Republic of the Philippines

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
National Capital Region
Division of Taguig City and Pateros
ARMY’S ANGELS INTEGRATED SCHOOL, INC.

A LEARNING MODULE IN

ENGLISH 9
QUARTER 3

Prepared by:
Mr. Sandy N. Navergas
LESSON 1
Topic: “Prejudices and its types”
Objective: Apprehend the meaning prejudice.

Prejudices
Prejudice is an affective feeling towards a person or group member based solely on their group
membership. The word is often used to refer to preconceived, usually unfavorable, feelings towards people or a
person because of their sex, gender, beliefs, values, social class, age, disability, religion, sexuality,
race/ethnicity, language, nationality, beauty, occupation, education, criminality, sport team affiliation or other
personal characteristics. In this case, it refers to a positive or negative evaluation of another person based on
their perceived group membership.
Prejudice can also refer to unfounded beliefs and it may include "any unreasonable attitude that is
unusually resistant to rational influence". Gordon Allport defined prejudice as a "feeling, favorable or
unfavorable, toward a person or thing, prior to, or not based on, actual experience". For the evolutionary
psychology perspective, see Prejudice from an evolutionary perspective. Auestad (2015) defines prejudice as
characterized by 'symbolic transfer', transfer of a value-laden meaning content onto a socially formed category
and then on to individuals who are taken to belong to that category, resistance to change, and
overgeneralization.
Types
Prejudice can be based on a number of factors including sex, race, age, sexual orientation, nationality,
socioeconomic status, and religion. Some of the most well-known types of prejudice include:
 Racism
 prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism directed against a person or people on the basis
of their membership in a particular racial or ethnic group, typically one that is a minority
or marginalized.
 Sexism
 prejudice, stereotyping, or discrimination, typically against women, on the basis of sex.
"sexism in language is an offensive reminder of the way the culture sees
women"
 Ageism
 Ageism, also spelled agism, is stereotyping and/or discrimination against individuals or
groups on the basis of their age. This may be casual or systematic. The term was coined
in 1969 by Robert Neil Butler to describe discrimination against seniors, and patterned on
sexism and racism.
 Classism
 prejudice against or in favor of people belonging to a particular social class.
"they are told to be on watch against the evils of classism"

 Homophobia
 It encompasses a range of negative attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people
who are identified or perceived as being lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT).
 Nationalism
 identification with one's own nation and support for its interests, especially to the
exclusion or detriment of the interests of other nations.
 Religious prejudice
 Religious prejudice has led to discrimination, including oppression of religious practices,
refusal to hire persons of the opposing religious beliefs.
 Xenophobia
 dislike of or prejudice against people from other countries.
"the resurgence of racism and xenophobia"

What causes prejudice?

A person's upbringing may cause them to become prejudiced. If parents had prejudices of their own,
there is a chance that these opinions will be passed on to the next generation. One bad experience with a person
from a particular group can cause a person to think of all people from that group in the same way.
What We Can Do to Reduce Prejudice?
In addition to looking at the reasons why prejudice occurs, researchers have also explored different ways
that prejudice can be reduced or even eliminated. Training people to become more empathetic to members of
other groups is one method that has shown a considerable success.
By imagining themselves in the same situation, people are able to think about how they would react and gain a
greater understanding of other people's actions.
Other techniques that are used to reduce prejudice include:

 Gaining public support and awareness for anti-prejudice social norms

 Increasing contact with members of other social groups
 Making people aware of the inconsistencies in their own beliefs
 Passing laws and regulations that require fair and equal treatment for all groups of people

LESSON 2
Topic: “Bias and its types”
Objective: Apprehend the meaning of Bias.

Biases
Bias is prejudice in favor of or against one thing, person, or group compared with another, usually in a
way considered to be unfair.
Biases can be learned implicitly within cultural contexts. People may develop biases toward or against
an individual, an ethnic group, a sexual or gender identity, a nation, a religion, a social class, a political party,
theoretical paradigms and ideologies within academic domains, or a species. Biased means one-sided, lacking a
neutral viewpoint, or not having an open mind. Bias can come in many forms and is related to prejudice and
intuition.
In science and engineering, a bias is a systematic error. Statistical bias results from an unfair sampling of
a population, or from an estimation process that does not give accurate results on average.

