21 Is there Bias in What You Read?

Identifying your OWN bias is one thing, understanding and identifying the bias of others is something entirely different.

Recognizing whether an author or writer shows bias helps you as a critical reader to see through persuasion. There is nothing wrong with a writer sharing their opinion or writing negatively or positively about a topic.  In fact, in America, freedom of speech and freedom of the press is a Constitutional right!

But as writers share their opinions you, as a critical reader and thinker, must do the hard work of understanding when a writer is completely biased, a little biased, or unbiased.

There is nothing inherently wrong with bias.  All of us are biased for or against one thing or another. What is most important to understand is that, as a critical thinker, you should be able to detect bias in what you see, hear, and read so that you are not easily manipulated but are making well-researched choices and decisions of your own.

Bias means

• the writer is subjective or uses personal feelings, tastes or opinions
• Leaning to one side of an issue or argument
• Connotative language (using words that evoke emotion)

Unbiased means

• The writer is objective or does not use feelings, emotions, tastes, or opinions
• Presents both sides of an issue or argument
  • Shows no preference or judgment for or against something
• Uses straight-forward language

Sometimes writers can be a little bit biased while other times they can be extremely biased. You might use a scale such as the following:

•  unbiased; highly objective; provides facts, presents both sides of an issue
• mostly unbiased; provides facts, leans slightly to one side
• somewhat biased; includes facts and adds opinion
• fairly biased; hints of opinion, use of connotative language, some facts presented
• biased; very few facts, opinion evident, connotative language