the writer deliberately exaggerates in order to emphasize a point, for example:
- The dog can eat up a mountain of food.
- Jasmine is so incredibly beautiful as to be the eighth wonder of the world.
- There was a wonderful view through the floor of the plane.

* Rhetorical questions: the writer makes questions more to show his attitude than to expect an answer, for example:
- Is this called “money” in its real sense of word?
- Why do I always meet with misfortune?

    Now practise identifying the writer's views and claims. The most common type of this exercise is the Yes, No, Not Given questions. Read the following hints first.

Tip Strip • The Yes, No, Not Given questions may test how well you can identify opinions and understand the passage. • The questions often contain some information and follow the order of information in the passage. • Start with the first question and note the key words. • Skim or scan the passage until you come to the part where the writer is discussing his/her views on the topic or idea presented in the question. If you cannot find any information on this, the answer may be ‘Not given’ or ‘No information’ or ‘doesn’t say’. Check it carefully and decide to write “Not given” or not to choose it. • If you do find some information, decide whether the writer’s views are the same or the opposite of those given in the question. Then you can write it’s True/ False or decide it is matched / correct /  incorrect.

EXERCISE 1: 

    Do the following statements agree with the views of the writer? The statements are a list of opinions then you will need to use a variety of reading skills to decide whether the answer is:

Yes = the writer holds the same opinion
No = the writer holds the opposite opinion
Not given = the writer doesn’t say anything about this

    Music is clearly different from language. People can; nevertheless, use it to communicate things – especially their emotions – and when allied with speech in a song, it is one of the most powerful means of communication that humans have. But what, biologically speaking, is it? If music is truly distinct from speech, then it ought to have a distinct processing mechanism in the brain- one that keeps it separate from the interpretation of other sounds, including language. The evidence suggests that such a separate mechanism does, indeed, exist.

    Scientific curiosity about the auditory system dates back to the mid-19th century. In 1861 Paul Broca, a French surgeon, observed that speech was impaired by damage to a particular part of the brain, now known as Broca’s area. In 1874 Carl Wernicle, a German neurologist, made a similar observation about another brain area and was similarly immortalised. The location of different language-processing tasks in Broca’s areas (found in the brain left temporal lobe, above the ear) was one of the first pieces of evidence that different bits of the brain are specialised to do different jobs.

1. Music needs words in order to become a truly effective means of communication.

2. Scientists are still looking for a way to show that the brain processes music and language separately.

3. Paul Broca attempted to distinguish the processing mechanism of music and language.

4. The work of Broca and Wernicke marked the
beginning of research into the brain and its role in the production of language.

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EXERCISE 2: 

    Do the following statements agree with the writer’s views in the reading passage?

Cleaner Industrial Production: Why?

    Industry continues to pose a potential threat to the environment, both globally and locally. It accounts for approximately one-third of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions and a large percentage of the hazardous waste generated.

    For the past two decades, industry in most developed countries has relied on end-of-pipe pollution abatement as the main pollution control technique. Although end-of-pipe treatment is effective, it has proved to be expensive.

    Nowadays the more progressive countries are calling for cleaner industrial production, a preventive approach that attempts to minimize waste. This holistic approach demands that the industrial pollutants be treated not at the end-of-pipe stage, but rather that they be prevented altogether, throughout the production process.

    Cleaner production techniques range from inside-the-factory changes in management, to shop-floor operations and processes, equipment and sometimes alterations in the products themselves. Cleaner production means adapting industrial processes to use raw materials and energy more efficiently, to eliminate toxic raw materials and to generally reduce emissions and wastes.

    Enterprises everywhere are reaping environmental financial benefits from cleaner industrial production. Many developing countries and economies in transition are unaware of the benefits of preventive measures: not only do they reduce wastes and the consumption of energy and water but they also offer the prospect of utilizing or recycling by-products. In some cases, these countries do not have information about cleaner production and in other cases, they fail to appreciate the environmental and financial benefits of cleaner production activities.

    Indicate:

Yes                 if the statement agrees with the writer
No                  if the statement does not agree with the writer
Not given        if there is no information about this in the passage.

 1. End-of-pipe treatment is an ineffective way to control pollution.
 2. Cleaner industrial production is the best way to control industrial pollution.
 3. Cleaner production if fully implemented will involve management change.
 4. Some countries do not realize the financial advantages of clean production.
 5. All industries have an obligation to control pollution.

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EXERCISE 3: 

    Here are different sentences. Decide which ones imply disapproval (D), which ones, on the contrary, carry praise (P).

 a) Of all the so-called ‘How To’ books in existence… Mr. Hollingsworth's "How To Drive a Steam Locomotive" is surely the most discouraging.
 b) A review cannot do justice to the wealth of topics, the rich store of ideas with which Losenz presents us.
 c) I cannot praise this book too highly.
 d) There is so much wrong with this project that we had better start with what’s right.

