Author Bias CCSS.ELA-Literacy.6-8.6

for or against a person, object, or idea. Author bias represents a statement or statements that denote prejudiced or preferential opinions for or against a person, object, or idea.

As human beings, we all have bias—that is, we all have opinions for or against certain people, objects or ideas.

Do you like? or or

and preference equals bias. These are preferences, and preference equals bias. or or

As a result of our bias, it is often difficult to be impartial or unbiased when we have to write about people or ideas. However, we must strive to be fair and impartial when we write about a person or idea we may feel strongly about.

Likewise, when we evaluate the writing of others, we should be careful to look for author bias. Just because an author may have strong opinions doesn’t mean she or he can’t write in an unbiased—or valid—way about a person or idea.

But how do you recognize author bias?

All people are biased, But some are more biased than others, especially in certain circumstances.

Let’s say you want to buy a car from a car salesperson. You can rest assure that the salesperson will be biased toward his company’s car brands. Likewise, that same person will probably be biased against other brands.

You can recognize an author’s bias by looking for certain problems with their statements: Using emotional or loaded statements Using overstatements or exaggerations Using opinions rather than facts Using broad, sweeping statements or generalizations

Using Emotional or Loaded Statements: Example Unbiased statement “This car will be a game-changer for you and your family; it will bring you all together in ways you NEVER thought possible”! “This car is big enough to fit a family of four comfortably.”

Using Overstatements or Exaggerations Example Unbiased statement “This car is the best value on the market today. You won’t see this price anywhere else!” “This car costs $20,000, which is in the average range for this model.”

Using Opinions rather than Facts Example Unbiased statement “I would say that the brakes on this car will last you at least five years.” “Safety testing showed that the brakes on this model can last up to four years, with proper maintenance.”

Using Broad, Sweeping Statements or Generalizations Example Unbiased statement “You don’t want to buy Brand X cars. All those models are terrible.” “The performance statistics on our cars show that they outperform other brands in reliability.”

Let’s look at an example from your workbook. taken from Unit 3 Activity 11

In Source #1, you’ve just read a secondary source on the life of Joan of Arc, which was pretty unbiased and straightforward.

What about Source #2?

How can you look for author bias? FIRST: read the title! It was a letter written by the ENGLISH king! ENGLISH= the French’s enemy! Joan’s enemy!

How can you look for author bias? SECOND: read the note on the bottom!!!

“Hey, we tried doing the right thing. She did this to herself.” The Note says: Who wrote the letter? Advisors of the 9-year old English king What was it about? Joan’s life, trial, execution Who was it written to? Other European leaders What can be the author’s bias? The purpose of the letter is to inform the other leaders that: “Hey, we tried doing the right thing. She did this to herself.”

What about any loaded language that was used? JUST TO LIST A FEW….

Now answer the question… Is Source #2 a fair account of Joan of Arc’s trial? Or was it used to promote the English’s point of view? How did you come up with your answer? Use EVIDENCE from the source (actual words/phrases/sentences) to explain your answer!!!