What is Cognitive Bias?

A cognitive bias is an error in cognition that arises in a person’s line of reasoning when making a decision is
flawed by personal beliefs.
CORRESPONDENCE BIAS OR ATTRIBUTION EFFECT
Tendency to judge a person’s personality by his or her actions, without regard for external factors on influence.

Ex: These soldiers who fought in the war are all bloodthirsty murderer.

CONFIRMATION BIAS
Tendency to look for and readily accept information which fits with one’s own beliefs or views and to reject
ideas or views that go against it.

Ex: How can I accept his view that there is no God? I am a Christian!

FRAMING
Focusing on a certain aspect of a problem while ignoring other aspects.

Ex: Preliminary evidences have still not pointed out the actual cause of the plane crash, but investigators
are currently focusing on the possibility of pilot error.

HINDSIGHT
The tendency to see past events as predictable, or to ascribe a pattern to historical; events.
 Ex: Magellan’s assault on Mactan Island was a foolhardy venture, made by an overconfident, careless
man who underestimated the valor of the native Filipinos.

CONFLICT OF INTEREST
A person or group is connected to or has a vested interest in the issue being discussed.

Ex: As the daughter of the accused, I believe I have the right to express my opinion on the issue of his
alleged corrupt practices.

CULTURAL BIAS
Analyzing an event or issue based on one’s cultural standards.

Ex: I do not agree with this Western practice of placing aged parents in retirement homes. We Filipinos
take care of your family members.

Types of Media Bias

Bias by omission
– leaving one side out of an article, or a series of articles over a period of time; ignoring facts that tend
to disprove liberal or conservative claims, or that support liberal or conservative beliefs; bias by omission can
occur either within a story, or over the long term as a particular news outlet reports one set of events, but not
another. To find instances of bias by omission, be aware of the conservative and liberal perspectives on current
issues. See if both the conservative and liberal perspectives are included in stories on a particular event or
policy.

Bias by selection of sources

– including more sources that support one view over another. This bias can also be seen when a reporter
uses such phrases as “experts believe”, “observers say,” or “most people believe”. Experts in news stories are
like expert witnesses in trials. If you know whether the defense or the prosecution called a particular expert
witness to the stand, you know which way the witness will testify. And when a news story only presents one
side, it is obviously the side the reporter supports. (Journalists often go looking for quotes to fit their favorite
argument into a news story.)
To find bias by use of experts or sources, stay alert to the affiliations and political perspective of those quoted as
experts or authorities in news stories. Not all stories will include experts, but in those that do, make sure about
an
equal number of conservatives and liberals are quoted. If a story quotes non-experts, such as those portrayed as
average citizens, check to be sure that about an equal number come from both sides of the issue in question.

Bias by story selection

– a pattern of highlighting news stories that coincide with the agenda of either the Left or the Right,
while ignoring stories that coincide with the opposing view; printing a story or study released by a liberal or
conservative group but ignoring studies on the same or similar topics released by the opposing group. To
identify bias by story selection you’ll need to know the conservative and liberal sides of the issue. See how
much coverage conservative issues get compared to issues on the liberal agenda, or liberals compared to
conservatives. For example, if a liberal group puts out a study proving a liberal point, look at how much
coverage it got compared to a conservative study issued a few days or weeks earlier, or vice versa. If charges of
impropriety are leveled at two politicians of approximately equal power, one liberal and one conservative,
compare the amount of coverage given to each.

