Author's Attitude
Most of us tend to think that text is either biased or unbiased. For example, we assume that a textbook is going to be largely unbiased, containing only facts that experts have agreed are essential to understanding the subject at hand. But authors are human and they face a mountain of information. They must select certain facts to include – and omit others. When the authors begin to write, they choose words that reflect their beliefs about the topic at hand. Consciously or unconsciously, the author includes his biases in the text.
Some bias is unavoidable. When the author's attitude comes through subtly – or loudly and consistently – then we need to question the credibility of the text. As teachers, we hope that students encounter biased text only on the opinion-editorial page of the local or national newspapers that they read. The reality is that bias is everywhere – in the media, in advertising, even in textbooks. Students need to develop a healthy skepticism in order to be critical readers and consumers of information. Critical reading means being on the lookout for bias, especially when that bias is subtle.
Biased words help us to detect the emotion in a text. Bias, however, is not evident based only on the words the author chooses. Bias commonly occurs because of the following:
1. Loaded Language/Connotation
2. Situational Bias – author's affiliation
3. Points Selected and Points Omitted
DENOTATION/CONNOTATION
DENOTATION = dictionary definition, literal meaning
CONNOTATION = the general sense of a word in addition to its literal meaning; this is the word's culture
CHEAP
Denotation – (adj.) relatively low in cost; inexpensive
Connotation – (adj.) stingy; miserly
THRIFTY
Denotation – (adj.) careful use of money and other resources
Connotation – (adj.) wisely economical
CHEAP has a negative connotation; THRIFTY has a positive connotation. Both have similar meanings when you look at the denotation.
Connotation Word Sort
Name: Date: Hour:
Each of the words in a group can be sorted based on the emotional load (connotation) that it carries. Some of the words are relatively neutral, some are positive, and some are negative in connotation. Place the words where you think they belong on the sliding scale, from most negative to neutral to positive.
SET 1: SKINNY SVELTE THIN LEAN BONY
Negative Neutral Positive
SET 2: REPORT CHALLENGE ENDORSE COMPLIMENT CRITICIZE
Negative Neutral Positive
SET 3: BESTIAL ATTRACTIVE GORGEOUS COMELY CUTE
Negative Neutral Positive
SET 4: ADMIRE LOATHE ADORE LIKE TOLERATE
Negative Neutral Positive
SET 5: PUTRID STINKY FOUL PLEASANT AROMATIC
Negative Neutral Positive
Now create one of your own. How many different verbs can you find to replace the verb WALK? After you list the verbs, put them in order according to their connotation.
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What is BIAS?
BIAS – preference or inclination that makes being objective difficult; prejudice;
slant;
one-sided presentation of an issue based on opinion rather than fact
2 Kinds of Bias
1. Loaded Language/Language Words
The words the author chooses are emotional and may unfairly influence the reader’s opinion on the topic.
Look at each of the following sentences Underline any words that are LOADED. These words have CONNOTATION, an emotional meaning that makes the words subjective. The use of these words shows BIAS on the part of the author.
“What’s proper response to recent reports on air bags? Safety device not worth risk, cost, trouble” by Joan Beck St. Paul Pioneer Press December 4, 1996, page 10A
o “It was only a fender-bender, a minor rear-ending of a car in the parking lot of a Boise, Idaho, shopping mall. But it set off a passenger side air bag that decapitated a 1-year-old girl sitting in a forward-facing child seat.”
o “But instead of questioning the whole concept, the Big Brother federal government is reacting by blaming parents and pushing new rules about who should ride where in a car.”
o “Smaller drivers, safety honchos are recommending, should push their seat back as far as possible and use extenders to reach foot pedals.”
o “Every human life is infinitely precious and beyond price.”
2. Situational Bias
This means that the person expressing the opinion has an AFFILIATION with an organization that will make being fair and impartial difficult.
“Animal rights forces missing at shelters” by Susan Paris
St. Paul Pioneer Press May 4, 1997, page 21A
o “For the amount of money raised and spent by US animal rights groups, every cat and dog in America ought to have its own condominium.”
o “At least one shelter, due to a lack of funds, had been forced to destroy unwanted animals using an old carbon monoxide chamber.
o “So what has PETA done to help these homeless, hungry and sick animals and others that suffer and die in shelters each year?”
o “Why do animal rights groups refuse to help shelter animals who need it most?”
o “Its mission is to market its philosophy and lifestyle to the American public – a lifestyle predicated on the belief that the life of a rodent deserves the same moral consideration as the life of a child.”
“Humane Society fights all animal abuse” by Wayne Pacelle
St. Paul Pioneer Press May 13, 1997 Page 6A
o “Susan Paris’ opinion piece ... was a transparent attack on the humane movement by an industry hack.”
o “... more than 90 percent of charitable dollars contributed by Americans to humane organizations are devoted to animal care and sheltering.”
o “Ms. Paris is a foe of animal welfare.”
Look at the credentials of the authors of the last two excerpts:
Paris is president of Americans for Medical Progress, 401 King Street, Suite 401, Alexandria, Va. 22314. This is an organization that promotes use of animals for medical research.
How does Paris’ affiliation create situational bias?
Wayne Pacelle of Washington, D.C. is the vice president of the Humane Society of the United states. The Humane Society is the organization that is being attacked by Paris in her article.
How does Pacelle’s affiliation create situational bias?
Recognizing Bias
Name: Date: Hour:
Critical reading has many aspects, one of which is bias. All words have CONNOTATION. A word’s connotation goes beyond the dictionary meaning of the word. Words can be neutral or have positive or negative connotations. Bias occurs when a person chooses a word that has an excessively positive or negative connotation. Look at these sentences:
Farmers who held their soybeans UNLOADED them later at higher prices.
