Control No: ______

SLK 4 for READING and WRITING SKILLS for Grade 11

Quarter 4 Week 3-4

Competency Formulate evaluative statements about a text read.

a. assertion about the content and properties of a text read
b. counterclaims in response to claims made in a written text
Determine textual evidence to validate assertions and counterclaims made about
a text read.
Objectives In the given time frame, you are expected to:
1. Recognize correct and wrong statements about assertions and
counterclaims.
2. Construct assertion about the content and properties of a text read.
3. Construct a counterclaim in response to author’s claim in a written text;
and 4. Identify evidence in the text that supports your assertion and
counterclaim.
Topic/ Formulating Evaluative Statements
Subject
Matter
Textbook

Materials Sheets of short bond paper and pen

Copyrights DepEd Talisay City

Total Points 35 (Formative – 20 Summative – 15)

Date May , 2021

I. CONTENT MAP

Hello, guys! Welcome to another long journey of reading and writing activities. This self-leaning
kit covers weeks 3 and 4. This intends to help you learn how to formulate assertions about the
content and properties of a written text and counterclaims in response to the claim made in the
text. Likewise, this guides you in determining the textual evidence validating the assertions and
counterclaims you made about the text you read. Be guided by the concept map below.

Evaluating the content &

Assertion properties of written text

Evaluative
Statements Determining textual
Counterclaim evidence

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II. CONTENT NOTES

Expressing value judgments has squeezed itself through our daily communication with other people.
From making comments to a friend’s post on FB to responding to viral tweets and making product
reviews in Shoppe, we make value judgments. As this becomes a daily habit, expectedly critique
making, writing reviews, and evaluating articles wouldn’t be that tough for students like you anymore.
You have been used to formulating evaluative statements; you may not be aware of it though. To
increase your awareness and sophistication in this area, read these notes diligently.

What are evaluative statements?

Evaluative statements are “judgments given by a reader that explain the strengths and weaknesses
of a text using a set of criteria. It may be about the logic used by the author, the properties of a text
or the quality of claims and arguments presented” (course.com). In short, evaluative statement is
statement expressing value judgment based on a set of criteria. Statements of assertion and
counterclaim are considered evaluative statements.

What is an assertion?
Assertion is defined as “a statement that makes a strong declaration of one’s belief on a particular
topic or issue.” It is a declarative sentence that claims that something is true. When you write a
critique, for instance, the thesis you make for your work is your main assertion.

In this lesson, you will make assertions about the content and properties of a written text you read.
For your assertions to be convincing, you need to support them with pieces of evidence found in the
text. Study this example from Rucker, et al.
Example 1

In the article, Spetalnick’s main claim seems to be clearly stated in the title “Obama and Syria: The
Education of a Reluctant President.” This claim, although stated as the title, is not the only claim the
author makes in the article. As a matter of fact, it is quite the opposite. As one reads past the first few
lines, it is clear that being “reluctant” is not the author’s main argument at all. For example, the article
states, “Since the war in Syria began, Obama has repeatedly denounced the killing of innocent civilians
- more than 100,000 people have already died in the 2-1/2-year conflict - while declaring his
determination to avoid getting the United States sucked in.” How is this claim supporting the topic of
“Education of a Reluctant President?” It does not; that is why the title is misleading.

Note: To understand what the writer of the above critique is talking about, you may access the
article he read and evaluated. Check this link out < https://www.reuters.com/article/us-syria-
crisisobama-war-idUSBRE97U0AP20130831> and read the article titled “Syria and Obama: The
Education of a Reluctant War President.”

The writers of the above critique made an assertion that the title of the article is misleading.
Looking at the title “Obama and Syria: The Education of a Reluctant President,” you cannot avoid
assuming that the title expresses the claim of the article. However, reading on you will realize that
the main claim is actually opposite of the meaning of the title. In fact, the writers supported their
assertion by mentioning evidence that can be read in the article. (Notice those inside the quotation

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marks.) How can you better formulate assertions about the content and properties of a written
text? Follow these strategies:

• Search for widely recognized standards for evaluating a

1. Determine your criteria for evaluation. text.

• Use critical reading strategies like rereading, taking

2. Thoroughly read the written text. notes, annotating & questioning the text, etc.

3. Keep the criteria in mind as you read the text.

The following are some evaluative aspects to include when you are evaluating written texts like
argumentative/persuasive essays, journal articles, research papers, etc.:

