What Are Salient Issues?
In the phrase “salient issues,” the word “salient” is an adjective and “issues” is a noun. That is, “salient” is describing the types of issues.
1 Definition
According to Merriam-Webster, “salient” means leaping or springing for movement, or standing out in a conspicuous way. In the phrase “salient issues,” the word means standing out. Therefore, a salient issue is one that stands out from other issues.
2 Journals and Newspapers
In academic writings, journals and news articles, authors sometimes try to find the salient issues in a subject. For example, a 2002 article about health care reform attempted to find the salient issues for nurses by exploring which parts of the health care plan would be important in nursing practice.
3 Actions
Salient functions can be actions as well as issues that are written about. For example, if a coach is watching a recording of a basketball game, he likely will pick out the salient functions when reviewing it with his team.
4 Finding Salience
Determining the salient issues is a subjective process. That is, what is salient for one person may not be for the next.
5 Creating Salience
When plotting a course of action or writing, keeping the audience in mind will help the author determine what the salient issue should be.
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