Farmers who held their soybeans MARKETED them later at higher prices.
In the first sentence, UNLOADED is a word that carries a negative connotation. The reader would assume that the soybeans were somehow inferior since to unload something often means to sell something that is flawed to an unsuspecting buyer. In the second sentence, MARKETED is a word that carries a moderately positive connotation. The reader would assume that the farmer was astute and used sophisticated means to sell for the best price.
Now it’s your turn. In each of the following sentences, identify the word(s) that carries the author’s bias. Underline that word or phrase . In the blank at the left of the sentence, put a + to show positive bias or a – to show negative bias.
1. Bob Hazelton railed against the evils of steroid use as he testified at the House subcommittee hearings on making steroids illegal.
2. Tom Gorowsky’s grit might have been more impressive than his goal-scoring.
3. The teacher’s nitpicking critique of the essay left the student depressed.
4. The Thought Police should worry about bigger issues than what the student wrote in his editorial for the Advocate.
5. The coach scrambled to get all the rosters organized for the game.
6. That politician is just pandering to potential voters with those recent campaign ads.
7. You can pay a lot for the gimmicks that impractical inventors dream up!
8. My mom reneged on her promise to let my get my driver’s license on my birthday.
9. Have you seen her prom dress? She looks positively angelic in it.
10. The telemarketer kept pestering my family with calls during the dinner hour.
11. That sleaze ball? You are related to that sleaze ball loser?
12. The manager’s attitude could really be harmful to those impressionable youths.
13. Because of the student’s diligent work ethic, making the honor roll was easy.
14. After all I have sacrificed for you, how can you be so ungrateful?
15. They reach in to their magic bag of tricks, and they’re off.
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Does the Author Have an Attitude About Henry Ford?
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Author 1
Ford's highly automated system of production limited each worker to one or two specific tasks. The repetitive work was dull, and many workers quit within a few weeks. Concerned about the high turnover of employees, Ford shortened the work day to eight hours and doubled wages to an unheard of $5 a day.
Workers welcomed these bold steps. However, as the wife of one Ford worker noted, the pay increase did not change working conditions:
"The chain system [assembly line] you have is a slave driver! My God! Mr. Ford. My husband has come home & thrown himself down & won't eat his supper – so done out! Can't it be remedied? . . . That $5 a day is a blessing – a bigger one than you know but oh they earn it."
Ford's influence over his workers' lives extended far beyond their time on the line. The attractive wages paid to workers had strings attached. To earn the full $5 wage, workers were required to meet company standards at work and at home. Ford created a department within his company to analyze workers' home lives and offer plans to remedy any problems that Ford and his researchers believed existed.
Ford hoped to instruct his employees in the values and behaviors that he thought were proper. Ford's personnel department kept a close watch over the private lives of employees. Ford strongly opposed tobacco and alcohol. His workers were warned, "It will cost a man his job to have the odor of beer, wine or liquor on his breath or have any of these intoxicants in his home." During World War I, Ford stressed the importance of teaching his mostly foreign-born workforce "American values." Ford instructed workers to move out of ethnic neighborhoods. Workers who did not speak English were required to attend the Ford English School, where they were taught the language and lectured on personal hygiene, manners and proper work habits.
For managed his automobile company closely to ensure the efficiency of his workers and assembly-line system. When the company's profits declined in the 1930s, many people questioned his management skills. In 1945 Ford transferred control of his company to his grandson. He died two years later.
The American Nation: Civil War to Present, 2001, Holt, Rinehart and Winston, p. 389.
Author 2
During the Coolidge years, 1923 to 1929, business prospered. Many Americans earned more money than ever before. Factories increased their output to meet a growing demand for consumer goods, such as radios, washing machines, and refrigerators. The greatest boom occurred in the auto industry. In the early 1900s, only the rich could afford cars. Enter Henry Ford, the genius who invented the Model T, a lower-priced automobile. Aside from inventing the Model T, Ford introduced the assembly line. As you learned in Unit 10, the assembly line made it possible to produce cars much faster and more cheaply.
The boom in auto sales gave a boost to other industries. Cars needed steel, paint, tires, and gasoline. The country needed better roads so new highways were built. Gas stations and restaurants appeared along the new roads. The housing industry boomed as people moved out of crowded cities into suburbs.
Once Americans could buy cars, their daily life completely changed almost overnight. Henry Ford developed a car that was cheap and efficient. His cars were also sturdy enough to survive on the rough dirt roads of the early 1900s. Ford had little formal schooling, but he was fascinated with machines and mechanical inventions. In 1903, he set up the Ford Motor Company and was soon mass-producing the Model T. Ford. Americans bought millions of his cars. No longer were Americans isolated in rural towns and villages. In their Model T's, farmers drove to the city, and city dwellers rode out into the country.
Exploring American History, Globe, 1991, p. 545. (D. Buehl 2005) 638; 9.1
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Reading from a Critical Stance
Name: Date: Hour:
Now that you have read the articles on Henry Ford, try to answer these questions for each author.
Author 1 / Author 2Whose viewpoint is being expressed in this passage? How can you tell? What clues are provided by the author?
What does the author want readers to think? How can you tell? What clues in the text suggest this?
Whose voices are missing? Or silenced? Or discounted? Who are we not hearing from?
What might these missing voices say? What are some alternative perspectives that could be represented? Are other ways of thinking about this topic discouraged?
Tracing the Logical Development of an Argument