ENGLISH FOR ACADEMIC

AND PROFESSIONAL
PURPOSES
Quarter 2 – Module 2
DEFENDS A STAND ON AN ISSUE BY
PRESENTING REASONABLE ARGUMENTS
SUPPORTED BY PROPERLY CITED
FACTUAL EVIDENCES
At the end of this lesson, you are expected to:
defend a stand on an issue by presenting reasonable
arguments supported by properly cited factual evidences
● determine different kinds of logical fallacy
● identify factors on authenticity and validity of
evidences/information
● present reasonable arguments and factual evidences to
defend a stand
VOCABULARY LIST

Let’s enrich your vocabulary with these terms that you will
encounter throughout this lesson.
● Stand - viewpoint
● Claims - these are statements that support the author’s stand;
ARGUMENT
● Evidences - these are proofs or evidences to strengthen the
author’s claim
● Fallacy - an error in reasoning which weakens an argument
● Counterclaims – arguments opposing a stand
PRE-TEST True or False
Instructions: Read the statement below. If it is true, draw . If it is false, draw
Write your answers in a paper or in your notebook.
1. Logical fallacies are errors in reasoning that invalidates an argument.
2. Opinions are better than facts in supporting an argument.
3. Statistics can be used as evidence to support an argument.
4. Evidence from expert interviews can strengthen your stand.
5. Bandwagon occurs when someone tries to refute an argument by attacking
the character of a person instead of attacking the ideas of the argument.
Take a glance on the picture below. Then, answer the question: “Which would you follow,
the decision that your mind is saying or the choice that your heart is dictating?” In this
case whichever your choice, you have to defend it with reasonable arguments and factual
evidences

Every now and then, we find the need to take a stand on an issue. How do we defend this
stand? How do we convince others about the soundness of our position?
A.LOGICAL FALLACIES
What are these logical fallacies?
Why is there a need for you to be familiar with it?
LOGICAL FALLACIES are ERRORS IN REASONING
that INVALIDATE AN ARGUMENT. As a critical thinker
you have to identify and examine fallacies and
manipulative language. It is therefore important that you
know some of the common fallacies.
Study the types of fallacy and its
example:
Fallacy Description Example
False Dilemma Occurs when an arguer Either you fully devote
presents his/her argument yourself to company or
as one of only two options you quit.
despite the presence of
multiple possibilities
Appeal to Ignorance Occurs when something is The writer does not talk
instantly concluded to be about the connection
true just because it is not between the victim’s
proven to be false, and vice killer and his sister, so
versa there must be none
Fallacy Description Example
Slippery Slope Occurs when a series of If we ban computer shops,
increasingly superficial and then students will not be
unacceptable consequences is able to do research. And if
drawn they do not have tools for
research, these students will
fail their subjects.
Complex Occurs when two or more “Have you stopped cheating
Question points are rolled into one and on exams?”
the reader is expected to accept
or reject both at the same time,
when one point may be
satisfactory while the other is
not
Fallacy Description Example
Appeal to Force Occurs when a threat, instead of If you do not admit that
reasoning is used to argue evolution is not real, we will
isolate you from the group.

Appeal to Pity Occurs when the element of pity Please do not fire me for being
is used instead of logical absent all month; I have a sick
reasoning mother and a special child to
support.
Appeal to Occurs when unpleasant You can’t believe that
Consequences consequences of believing colonialism is bad, because if it
something are pointed out to were, then we would not be
show that the belief is false civilized.
Fallacy Description Example
Bandwagon Occurs when an argument is Most Filipinas want to have
considered to be valid because it is fair skin because they think
what the majority thinks they look beautiful.
Therefore, having fair skin
must be the real standard of
beauty.
Attacking the Person Occurs when someone tries to refute I cannot accept your
an argument by attacking the argument because, unlike me,
character of a person instead of you were not educated at
attacking the ideas of the argument Harvard University.

Appeal to Authority Occurs when the argument quotes an Bill Gates, the co-founder of
expert who’s not qualified in the Microsoft, recommends the
particular subject matter effective fabric softening
properties of Downy fabric
softener
Fallacy Description Example
Anonymous The authority in question Experts claim that eating
is not mentioned or peanuts causes pimples.
Authority named
Hasty Generalization Occurs when a sample is Martha, the foreigner
not significant enough to from France is very
support a generalization impolite. French people
about a population are mean and rude.