Bias by placement
– Story placement is a measure of how important the editor considers the story. Studies have shown that,
in the case of the average newspaper reader and the average news story, most people read only the headline.
Bias by placement is where in the paper or in an article a story or event is printed; a pattern of placing
news stories so as to downplay information supportive of either conservative views or liberal views. To locate
examples of bias by placement, observe where a newspaper places political stories. Or whenever you read a
story,
see how far into the story each viewpoint first appears. In a fair and balanced story, the reporter would quote or
summarize the liberal and conservative view at about the same place in the story. If not, you’ve found bias by
placement.

Bias by labeling
- Bias by labeling comes in two forms. The first is the tagging of conservative politicians and groups
with extreme labels while leaving liberal politicians and groups unlabeled or with more mild labels, or vice
versa. The second kind of bias by labeling occurs when a reporter not only fails to identify a liberal as a liberal
or a conservative as a conservative, but describes the person or group with positive labels, such as “an expert”
or “independent consumer group”. In so doing, the reporter imparts an air of authority that the source does not
deserve. If the “expert” is properly called a “conservative” or a “liberal” the news consumer can take that
ideological slant into account when evaluating the accuracy of an assertion. When looking for bias by labeling,
remember that not all labeling is biased or wrong. Bias by labeling is present when the story labels the
conservative but not the liberal, or the liberal but not the conservative; when the story uses more extreme
sounding labels for the conservative than the liberal (“ultra-conservative”, “far right”, but just “liberal” instead
of “far left” and “ultraliberal”) or for the liberal than the conservative (“ultra-liberal”, “far left”, but just
“conservative” instead of “far right” and “ultra-conservative ; and when the story misleadingly identifies a
liberal or conservative official or group as an expert or independent watchdog organization.

Bias by spin
– Bias by spin occurs when the story has only one interpretation of an event or policy, to the exclusion
of the other; spin involves tone – it’s a reporter’s subjective comments about objective facts; makes one side’s
ideological perspective look better than another. To check if it’s spin, observe which interpretation of an event
or policy a news story matches – the liberal or conservative. Many news stories do not reflect a particular spin.
Others summarize the spin put on an event by both sides. But if a story reflects one to the exclusion of the other,
then you’ve found bias by spin.

The above information is excerpted and adapted from How to Identify Liberal Media Bias by Brent H. Baker,
Vice President for Research and Publications at Media Research Center.

PRACTICE EXERCISES new cars by their makers is becoming a

Read each paragraph; then, choose the best
answer to the question that follows to find
out if you can identify bias.
Citizens of the Fairlawn Park area
look with alarm at the diabolical plot to
change a beautiful spot into a baseball park.
If this malicious plan is carried out, the
lovely trees in the park will be chopped
down. Values of the property within the area
will drop sharply as the park fills with the
filth and debris of the bulldozers and other
equipment. Later the shrieks of the young
ruffians who take over the park will destroy
the peace and quiet of the neighborhood.
Obviously, no one cares about the poor
citizen who has slaved to pay for his home
and to keep up with his taxes.
1. In this passage, the author shows bias
against
a. homeowners and taxpayers
b. citizens of the Fairlawn Park area
c. a baseball field in the park
d. more trees in the park
New cars are not built as well as they
used to be. Owners of new cars in 2002 have
more complaints about their automobiles
than in past years. In fact, the recalling of
routine practice in America. Instead of
insisting upon safe, well-designed products,
carmakers seem more concerned with
throwing together shoddy automobiles and
making a profit. Invariably, new cars need
parts replaced almost as soon as the
warranty expires. Unfortunately, people
need transportation, so they continue to buy
new automobiles.
2. The author shows bias against
a. new car owners
b. foreign car manufacturers
c. car repair shops
d. automobile manufacturers
Everyone who cooks should own a
food processor. This marvelous invention is
now being used by over 12 million
vegetarians, compared with only half that
number a couple of years ago. Vegetarians
rarely have a weight problem since most
vegetables are low in calories and contain
little or no fat. They do not suffer a build-up
of cholesterol in the bloodstream as they
grow older. Some doctors have suggested a
link between vegetarianism and longevity.
As Americans become more health-
conscious, vegetarianism will certainly
become more popular.