Content of the Written Text Properties of Written Text

Argument and use of evidence 1. Organization/Coherence/Cohesion
a. Check for the writer’s claim/s. a. Look for a clear beginning, middle and end
(introduction, body & conclusion).
b. Examine if the writer’s argument is b. Assess their use of paragraphing.
consistent. c. Examine whether the text is unified around
one clear argument/thesis/assertion.
c. Look for the evidence the text relies on. d. Make sure their ideas are ordered in a
logical way.
e. Check for clear transitions between ideas
d. Assess the validity and the reliability of the or sections.
evidence. f. Check if the transitions are seamless with
the use of appropriate transitional devices.
e. Check how effective is the evidence in 2. Language use
supporting the argument. a. Evaluate the writer’s grammar.
b. Assess the writer’s use of syntax or
f. Examine the conclusion/s drawn. arrangement of words in a sentence.
3. Mechanics
g. Check whether the conclusions are a. Check the writer’s spelling.
justified or not. b. Look at the writer’s punctuation.
c. Examine the writer’s capitalization.
<https://student.unsw.edu.au/some-general-criteria-evaluating-texts> <https://www.wikihow.com/Evaluate-
Writing-Skills>

Here are more examples of assertions taken from various critiques/evaluation essays. These are
assertions about the content of the texts.:

1. Decter’s claim is narrow, as well as some of her reasons she puts forth in establishing her
claim.
(Baca, 2020)
2. Decter’s main claim about how life should be lived – that only by marrying and being “part of the
onrushing generation” can our lives have full meaning—is very limiting.

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 3. The author’s objectives were answerable, and they chose to obtain them by testing null
hypotheses. These hypotheses were testable and served to help explain the problem.
4. This is Ellison's first novel, but he has complete control of his story and his style. Watch it.
The following are examples of assertions taken from various works judging the properties of
the writers’ texts.

1. His essay is clearly written and logically arranged into three parts. (Elster,1998)
2. The structure is not consistently linear; and the links from one topic to the next are not often
clear. (artfuleditor.com)
3. Voice is partly how characters speak as well as how the story is written. I found that the most
glaring inconsistency in voice is in the leader’s diction. Normally, he speaks in contemporary diction
(the way most people speak today), but occasionally he switches to more formal and archaic diction
which stops me as a reader because it’s as if another voice has taken over. (artfuleditor.com)

What is a counterclaim?
Counterclaim refers to “what the other side say.” In other words, it is an argument opposing the
claim. In this lesson, it is necessary that you can identify the claims writers made in their written texts
for you to formulate appropriate counterclaims.

In an essay, for instance, its writer claims that wearing school uniform eliminates freedom of
expression. If your response to this is “The (writer) argued that wearing uniform would eliminate
freedom of expression for students, but this isn’t true.” Specifically, the underlined part is
obviously your counterclaim.
The underlined part of this excerpt also shows a counterclaim to a writer’s claim.

The (writer) argued that bullying is a natural part of our humanity and that preventative
measures are ineffective against this element of the human condition; however, he fails to
understand that bullying is a cycle that has been perpetuated for centuries and that all cycles
can be broken. (adapted from https://bwstoa.blogspot.com/2021/01/)

Study this example in which Polito (2008) makes a counterclaim to a claim made in an article written
by Robert L. Maginnis:
Th
People claim that the only way for children to gain full ey
emotional and behavioral skills is to be raised by both a mu
mother and a father. When topic such as this one has a st
broad amount of variables it is impossible to simply link als
these problems to only having one parent. In the article,
o
“Single-parent families cause juvenile crime,” author be
abl
Robert L. Maginnis states, “Children from single-parent e
families are more likely to have behavior problem because to
they tend to lack economic security and adequate time with still
parents.” The simple statement that raw criminals are ha
products of single-parent adolescence is absurd. What ve
this writer must understand is that it can be extremely
difficult for one parent to raise a child by themselves tim
for many reasons. A single-parent must work full time to e
be able to afford to provide themselves and their child. to

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 offer an
exuberant amount of emotional time for the well-being of

their child. However, even though this may seem

impossible, it can be done. (mesacc.edu)
Claim made in a text Polito’s counterclaim

III. ACTIVITIES
Activity 1
Date: May ___, 2021 Score: /10
Directions: Write T if the statement is TRUE; write F if FALSE. Write your answer on the answer sheet.

