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College Composition / Unit 17   CMP 0405 short lesson, about 20 seconds

Expert Testimony

Captions available

The idea

Expert opinion is evidence from a professional in the field or someone whose views on the subject are respected.

In practice

A historian's judgment about a president, or a physician's about a treatment, carries authority because of the speaker's expertise.

Where people slip

Expertise is specific; a famous person speaking outside their field is not an expert witness on that subject.

Your place on the trail

Every lesson rests on earlier ones and opens later ones. Tap any to jump.

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