False Analogy Occurs when a writer Drugs are like massages:

assumes that two they make you feel good.
concepts that are similar
in some ways are also
similar in other ways
Fallacy Description Example
Accident Occurs when a general rule is Jaywalking is not allowed,
applied to a situation, even when it so you should not have done
should be an exception that even when you were
being chased by terrorists
Post Hoc It is an informal fallacy that states: Dina saw cat when they went
“Since event A followed event B, home. Along the way, they
event A must have been caused by crashed into a tree. The
event B.” black cat must be the reason
why they met an accident.

Wrong Direction Occurs when the direction between Liver damage leads to
cause and effect is reversed alcoholism.
Fallacy Description Example
Complex Cause Occurs when the explanation for an event We were not able to solve the
is reduced to one thing when there are problem because of limited time,
other factors which also contributed to the even if all the other groups were
event able to do so.
Irrelevant Conclusion Occurs when an argument which is We must support the fight for
supposed to prove something concludes gender equality between men and
something else instead women. Women have suffered
enough violence at home. Violence
against women must be stopped.

Straw Man Occurs when the position of the Opponent: We should relax the law
opposition is twisted so that it is easier to governing the allowed smoking
refute areas in the city. Fallacy: We
should not do so, because the
number of smokers might increase.
Fallacy Description Example
Affirming the Consequent Any argument of the form: If If you are drinking wine, you
A is true then B is true; If B have a problem. Therefore, if
is true therefore A is true you have a problem, you are
drinking wine.
Denying the Antecedent Any argument of the form: If If you are drinking wine, you
A is true then B id true; If A have a problem. Therefore, if
is not true then B is not true you are not drinking wine,
you do not have a problem.

Inconsistency Occurs when arguments Frank is older than Jake,

contradict one another Jake is older than Noli and
Noli is older than Frank.
Warning: Do not use these kinds of logical fallacies when you defend
your stand. It weakens your arguments. So, what are the things that
you have to do in order to refrain from these fallacies? Study the next
topic.
B. FACTORS ON AUTHENTICITY AND VALIDITY OF
EVIDENCES/INFORMATION
The following are some of the criteria assessing whether the source is
suitable to use for academic purposes. The criteria include relevance,
authority, currency, contents and location of sources.

1.Relevance of the Source

● How well does the source support your stand?
● You can check the title, table of contents,
summary, introduction or headings of the text to
have a sense of its content.
2. Authority/Author’s Qualifications
● Is the author’s name identified?
● Is the author’s background, education or training related to the
topic?
● If the source does not have an author, think twice before using it.
● Legitimate academic texts must include citations. Citations
demonstrate that the writer has thoroughly researched the topic and
is not plagiarizing the material.
3. Currency/Date of Publication
● What is the date of the publication?
● In most fields, the data from the older
publications may no longer be valid. As much
as possible, the date pf publication should be at
most five years earlier.
4. Contents/Accuracy of Information
● Does the author have a lot of citations in his or her
text and/or bibliography or works cited section?
● You do not want to use source that is disputable, so
make sure to verify your findings with multiple
sources.
5. Location of Sources
● Where was the source published? Was it published
digitally or in print?
● Is it a book, an academic journal or a reputable
news source as www.nytimes.com or
www.economist.com?
● Does it provide complete publication information
such as author/s, editor/s, title, date of publication
and publisher?
● What is the URL of the website?
● Avoid using blogs or personal homepage and wiki
sites (Wikipedia, Wiktionary, Wikiquotes)
● If the URL includes the top-level domain .edu, then
that means that it has been published by an academic
institution such as university
● Common URLs include .gov (government), .org
(organizations), .com (commercial sites) and .net
(network infrastructures). In academic writing,
reputable sites are those with .edu, .gov, .net and .org
in URL.
Add on: Pieces of evidence to
strengthen the author’s claims: Remember: Aside from your
Evidence from surveys, library research claim/argument, you have to
and experiments Evidence from discuss counter arguments.
informant interviews (those who have These are the arguments
direct experience related to the opposing a stand.
problem/issue Evidence from expert
interviews Source: Valdez, P. N. M.
(2016). English for the Globalized
Classroom Series: English for
Academic and Professional
C. PRESENTATION OF REASONABLE ARGUMENTS
AND FACTUAL EVIDENCES TO DEFEND A STAND

Guidelines in presentation of reasonable arguments and factual

evidences to defend a stand:
● C - ontains a clear proposition or statement that must be defended
● A - ssesses conflicting opinions or opposing views on the issue
● T - akes a firm stand on the issue
● L - ists arguments in an organized manner to defend the stand
● C -onsider your audience/reader
Instructions: Read each statement below and identify what
it describes by choosing the word in the word pool. Write
your answers in a separate sheet of paper.