1. A claim statement refers to “what the other side says.” _____

2. “Poorly organized” can be an example of evaluative phrase. _____
3. Counterclaim expresses value judgment about a topic or an issue. _____
4. A counterclaim negates and weakens the value of a claim statement. _____
5. An assertion must be supported with pieces of evidence to be accepted. _____
6. Evaluative statement can be a thesis statement of an evaluation essay. ______
7. “This reason is weak” is enough assertion when evaluating a written text. _____
8. To effectively evaluate a written text, one must have a clear set of claims. _____
9. What strengthens one’s assertion is valid and sufficient pieces of evidences. _____
10. An evaluative statement about a text is weak if it is unsupported by textual evidence. ______

Activity 2
Date: May ____, 2021 Score: /10
A. Directions: Below are excerpts from written texts. Read and analyze them thoroughly. Then, formulate
a statement of assertion about its content or about its properties as written text. Write your answers on the
answer sheet.
1.
Scientists report no human deaths due to excessive caffeine consumption. Although caffeine does cause
Convulsions and death in certain animals.

Many tourists visit the “Libingan ng mga Bayani”, where Filipino soldiers and national leaders are buried
2. every day from 9:00 a. m. to 5:00 p. m.

Should school uniforms be required? Some parents and educators say that uniforms help
3. students focus on academics instead of fashion. Others believe that kids should have the
freedom to choose what they wear to school. After considering both sides of the issue, I strongly
believe that uniforms should not be required in school.
<www.sampletemplates.com>

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 Men and women are both equal. Although men and women may be different in some respects,
4.
it is important to remember that differences between men and women do not mean that one
gender is worse than the other. For example, men and women may be good at different things.
It should not be suggested that this means a man or a woman is “better” than one another.
Therefore, men and women being equal does not mean that men and women are the same. In
fact, men and women are different- because every individual is different- but this does not mean
that they should not be treated fairly and as equals.
< https://rightforeducation.org/2016/04/05/men-and-women-are-equal/>

People with good attitudes tend to be more effective problem solvers. And team-players
5. which are the types of people most employers are looking for being able to see the positive
side of a negative situation is a valuable character trait in the workplace. Positive thinking
contributes to more productivity and workplace harmony. whereas someone who is negative
and complains a lot could affect others with their negativity and result in less productivity in the
workplace. which is why most employers steer clear of pessimists.

B. Directions: Below are statements of claim. Formulate a counterclaim for each of them. Write
your answer on the answer sheet.

1. Every girl in school has a cell phone because all of them have Facebook accounts and need to
use Messenger.
Answer: ______________________________________________________________
2. Video games boosts academic performance because they foster cooperation, have cognitive
benefits, and increase academic motivation.
Answer: ______________________________________________________________
3. Every girl should dream of joining beauty pageants because these open doors to a lot of
opportunities for them and help them build self-confidence.
Answer: ______________________________________________________________
4. Boys who do not have fathers as role models suffer especially during their adolescence.
Answer: ______________________________________________________________
5. Social media encourages false pictures of a perfect world.
Answer: ______________________________________________________________

IV. EVALUATION
Date: April___, 2021 Score: /15_
Directions: Below is an essay. Read it thoroughly and analyze its content and properties. Then,
formulate two assertions about its content and two assertions about its properties as a written text.
Be sure to support them with textual evidence. Then, formulate a counterclaim to the writer’s claim.
Be guided by the given rubrics.

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 Poverty in the Philippines should be abolished
Daniella M., Muntinlupa City, Philippines
<http://www.teenink.com/>

Poverty affects everyone; globally, regionally, and locally. To be living in poverty is a horrible
state to be in, for the individual will be lacking in essential aspects needed for life. Half of the world’s
population survives on a dollar a day, and while 10% of the Philippines population controls all its
wealth and land, 50% are living below the poverty line. There is no such thing as a perfect world,
hence, society can never be equal. But to have a child die every 3.5 seconds so that the ‘fortunate’
can live as they please is simply unfair. People deserve to have equal human rights, yet why does
half of the world still live without a home, education, healthcare, or food? Poverty is caused by three
main things; corruption (lack of good governance), lack of (poor quality) education, and low wages (a
poor economy).

