CRITICAL THINKING WORKOUTS

WORKOUT #1 Claims: Exercises

WORKOUT # 1Claims – Drills

Determine if the following statements are claims. If so, indicate whether it is a claim of fact, claim of value, or claim of policy. If it is not a claim, indicate why it not.

  1. Vaccines can prevent disease.
  2. Trees are part of the plant kingdom.
  3. Cloth diapers are better for the environment than disposables.
  4. Cheerios can reduce your cholesterol.
  5. Toyota Priuses get more mileage than most cars.
  6. Toyota Prius is a hybrid car.
  7. Another word for sushi rice is sticky rice.
  8. The Ego, Id, and Superegodetermine an individual’s behavior more than any other factors.
  9. The human brain weighs 3 pounds.
  10. We should prepare for an alien attack by funding NASA & military collaborations.
  11. 78% of all high school students graduate and get their High School Diploma.
  12. Earth is the third planet from the Sun.
  13. These new diet pills helped me to lose 50 pounds!
  14. My favorite food is pizza.
  15. Builds motor skills!
  16. Shown to improve kids attentiveness by 50%!
  17. Snickers satisfies.
  18. “This type of jeering from professional sports figures at the sight of two men kissing fuels the kind of anti-gay bullying that haunts countless gay and lesbian school children on playgrounds all across the country,” Human Rights Campaign president Joe Solmonese said in a statement.
  19. Grand Theft Auto desensitizes our children to violence, which causes more violence in our society.
  20. The rise in hate crimes is due to more prejudice in our society.
  21. Of all the themes in Love in the Time of Cholera, the idea of a one true love is my favorite.
  1. Love in the Time of Cholera is a novel about societal power structures that limit a woman’s ability to make choices about her own life and sexuality, more than anything else.
  2. Love in the Time of Cholera is a novel about lovesickness.
  3. Love in the Time of Cholera is a novel in the genre of magic realism.
  4. Love in the Time of Cholera shows an aspect of love that can be so overwhelming that it can make us succumb to it the way we fall ill to Cholera.
  5. A Cholera plague was part of the setting forLove in the Time of Cholera.
  6. Cholera is an important character in the novel Love in the Time of Cholera.
  7. Health Care is a human right.
  8. Censorship of our free speech erodes our democracy.
  9. An educated and informed citizenry is essential to a thriving democracy.
  10. Keep it simple and set yourself free with OB!
  11. Man was born free.
  12. A public liberal arts college provides a distinctive education at an affordable cost.
  13. Our Mission is your success!
  14. Childhood trauma plays can affect our behavior as adults.
  15. Children who are abandoned have higher rates of incarceration as adults.
  16. Children who are abandoned have more psychological issues as adults.
  17. Parents who don’t show their children love are really selfish.
  18. Parents should show lots of affection to their children if they want them to grow up mentally healthy.
  19. There are bad seeds in every class and there’s nothing you can do to change them.
  20. Children are taught hatred. They aren’t born hating people.
  21. Eat vegetables every day for good health.

Identify the implicit claim. You will have to create/imagine a context in which the statement might be given. Helpful: Create a If…Then…scenario.

  1. Give your baby the best!
  2. A healthy breakfast is shown to increase kids’ attention span and improve learning. Give them Frosted Mini-Wheats.
  3. You can learn a lot from a dummy. Buckle your safety belt.
  4. An apple a day keeps the doctor away.
  5. Get an education.
  6. Stay in school.
  7. Don’t do drugs.
  8. The award for best album of the year goes to…
  9. Donate your organs.
  10. Buy organic.
  11. March against SB1070 Arizona.

Create your own examples of claims:

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Discuss how to make the following weak claims into stronger claims.

  1. Mission College students have a lot of school spirit.
  1. Global warming is a big issue today.
  1. Education leads to success.
  1. We should teach Critical Thinking to make better thinkers in our society.
  1. Music today is so different from anything humans have ever created.
  1. Writing skills are important to getting good grades in college.
  1. Studying literature makes you a better person.
  1. Sociology is better at explaining human behavior for the purposes of solving societal problems.
  1. The Government should not censor our free speech.
  1. If you learn Critical Thinking, you will become a better student.
  1. Lady Gaga is the best pop performer today.
  1. Hip-Hop revolutionized the music industry.
  1. Legalize marijuana.
  1. Legalize euthanasia.
  1. Talking about your problems is helpful.