Reading Comprehension Success in 20 Minutes a Day, 3rd Edition

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A S S U M I N G C A U S E S A N D P R E D I C T I N G E F F E C T S
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Observe people’s behavior today. If you see people acting particularly happy, sad, or angry, or exhibit-
ing some other strong emotion or behavior, see if you can find any clues as to the cause of their emo-
tion or behavior. Are they reading a letter? Talking with someone? Waiting for something? 
Why 
are they
reacting this way?
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Read a news article today that discusses a current event—an election, a train crash, or a political scan-
dal, for example. What effects can you predict will come about as a result of this event? Try to come
up with at least three predictions based on what you read.
Skill Building until Next Time

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I
magine that you are about to do something when someone runs up to you and says, “You can’t do that!”
“Why not?” you ask.
“Because! You just can’t, that’s all.”
Now, “Because!” is not likely to convince you that you shouldn’t do what you were about to do, is it?
Why not? Well, “Because!” does not provide you with a 
reason
for not doing what you wanted to do. It is not, there-
fore, a very convincing argument.
L E S S O N
Emotional
Versus Logical
Appeals
L E S S O N S U M M A R Y
Writers often appeal to your emotions to try to persuade you of some-
thing. But unless they also provide logical evidence to back up their
claims, you have no 
reason 
to accept their argument as valid. This les-
son helps you see how to distinguish between appeals to your emo-
tions and appeals to your sense of reason.
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