MAKING GENERALIZATIONS
Overgeneralizing is a common problem especially when discussing people of other cultures, races and countries. We have to make sure that we don’t over-generalize or make unacceptable stereotypes. Use these strategies to help you make generalizations. 
1. Qualify your argument. Use quantifiers (almost all, most, many)
•	The majority of Muslims don’t support terrorism.
2. Be specific
•	Koreans are diligent. All Koreans? or most middle-aged Koreans who work in white-collar jobs?
3. Indicate tendency, probability or frequency. Use tend to, are likely to, usually, generally etc.
•	Koreans tend to speak more directly about personal appearance than Canadians.
•	Women are generally better listeners than men. 
4. Use a comparison
•	In my experience, Korean students are more likely to give their opinion about controversial topics than Japanese students.
Note: When making generalizations, noncount nouns are used with no article: 
•	Traffic in Seoul is usually heavy.
OPTIONAL readings
A guide to using the appropriate terms to describe other groups http://www.bartleby.com/64/6.html
A guide to American customs (very useful, written by foreign students). http://www.edupass.org/culture/
What is an American? How many Korean-Americans live in the US? Find out here. http://anthro.palomar.edu/ethnicity/ethnic_6.htm