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EXERCISE 4: 

    Who are in favour of the proposal for a new motorway to be built through their town. What stylistic device is used in each sentence?

Who? 

a) Andrews: “It would attract visitors to our town who could pass through it without spending a penny.”

b) Joyner: “This is the greatest idea since the Second World War was thought of.”

c)  Price: “It would be as good as a high speed train taking us an hour nearer to London.”

d) Bell: “The new road would be a dragon breathing fumes and congestion on our helpless town.

e) Newbrook: “It would transform us
from a dwarf into a giant.”

f) Etchells: “The road would demolish home and hopes of peace and quietness”

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EXERCISE 5: 

    What are the writer’s views in the following passages? What are the clues for your answers?

a) What’s wrong with husbands and wives working together? This week a housewife brought a case of unfair dismissal against a travel agency. It seems that as soon as she announced her engagement to the Assistant Manager she became an unsatisfactory employee.

b) It is only in civilized countries that this kind of terrorism can hope to succeed. To leave the terrorists unpublicised would like to render them ineffective, but the terrorists are able to count on the likelihood that in the civilised country the freedom of information will not be restricted.

c) The new resort of Karacruz is a paradise for lovers of concrete, plastic and unfinished works of art. Everywhere buildings stand symbolically bereft of doors or roofs or significantly without windows. The place is unique and should be visited by all lovers of the bizarre and grotesque and by all those jet set tourists surfeited with the luxury and comfort of the average resort.

d) They are closing down the local hospital next month. From then on our patients from here will be allowed to use the much more modern hospital in Bishop’s Stortford, fifteen miles away. No longer will we have to sit alone and suffer the view of the gasworks while we wait. Instead we’ll be able to enjoy the Hertfordshire scenery as the bus does its pleasant round of the villages, and we’ll be able to meet people from four different towns as we queue for our cup of tea.

Answer Key: 


a .The writer protests indignantly against the unfair treatment of woman employees.(What’s wrong with...?)
b. The writer opposes the freedom of information because it helps the terrorists to achieve their goal (To leave the terrorists... will not be restricted.)
c. The writer describes sarcastically the resort. It is ugly, uncomfortable and unfinished (... paradise for lovers of concrete, plastic and unfinished work of art... lovers of the... average resort.)
d. The writer ironically gives some disadvantages of the new modern hospital.(No longer... cup of tea.)

EXERCISE 6: 

    In the extracts below, there are opinions of a business executive (A), a racing driver (B), an actress (C), a lawyer (D) and a surgeon (E), read and decide which people are speaking in each extract, how they feel in their jobs. Then give the reason for your choice.

    The following words could help you to describe their feeling:

    angry – nervous – impatient – irritated – terrified – fatalistic – self - confident – realistic – calm – over - confident – unimaginative - insensitive

 a) The night before I’m tremendously excited. I control my nerves by wandering around, talking to anyone who’s handy. Sometimes, though, you don’t really listen. You just go through the motions of conversation as a kind of release.

 b) Before every opening night someone - usually my mother or my son – gives me a toy frog. If I didn’t get one, that would make me even worse.

 c) It’s absolutely critical to get a good night’s sleep to do the job properly. I hate the feeling of being only half there. Except for the occasional beer, I don’t drink because I like to be alert and on the ball. It’s also important for me to dress the way I feel comfortable, which means a sweater and jeans.

 d) What does make me want to run away is speaking in public. Once I was supposed to make a speech at my best friend’s wedding. Instead I jumped out of the window and broke my leg.

 e) Doing what I do is rather like having a baby – there’s no way but to go on. It’s not like cutting a dress pattern where if you go wrong you can turn it into a skirt instead. I don’t have any anxieties about it though. Even as a student I was aching to actually do it.’

 f) The night before I Prepare notes, I don’t get much sleep, I just lie there making speeches all night. Sometimes I think of a way to make it come alive, so I get out of bed and write it down. By the time I finish, my muscles are knotted up.

 g) What makes me tense and keeps me awake is going to meetings. Sometimes I go there to get a fair deal for myself and my colleagues, only to discover that the all-male committee has taken a decision beforehand. The lack of fair play is a challenge I can’t successfully deal with yet.

 h) Unlike a lot of people in my job, I avoid superstition. Blue underpants are popular – supposedly you won’t get injured if you’re wearing them.

 i) When I work on TV I’m not so bad – I find it less demanding to be myself. What gets on my nerves is the burden on women to look pretty on television. A man can just walk on as the host of a chat show, but I have to spend hours getting ready.

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