Chapter 3 . Topic 3
Evaluating the credibility of sources
Skills focus ✓ Evaluation
Learning focus • Identify the author and purpose in a source. • Evaluate how credible a source is.
Big question: Should tourists be limited or even banned from visiting well-known beauty spots?
Getting started
Why do you think this happened? How do you think local people reacted?
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Before 2010, a few thousand visitors each year visited a beauty spot called Horseshoe Bend near a small town called Page in Arizona, USA. By 2018, it was estimated that 2 million were visiting this isolated place.
Exploring
Now read the extract on page 47 from a travel blog on a holiday agency website.
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Sightseers at Horseshoe Bend, Arizona.
1. What am I being told?
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When you read a source such as this, you are trying to establish three main things:
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2. Does this source help me answer the question I am researching (is it relevant)?
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3. If so, can I trust what the writer/author tells me? Now, work through each question in turn, writing your own answers down.
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What are you being told?
a) Who is the writer? What are they describing or writing about? b) What information do they give? c) What is the purpose of the article they have written? d) What is their viewpoint or perspective on the issue? (This may be the same as the purpose of the article.) e) What information or evidence (if any) do they provide? f) What else might tell us their perspective? For example, do they use emotive words or phrases?
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Chapter 3 Exploring arguments
Key terms emotive: showing strong feelings (for example, ‘I love tourist spots’)
