MELC: Judge the relevance and worth of ideas, the soundness

of the author’s reasoning, and the effectiveness of the

presentation.
Judging the Relevance
and Worth of Ideas
Reading is an active process of constructing meaning. As one
reads, (printed or digital), he/she acquires more knowledge. The
information taken from the text allows the reader to construct
interpretation and integration of the knowledge he/she has. The
knowledge empowers the reader to judge the relevance and worth
of ideas to his/her reading goals. Relevance simply means
worthiness; the quality of being suitable or having some kind of value.
The information that closely matches a reader’s goal is more
relevant, whereas information that does not match the goal is less
relevant.
• Literature as one of its purposes, makes people learn from the
ideas.
• Ideas are thoughts that are expressed around us through the
different materials we encounter. These ideas are presented in
verbal, printed, or digital form.
• Literature is seen as especially valuable because it is relevant to
you as the reader. Thus, the literary piece has ideas that are sound
and that can be applied in the reader’s own life.
To find value in literature, readers first judge how solid the ideas
are and how sound the judgment of an author is. In this way, the
author can act as the voice of wisdom that teaches the reader
without the reader himself/ herself having to go through the
experience that the author had gone through. This is called vicarious
learning.
We should remember the following when judging the relevance and
worth of ideas of the materials presented:

• First, note important information or facts;

• Second, gather pieces of evidence;
• Third, validate the source of information and the information
itself by comparing the information from other valid resources;
• Fourth, check the organization and clarity of ideas, and
• Lastly, examine the appropriateness of the language used.
Try to Connect
Read and reflect on this poem by Langston Hughes and answer the questions that follow.
Write the correct answer in your activity notebook.

DREAMS DEFERRED
Langston Hughes

What happens to a dream deferred?

Does it dry up
Like a raisin in the sun?
Or fester like a sore –
And then run?
Does it stink like rotten meat?
Or crust and sugar over –
Like a syrupy sweet?
Maybe just sags
Like a heavy load,
Or does it explode?
The poet reveals the speaker’s feelings mainly by using
_______________

a. personification to show the characteristics of a dream.

b. similes to describe what happens to dreams.
c. metaphors to describe what happens to dreams.
d. synecdoche to show what dreams mean.
The repetition of the word “like” emphasizes the speaker’s desire to
_______________

a. Find out what happens to dreams.

b. See how dreams disappear.
c. Understand what a dream is.
d. both A and B
The poet helps the reader understand how it felt to_______________

a. forget about a dream.

b. be a dried-up raisin.
c. run away from the dream.
d. have a dream.
Based on the first stanza, the reader can conclude that the
speaker______________

a. hates having a dream.

b. remembers all his dreams.
c. is curious of what happens to dreams.
d. loves dreaming.
The imagery in lines 1 through 8 helps the reader understand what
______________

a. the reader thinks happens to a dream deferred.

b. a dream looks like.
c. the dreams do.
d. a dream should be made of.
Bridging Knowledge
Directions: Match the terms in Column A with their correct
definitions in Column B. Write the letter of the correct answer
on the blank before each number.
1. Reading A. The process of forming an understanding while reading a text
2. Knowledge B. The importance or value of information in relation to one's
reading goals
3. Interpretation C. The act of acquiring meaning from printed or digital text
4. Integration D. The combination of new information with prior understanding
5. Relevance E. Information and understanding gained through reading
6. Literature F. The process of gaining knowledge through another person’s
experiences
7. Ideas G. Thoughts expressed in verbal, printed, or digital form
8. Relevance H. The significance or applicability of a literary piece to the
reader’s life
9. Judgment I. The act of evaluating the soundness of an author’s ideas
10. Vicarious Learning J. A form of written or spoken work that conveys ideas and
meaning
AGREE or DISAGREE
• Social media does more harm than good.
• School uniforms should be mandatory.
• Fast food should be banned in schools.
• Homework is necessary for learning.
• Online learning is more effective than in-person learning.
• Mental health days should be mandatory for students.
• Students should be allowed to use cell phones in class.
• Grades do not reflect a student’s intelligence.
• Homework should be optional in schools.
• The death penalty should be abolished.
Judging the Soundness of
the Author’s Reasoning
• A claim is a statement that presents an arguable position. It
mirrors your interpretation, belief, or opinion.

• Claim usually answers the question: “What do I think?”

• To answer a claim by responding or denying it with corresponding

reasons or evidence is to make a counterclaim.

• A counterclaim is the strongest argument against your claim.

• Claim: I believe that William Shakespeare is the father of English
sonnets because he made 154 sonnets in his lifetime. (Reason or
evidence to confirm the claim.)

• Counterclaim: According to my research, it was Sir Thomas who

introduced the concept of sonnet to the English writers, and he
made a rhyming scheme that became popular, wherein even
Shakespeare used it.
• To counter or argue a claim, consider a different opinion or
contrary view. Then provide evidence that would back up your
argument.