3. The author show bias for
a. eating more vegetables
b. avoiding cholesterol
c. eating “health foods”
d. becoming a vegetarian
America is certainly a strong military
power; it is now had the nuclear power to
destroy the entire world. We are not the only
country that has this capacity. The threat of
nuclear war affects all of us.
4. The author seems biased against
a. American military power
b. other countries
c. nuclear arms
d. the world.
An independent insurance agent
works directly for you, not for a large,
anonymous organization. The agent must
provide you with the best policy at the
lowest price if he is to remain in business.
The agent’s job is to help you find a policy
that suits your needs. This may cover your
life, health, home, or automobile.
Independent insurance agents are free to
recommend the best policy, regardless of
which insurance company provides it.
5. The author show bias in favor of
a. using an independent insurance agent
b. selecting an insurance policy on your own
c. avoiding low-cost insurance policies
d. buying insurance from a well-known
company
The entire so-called science of
parapsychology is simply a clever fraud.
The attention of parapsychologists is
focused on false claims that fall outside the
bounds of normal human experience,
including extrasensory perception. These
parapsychologists know about as much
about real science as the town drunk. In
truth, their experiments have been shown to
be impossible to replicate, which is a
fundamental qualification for a science.
6. The author shows bias against
a. scientists
b. experimentation
c. parapsychologists
d. the town drunk

LESSON 3

Topic: Determining Truth

Objective: Determine the truthfulness of presented materials.

ACTIVITY LET’S PONDER

Asia is the largest continent in the world. God made the world in seven days. Man has the right to life,
liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. China’s continued presence in the Spratlys is a violation of international
law. A person must always consider the interests of his family before his own happiness. Citizens have the right
to take up arms and overthrow an oppressive government. The President has done very little to upload
democracy and look after the interests of the Filipino people. The sun is the center of the solar system Put a
check in the box of the statement that is true.

ANALYSIS
1. Were you able to judge easily the truthfulness of the statements? Why?
2. Which of the statements are obviously true?
3. Which of these statements may be true for others but not true in the judgement?
4. Which of these statements do you personally believe to be true but may be disputed by other people?

ABSTRACTION
How do we use Philosophy to figure out what is true?

In today’s society, we are often bombarded with a lot of information. Most of these are helpful, but there are
some that seem to mislead us or even utterly false.
These kind of information often have a negative impact in our lives. People have been mislead by claims of
“miracle drugs” which were eventually proven to have a no significant effects on health.

How do we know that what they are telling is true?

TRUTH lies at the heart of any inquiry. Knowledge must be truthful to gain validity and acceptance. But the
concept of truth remains a controversial and much-discussed topic among philosophers.

What is true, or even a definition of truth, is tricky concept in Philosophy. Philosophers agree that there is no
absolute measure of truth.

Concept of truth: -
Rooted in an ancient Greek philosophy’s concept of knowledge as “justified, true belief”. - This
concept states that something is true because you believe it is be true, and there is justification for such belief.

CORRESPONDENCE THEORY
states that something is true if it corresponds to reality or the actual state of affairs. - This theory
assumes a direct relationship between an idea and reality and that can be taken as “fact”.
Example:
“A mammal is an animal which is warm- blooded, has hair, and feed its young with milk” is considered
to be true.
“a dog barks” is also true “ pigs can fly” however, is false since in reality pigs do not have the capability to fly.

COHERENCE THEORY
propose that something is true if it makes sense when placed in a certain situation or context.
Unclean for Muslims makes sense in the context of Islamic faith.
RELATIVISM
is a philosophical concept which contends that there are no absolute truths. Abortion is acceptable
practice for Catholics.

CONSTRUCTIVIST THEORY
holds that knowledge is shaped by social forces and influenced by culture and history. This is reflected
by laws and traditions.

