Find two "conflicting" news sources.
Use a digital or actual pen and mark on the news source to find:
- Circle - factual information:
- Citations that include links, actual names of authors and interviewees, dates, times, hard, factual information that you know happened.
- Underline - Opinion:
- In reputable news sources, opinion pieces will be stated as such,
- Sometimes, looking for personal pronouns like “I” and “me” can give you some clues as to the author’s point of view.
- Put a star next to - Speculation:
- Stating what could happen as a result of current events, postulating on future events
- Put a box around - Proposals or Calls to Action:
- The author is calling on the reader to do something or proposing a change in action, often politically motivated
Follow-up Questions:
- What do you notice about the two different articles and your experience identifying elements? What was your reaction to each article?
- Do either of these sources cater to your own implicit biases? If so, how and why?
- What would you say to a peer who wanted to use both of these articles in a research paper?