• Claim: Children nowadays are less sociable because they are

glued to their gadgets.
• Counterclaim: Children of today are just as sociable as the
previous generations. Researchers from Ohio State University
looked at evaluations of children and found that time spent on
screens had little to no impact on a child's social skills despite an
increase in screen time.
• Social media does more harm than good.
• School uniforms should be mandatory.
• Fast food should be banned in schools.
• Homework is necessary for learning.
• Online learning is more effective than in-person learning.
• Mental health days should be mandatory for students.
• Students should be allowed to use cell phones in class.
• Grades do not reflect a student’s intelligence.
• Homework should be optional in schools.
• The death penalty should be abolished.
Identifying Claims and
Counterclaims
Directions: Read each statement carefully. Choose A if it is a Claim
and B if it is a Counterclaim.
1. Homework should be banned because it causes unnecessary stress for
students.
2. Some argue that homework is essential for reinforcing learning and
responsibility.
3. Video games improve problem-solving skills and hand-eye coordination.
4. Critics say video games promote laziness and social isolation.
5. Fast food contributes to obesity and should be heavily taxed.
6. Many believe that fast food is affordable and convenient for busy families.
7. Schools should have a four-day school week to give students more rest.
8. However, others believe that reducing school days would negatively impact
learning.
9. Social media helps people stay connected with family and friends.
10. On the other hand, social media can cause loneliness and cyberbullying.
• Soundness means the quality of being based on valid reasons,
good judgment, or reasoning.
• Many students have the impression that informational texts posted
on social media are true and correct.
• A lot of informational texts are based on an author’s ideas, beliefs,
or opinions that are sometimes not considered to be sound.
• Readers must not assume that everything in an informational text is
true.
• There was news last March 2020 saying that bananas can cure
Covid-19; it garnered a lot of shares, likes, and comments. Yet that
news has been found to be misleading and definitely not true. Just
because it’s on the Internet doesn’t mean it’s true.
• Students should focus on the author’s main idea. In addition, they
should identify the author’s reasons and pieces of evidence that
support the author’s belief.
• In order to judge the soundness of the author’s reasoning, the
following questions can be considered:
1. What does the author want the reader to believe?
(CLAIM)
2. How does the author help us believe his/her statement?
(EVIDENCE)
3. Is the supporting evidence strong enough to support the
author’s main idea or belief? (REASON)
• To determine whether an author’s reasoning is valid and sound,
you must critically evaluate the text and assess the quality of the
author's ideas by analyzing the supporting evidence. Just as a
sturdy table relies on strong legs for support, a well-reasoned
argument depends on solid evidence and logical reasoning. Your
ability to judge the strength of an argument is a reflection of your
own reasoning skills.
• The characteristics of sound reasoning include:
• 1.The quality of data;
• 2.The existence of supporting details;
• 3.The relevance of the additional data; and
• 4.The existence of additional possible explanations for your
reasons.
Make a claim!

Write down the claim in the following passages. Then, write the
statement that provides the reason or evidence supporting the
claim.
1. People have been less physically active since the pandemic.
Experts found out that, unsurprisingly, almost everyone’s exercise
habits changed when the pandemic started. Instead of walking and
biking in the park, they chose to stay at home for it save lives and
mitigate the spread of the virus.
2. As of 2018, the universal health care scheme protected an
estimated 98 percent of the Philippines' population. This came very
close to achieving the target of universal healthcare coverage.
Insurance is more important than ever in light of the COVID-19
pandemic and recent calamities in the Philippines
3. Tobacco serves different purposes. Some tobacco products
are even sold in health food and herbal medicine stores. However,
The World Health Organization considers all forms of tobacco as
lethal. Death may result from any tobacco-related diseases, such as
cancer and cardiovascular disease. Smoking mothers may harm
their unborn babies.
4. Loneliness is not the same as aloneness. Loneliness is a sensation of
emptiness, a sense of something being lost, a suffering, a sadness, a
desire, an incompleteness, and an absence. At the same time,
aloneness is a choice of being alone but having the feeling of
fullness, aliveness, and pleasure of being. In aloneness, you are
complete. Nobody is needed; you are enough.
5. Overwork can also be deadly. Overwork is the cause of death in
about 200 people a year in Japan. This phenomenon –labelled as
karoshi, “death from overwork” –stretches far beyond Japan.
Chronic overwork has been linked to obesity, alcoholism, heart
disease, workplace accidents, drug dependency, anxiety, fatigue,
depression, and many other stress-related disorders. Clearly, smoking
is a dangerous habit and should be stopped. Evidences tell us that
the author uses facts to validate his/her information. Therefore, his
reasoning is sound.
Validate Info

Statements below are taken from former US President Obama’s There

Were No Winners In This Government Shutdown speech. Identify
which of the statements contain factual information (statements that
can be verified or proven to be true or false) or subjective content
(involves judgment, feeling, opinion, intuition, or emotion rather than
factual information). Write F for factual and S for subjective. Write
your answer in your notebook
1. There were no winners in this government shutdown.
2. At a time when our economy needs more growth and more jobs, the
manufactured crises of these last few weeks actually harmed jobs and
growth.
3. The way business is done in Washington has to change.
4. First, we should sit down and pursue a balanced approach to a
responsible budget, one that grows our economy faster and shrinks our
long-term deficits further.
5. Second, we should finish the job of fixing our broken immigration
system.
6. There is already a broad coalition across America that is behind this
effort, from business leaders to faith leaders to law enforcement. It
would grow our economy. It would secure our borders.
7. The Senate has already passed a bill with strong bipartisan support.
8. Those of us who have the privilege to serve this country have an
obligation to do our job the best we can.
9. Third, we should pass a farm bill –one that America’s farmers and
ranchers can depend on.
10. It would not be easy. But we can make progress.