“In a country badly governed, wealth is something to be ashamed of.” -Confucius.

Corruption causes poverty because it subtracts from the budget of both the country and its
citizens. The Philippines isn’t a very poor country, its just that most of it’s money is being directed into
the pockets of corrupt officials instead of improving the country. The money could be directed to
improving the country and the lives of the poor or community projects, such as providing clean water
or more hospitals. Additionally, corruption has a role to play in the context of increasing taxes. The
higher the taxes, the more money the people lose; since education and healthcare isn’t legally free in
the Philippines, the money just goes to politicians and the government.

Lack of education causes poverty; this is due to the fact that individuals with education get
more jobs than those without it. Hence, jobless people have no income to live on, and fall below the
poverty line. Also, their children most likely wouldn’t be able to go to school as well, starting a vicious
cycle of a continuously poor family.

Low wages, or a poor economy, cause poverty because more often than not, people in poverty
earn wages that aren’t enough to support them. Thus, they wouldn’t be able to afford basic needs,
such being food, water, shelter, and health care.

Poverty has a bad impact on society because of three main reasons –it can serve as a
breeding ground for terrorists, riots, and infectious diseases, which present themselves as imminent
threats to society and its concerns. Experts* link public aid education with terrorism, after seeing that
they had called for increased aid and educational assistance to end terrorism. This proves that poverty
and terrorism are linked issues, and that occasionally terrorists come from poverty, posing imminent
threats to the safety of the public. On the other hand, people in poverty are more bent to wanting
change in their lives more than other groups in society, therefore, they are most likely to riot in order
to get their requests and messages across. Riots also pose as threats to the safety of many other
people. Examples of riots due to poverty would be the riots that Senegal [Africa] experienced on
November 22 of 2007, wherein protestors burned cars, threw stones, and violently robbed their
mayor’s office in Dakar (the capital).

The last main reason as to why poverty is bad and should be abolished is that it is the perfect
breeding ground for infectious diseases. 13 million people die each year due to infectious diseases,
one in two of them coming from developing countries. 1.3 billion live on less than a dollar a day in
developing countries (World Health Organization, 1999); hence, one in three children are
malnourished while one in five children aren’t fully immunized by their first birthdays. After considering

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the limitations in healthcare of those in poverty, infectious diseases are bound to spread. This could
mean a rapid spread of disease in the world and the country. According to the World Health
Organization (2006), the countries with the highest adult HIV prevalence rates are in Africa (15-34%
of the population). Africa has the most countries with populations that live below the poverty line
(2060%), as specified by the CIA World Factbook. One should take concern of such epidemics and
outbreaks because it is negative for society, as well as his or her well-being. Despite all this, poverty
can still be stopped by abolishing corruption, having more schools, hospitals, infrastructure (housing),
clean water, and donated food (basic rights).

By abolishing corruption, in the Philippines can attain a balanced budget, so it can be spent
wisely for the right things in order to better the country. This can be done by changing the government,
or adding rules and re-electing positions of power (President, Vice-president, etc.) By ridding this
country of corruption, the Philippine economy can have more means to try the following solutions to
poverty. If poverty still stays, Filipinos will still be taxed high (rich or poor) and their quality of life will
seem exponentially worse than how it would have been, had they abolished corruption.

By having more (and cheaper) schools, society will be giving the next generations of
impoverished children a chance to succeed and pull themselves out of poverty later on in life.
Furthermore, if there were more schools, then more teachers would have to be available, thus
providing the economy with more jobs.

The Philippine economy should have more (and cheaper) hospitals so as to attend to the
needs and illnesses of more impoverished people. Hence, there will be a less likely chance of
epidemic and infectious disease.

Finally, the Filipino society should abolish poverty by attending to the basic needs of those in
it, giving them better quality of life. Building homes and water irrigation/plumbing systems takes a lot
of manpower, thus doing so will provide more jobs which will help pull the economy out of being poor.
This will content those in penury, making for significantly smaller chances of riots and violence that
may threaten the public amongst them.

