Response to Kantz, Writing About Writing, pp. 428-446
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Page 446: Questions for Discussion and Journaling
1. Kantz contends that facts, opinions, and arguments are all claims. In her interpretation, facts are claims that everyone generally agrees upon, and therefore exists no debate. Opinions are claims that are not mutually agreed upon, and arguments are claims that one uses to defend his/her opinions.
2. Students misunderstand the validity of certain claims. Just because something sounds like a fact (“That army had a thousand men”) does not necessarily mean it’s accurate. Everything that an author claims is based on the interpretations, beliefs, and prejudices of the author alone, and students have trouble sorting through these. I think that Kantz is correct about student understanding, because I have experienced the same misconceptions during my time as a student. I now feel I have a better grip on how to analyze texts to get the author’s perspective on certain matters, and compare it to the perspectives of others to form a well-rounded rhetorical analysis.