CONSENSUS THEORY
views knowledge as based on argument, and that something is true if almost everyone agrees that is true.
Pluto’s classification into a “dwarf planet”

PRAGMATIC THEORY
 holds the view that something is true if we can put it into practice or is useful in real life. It also believes
that ideas should be continually treated to confirm their validity. A related theory, verification, considers that
ideas must be verified using the senses of experience.

LESSON 4

Topic: Determining Truth (FALLACIES)

Objective: Determine the truthfulness of presented materials.

OTHER THINGS SHOULD WE CONSIDER IN DETERMINING THE TRUTH

Determining the truth of any statement Ideas and claims are often presented in the form of ARGUMENTS.
These kinds of arguments are called FALLACIES
1. Ad hominem
- directed against a person rather than the position they are maintaining.
"vicious ad hominem attacks"

2. Appeal to force
-is an informal fallacy of weak relevance. This fallacy occurs when someone implicitly or
explicitly threatens the reader/listener as a justification for accepting their conclusion.

3. Appeal to emotion
is a logical fallacy that occurs when a misleading argument, and particularly one that is unsound
or missing factual evidence, is used with the goal of manipulating people’s emotions. For
example, a person using an appeal to emotion in a debate might encourage the audience to ignore facts that
their opponent brought up, by attempting to elicit anger, resentment, and distrust against their source.

4. Appeal to the popular

-also called argumentum ad populum (Latin for "appeal to the people"), is a logical fallacy. It
happens when someone tries to argue that something is right because lots of people believe in it.

5. Appeal to tradition
-Appeal to Tradition is a type of logical fallacy in which something is accepted as true or better
because it's the "way it's always been done." There is no evidence that a specific belief or course of
action actually is better. It is just believed to be better because it is the traditional belief or course of action.

6. Begging the question

-The fallacy of begging the question occurs when an argument's premises assume the truth of the
conclusion, instead of supporting it. In other words, you assume without proof the stand/position, or a
significant part of the stand, that is in question. Begging the question is also called arguing in a circle.

7. cause-and-effect
-(post hoc, ergo propter hoc). This fallacy falsely assumes that one event causes another. Often a
reader will mistake a time connection for a cause-effect connection. EXAMPLES: Every time I
wash my car, it rains.

8. Fallacy of composition
The fallacy of composition arises when one infers that something is true of the whole from the
fact that it is true of some part of the whole. A trivial example might be: "This tire is made of rubber,
therefore the vehicle of which it is a part is also made of rubber." This is fallacious, because vehicles are
made with a variety of parts, most of which are not made of rubber. The fallacy of composition can apply
even when a fact is true of every proper part of a greater entity, though. A more complicated example might
be: "No atoms are alive. Therefore, nothing made of atoms is alive." This is a statement most people
would consider incorrect, due to emergence, where the whole possesses properties not present in any of the
parts.

9. Fallacy of division Fallacies

 is a fallacy of induction that occurs when someone assumes that what is true of a whole, must
also be true of the parts of the parts. For example, it might be that an excellent baseball team is composed of
mediocre players.

LESSON 5

Topic: Relevance of Ideas

Objective: Determine the truthfulness of presented materials.

Relevance of Ideas
A good paragraph should contain sentences that are relevant to the paragraph’s main subject and point.
While the topic sentence sets up the main idea, the rest of the sentences provide details that support or explain
this main idea. If you see a sentence that does not seem to relate to the topic sentence, it is probably irrelevant.

Sometimes, writers include details that only generally relate to a paragraph’s subject. You may have
written this way in your own compositions. To avoid this in your test writing, think about your paragraph’s
main subject and about the point you wish to make about this subject. Thinking about the point you wish to
make will help you cut the sentences that relate generally to your subject, but do not specifically support your
point.

On the GED, you may be asked to eliminate irrelevant sentences from paragraphs. To spot these
irrelevant sentences, think about the paragraph’s subject and point. Thinking about the subject will help you cut
sentences that do not relate to the paragraph’s subject. Thinking about the main point will help you cut
sentences that relate generally to the paragraph’s subject but not necessarily to the point being made about the
subject.