Having poverty is unfair, unethical, and dangerous. The Philippines should abolish poverty
because its people deserve to be free of it.

Scoring guide:

Criteria 5 pts. 4 pts. 3 pts. 2 pts. 1 pt.

Assertions Two assertions Two assertions One assertion One assertion No assertion
about the about the content about the about the about the about the
content of the are clearly content are content is content is content is
text formulated. formulated. clearly formulated. formulated.
These assertions These formulated. This assertion
(5 points) are clearly based assertions are This assertion is is based on the
on the text. based on the clearly based on text.
text. the text.

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 Assertions Two assertions Two assertions One assertion One assertion No assertion
about the about the about the about a about a about a
properties of properties of the properties of property of the property of the property of the
the text. text are clearly the text are text is clearly text is text is
formulated. formulated. formulated. formulated. formulated.
These assertions These This assertion This assertion
(5 points)
are clearly assertions are is supported by is supported by
supported by supported by evidence in the evidence in the
evidence in the evidence in the text. text.
text. text.

Counterclaim The counterclaim The The The claim is not No counterclaim

negates the counterclaim counterclaim is a response to is formulated.
(5 points) writer’s claim. It is negates the not a response the writer’s
clearly stated. writer’s claim. It to the writer’s claim. It is not
is not clearly claim. It is clearly stated.
stated. clearly stated.
Highest possible score: 15

V. ADDITIONAL READINGS / AGREEMENT / ASSIGNMENT

Directions: Read the article from the Freeman (April 28, 2021 issue) titled “The Root Causes of
Poverty among Filipinos” by Atty. Josephus B. Jimenez. Access it online through this link:
<https://www.philstar.com/the-freeman/opinion/2021/04/28/2094339/root-causes-poverty-
amongfilipinos>
Then, formulate two assertions about the content or properties of the text and support these with
evidence found in the article. Likewise, construct one counterclaim to a claim made in the article.

VI. ANSWER KEY

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VII. REFERENCES

Barrot, Jessie S. (2016), Academic Reading and Writing for Senior High School. Quezon City: C & E
Publishing, Inc.

Blogspot.com. A Path Through the Wood. January 29, 2021. Accessed April 17, 2021. <
https://bwstoa.blogspot.com/2021/01/>

Daniela M. Poverty in the Philippines should be abolished. <http://www.teenink.com/>

Discovery. 17 Book Review Examples to Help You Write the Perfect Review. Accessed April17, 2021. <
eedsy.com/discovery/blog/book-review-examples>

Polito, Chris & Paola Brown. Single Parent Struggle. March 25, 2008. Accessed April 28, 2021.
<mesacc.edu)

Snappy Essays. Argumentative Essay on Social Media. April 6, 2017. Accessed April 17, 2021. <
https://snappyessays.com/blog/argumentative-essay-on-social-media/>

The Artful Editor. Sample Critique. Sample Critique #1. Fiction: Novel. Accessed April 17, 2021.
<https://www.artfuleditor.com/sample-critique>

The Artful Editor. Sample Critique #2. Nonfiction: Memoir. Accessed April 17, 2021.
<https://www.artfuleditor.com/sample-critique>

UNSW Sydney. Some General Criteria for Evaluating Texts. December 23, 2019. Accessed April 15,
2021 <https://student.unsw.edu.au/some-general-criteria-evaluating-texts>

WikiHow. How to Evaluate Writing Skills. March 27, 2020. Accessed April 16, 2021.
<https://www.wikihow.com/Evaluate-Writing-Skills>

Prepared by:
Name: Alma S. Laputan
School: Lawaan National High School
Contact No: 09395514149

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 VIII. FEEDBACK NOTES Gr 11 READING and WRITING SKILLS Q4 (Week 3-4)

LEARNER’S FEEDBACK

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PARENTS’/GUARDIANS’ FEEDBACK

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IX. ANSWER SHEET
Control No: _______________

Gr 11 READING and WRITING SKILLS Q4 (Week 3-4)

Name: ____________________Grade & Sec.: __________ Contact No: _______
School: ______________________ Subject Teacher: ______________________
READING and WRITING SKILLS (Weeks 3-4)
Name: ____________________Grade & Sec.: __________ Contact No: _______
School: ______________________ Subject Teacher: ______________________

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