Logical Fallacies Attacking the Person Bandwagon

False Dilemma Hasty Generalization False Analogy
Post Hoc Complex Cause Wrong Direction
Irrelevant Conclusion
1.These are errors in reasoning that invalidate an argument.
2.It occurs when the direction between cause and effect is
reversed.
3.It occurs when an arguer presents his/her argument as one
of only two options despite the presence of multiple
possibilities.
4.We must support the clean and green program of the
government. Mountaineers have suffered climbing on the
mountains.
5. I cannot accept your argument because unlike me,
you were not educated at Harvard University.
6. We were not able to solve the problem because of
limited time even if all the other groups were able to
do so.
7. It occurs when an argument is considered to be valid
because it is what the majority thinks.
8. It occurs when a writer assumes that two concepts
that are similar in some ways are also similar in other
ways.
9. Juan saw a black cat when they went home. Along the
way, they crashed into a tree. The black cat must be the
reason why they met an accident. Logical Fallacies
Attacking the Person Bandwagon False Dilemma Hasty
Generalization False Analogy Post Hoc Complex Cause
Wrong Direction Irrelevant Conclusion
www.shsph.blogspot.com 10
10. It occurs when a sample is not significant or enough to
support a generalization about a population.
Task 2: Modified True or False
Instructions: Write T if the statement is
true. If it is false change the underlined
word with the correct one. Write your
answers in a separate sheet of paper.
1. The criteria for assessing whether a source is suitable to use for
academic purposes are: relevance, authority, currency contents and
references.
2. Sources not written by experts are not valid.
3. Sources published online should always be used as reference.
4. Sources that are personal and editable such as blogs and Wikipedia
are acceptable.
5. Sources that have no relevance to your academic paper should not
be used.
6. Evidence from surveys, library research and
experiments can strengthen your argument.
7. Evidence from informant interviews (those who
have direct experience related to the problem/issue is
acceptable.
8. Evidence from expert interviews is credible.
9. Outdated sources should not be considered.
Choose Who-One! Instructions: Fill out the box with the needed information.
Have a brief yet clear answer in a separate sheet of paper.

Situation Your mother is in critical condition while laboring your youngest

sibling and according to the doctor only one has the chance to
survive. Because of this, the doctor is asking you to decide as to
who should be kept alive.

STAND/POSITION

EXPLANATION

EVIDENCE

CONCLUSION
D. Y. S. (Defend Your Stand)

Instructions: Given the issue, write your

stand. Defend it using your
claims/arguments. For each argument,
give an evidence. Write your answers in a
separate sheet of paper
Example: Cycling to commute to work or school Stand: In favor
Argument: Health benefits, environment-friendly Evidence:
Cycling as a mode of transport should be promoted since it has
several health benefits. It’s easy on the joints. When you sit on a
bike, you put your weight on a pair of bones in the pelvis called the
ischial tuberosities. “That makes it good for anyone with joint pain
or related stiffness,” says Dr. Clare Safran-Norton, a physical
therapist at Harvard -affiliated Brigham and Women’s Hospital. In
addition, it can save nonrenewable resources. According to the
Encyclopedia of Energy, bicycles can cover a given distance using
one-thousandth of the fuel that an automobile uses. It cuts down on
greenhouse gas emissions and global climate change and reduces
pollutants.
1. Issue: Use of Social Media Websites in school
Stand:______________________________
Argument: __________________________
Evidence: __________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
Issue: Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020
Stand: ______________________________
Argument: __________________________
Evidence: __________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
2. Issue: Who is a better leader: Someone who is loved or someone
who is feared?
Stand: ______________________________
Argument: __________________________
Evidence:
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________
Evaluate the output using the rubric below.
Content: 15%
Organization: 10%
Grammar and Mechanics: 10%
=35%
THANK YOU!