Relevance of Ideas Exercise

In the following paragraph, one or more of the sentences may be irrelevant. Read through the paragraph
and decide what sentences you would get rid of.

Exercise is really good for one’s physical and mental health. It is proven that aerobic exercise is good for the
heart, which is very important to overall health. I used to run every day, but now I go to dance classes to get my
aerobic exercise. Strength training is important for maintaining muscle mass and improving bone density. Both
muscle mass and bone density can decrease as we age, so improving them through strength training is
important. My grandmother broke a hip last year because her bones were so fragile. All kinds of exercise have
been shown to relieve depression, anxiety, and stress.

Answer:
The bold sentences in the paragraph below are irrelevant and could be eliminated.

Exercise is really good for one’s physical and mental health. It is proven that aerobic exercise is good for the
heart, which is very important to overall health. I used to run every day, but now I go to dance classes to get
my aerobic exercise. Strength training is important for maintaining muscle mass and improving bone density.
Both muscle mass and bone density can decrease as we age, so improving them through strength training is
important. My grandmother broke a hip last year because her bones were so fragile. All kinds of exercise
have been shown to relieve depression, anxiety, and stress.

LESSON 6

Topic: Validity of Evidence

Objective: Judging the validity of the evidence.

What is a "Good" Source? Judging Validity of Evidence

Terms and concepts to know for this lesson:
Validity - soundness and strength of argument. Is this evidence any good?
Audience - people who have read or will read a particular text, publication, or writer, considered
collectively. For whom did the author intend to read or view this source?
Authority - power to inspire belief or weight of testimony. Does this person know what he or she is talking
about? 
In the previous lesson Backing it Up: Using Evidence to Support a Rhetorical Argument, you learned why
you need to use evidence to support your argument. But how can you determine if the source you're looking at
is "good" evidence? 
Evaluating a Source
When we determine that a source is "good," we say that it has validity. But how can you determine if the source
you're consulting is valid? Here's a couple of questions to consider:
 Who is the author of the source? What are his or her credentials - is her or she a recognized expert
in the field? Are they representing an organization? If so, what is the organization's mission and
goals? If you're unsure, try doing a Google search on the author or their organization.
 How did the source get its information? If the source includes references, look at a few of the
references - do they look like reliable sources of information? Does it look like the author is citing
the source correctly? Use your best judgment!
 What if the source you've found doesn't have references? If a source doesn't include references,
see if you can fact check the information in other ways. For example, if you're looking at a news
article that quotes experts in a field, do a Google search of the expert's name and see what
information you can find on him or her.  
Types of Sources - Scholarly, Trade, & Popular
Previously, you might have been told to only use scholarly sources for research assignments. Why is that, and
what does that term even mean?
 A scholarly source is written by an expert for other experts in the same field. Scholarly sources typically
include references to other sources and are written with the assumption that the audience already has significant
background knowledge in the topic. Scholarly sources generally go through a process called "peer review," in
which they are vetted by other experts. Scholarly sources generally are viewed as having the highest validity,
but they can be daunting to examine by a reader unfamiliar with the field. 
 A trade source is written by a professional in a particular industry for others in that same profession. However,
while members in a profession work in the same industry broadly, individual professionals may have drastically
different job responsibilities. As a result, while trade sources often assume the reader has some familiarity with
topics, they generally are more accessible by a layperson than scholarly sources.
 A popular source is written for broad consumption; the author generally does not assume the audience will
have extensive background knowledge on the topic. Consequently, these sources are the most accessible by a
novice to a field and can be a very great place to start researching a topic for an assignment.
Conclusion 
So, what source types should you use in your research assignment? Depending on your topic, any and all of
these source types might be appropriate to use and valid evidence to support your argument. Scholarly sources
are generally perceived as stronger evidence than trade sources, and trade sources stronger than popular source;
however, popular sources can be useful evidence as so long as you carefully consider the authority of the
source's author. For example, a personal blog might be a great source of information on your research topic if
the blog is run by a leading expert in the field.