3rd QAT english

• The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector:

  • Tax collectors were Jews who worked for the Romans, making them traitors
  • They were not paid an actual wage by the Romans, but were expected to take extra money and keep some for themselves, leading to dishonesty and abuse of the system
  • Pharisees were members of an ancient Jewish sect known for strict observance of traditional and written law, often seen as having superior sanctity
• In Luke 18:9-14, Jesus tells a parable about a Pharisee and a tax collector praying in the temple:

  • The Pharisee thanks God for not being like robbers, evildoers, or adulterers, and boasts about his fasting and tithing
  • The tax collector stands at a distance, beats his breast, and humbly asks God for mercy, acknowledging his sinfulness
  • Jesus concludes that the tax collector, who humbled himself, was justified before God, emphasizing the importance of humility in prayer
• The importance of praying with the right attitude is highlighted in the Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector, aimed at those who think they are righteous and look down on others
• Critical thinking habits include:

  • Thinking clearly and rationally, understanding the logical connection between ideas
  • Using reasoning abilities
  • Questioning ideas and assumptions rather than accepting them blindly
  • Identifying and analyzing situations and problems systematically
• Engaging in reflective and independent thinking is essential for critical thinking
• Historical-biographical criticism evaluates a nonfiction text as a source of wisdom in expressing and resolving conflicts between individuals or groups and nature
• Historical criticism seeks to discover the authorial intent or the author’s intention for his/her text to mean in his/her time and place
• Biographical criticism is used to illuminate a writer’s psychology, analyzing the literary text for relevance to its author
• Cultural context includes the community, beliefs, customs, ideas, language, and norms that an individual was raised with
• Social context is the setting where the social interaction happens
• Ideas prevalent around those times include philosophies, politics, scientific and technological innovations, among others
• The author’s biography refers to the lifetime and fact-based knowledge about the author’s personality, life events, education, family, economic status, and political views
• An example of historical-biographical criticism is studying Dr. Jose Rizal’s "Noli Me Tangere" through this lens
• In "Noli Me Tangere," the cultural context is the desire of the Filipino people for sovereignty and independence
• The social context of "Noli Me Tangere" is the Philippines during the Spanish colonial era
• Ideas prevalent in "Noli Me Tangere" include deep-seated Christianity in terms of philosophy and religion, as well as revolution and independence
• The author’s biography is connected to "Noli Me Tangere" as Dr. Jose Rizal was subjected to death penalty for criticizing and challenging the Spanish colonizers in writing
• Moralist Literary Criticism evaluates literary pieces such as poetry and prose based on ethical, civil, and humanistic standards
• Confucianism, founded on the teachings of Confucius, emphasizes morality in private and public life, social relationships, justice, and sincerity
• The Analects are compilations of Confucius' teachings, containing fragments of dialogues between the philosopher and his disciples, greatly influencing Chinese culture and East Asia
• Confucianism also values filial piety, which is the virtue of exhibiting the proper love and respect for one's parents, elders, and ancestors
• Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement: A pronoun is a word used to stand for (or take the place of) a noun, with an antecedent being the word for which a pronoun stands
• Common rules in the agreement between pronoun and antecedent:

  • A phrase or clause between the subject and verb does not change the number of the antecedent
  • Singular indefinite pronoun antecedents take singular pronoun referents (each, either, neither, one, everybody, everyone, etc.)
  • Plural indefinite pronoun antecedents require plural referents (several, few, both, many)
  • Compound subjects joined by "and" always take a plural referent
• With compound subjects joined by "or/nor," the referent pronoun agrees with the antecedent closer to the pronoun
• Collective nouns (group, jury, crowd, team, etc.) may be singular or plural depending on their meaning
• Titles of single entities (books, organizations, countries, etc.) take a singular referent
• Plural form subjects with a singular meaning take a singular referent (news, measles, mumps, physics, etc.)
• "Every" or "Many a" before a noun or a series of nouns requires a singular referent
• "The number of" is singular, while "A number of" is plural before a subject