Quarter 3 Week 1

MOST ESSENTIAL LEARNING COMPETENCY:

Examine biases (for or against) made by the author
Objectives

 Examine biases (for or against) made by the author;

 Identify words (whether positive or negative) can reveal an
author’s bias; and
 Identify biases in different readings by stating the authors’
connotations, loaded words, stereotypes, vague language or
generalizations, one-sided arguments, and personal opinions
Pre-Activity

Identify if the
following
scenarios show
favoritism
LESSON 1: Examine biases (for or
against) made by the author

 Every author holds opinions that affect his or

her discussion of an issue, opinions that you
as a reader must try to recognize and
understand. Even the most seemingly factual
report can carry an understated or implied
judgment. Such judgments reflect an author's
bias or preference for one side of an issue
over another.
 Pre-Test

My son's girlfriend is very rude. She calls so late at night--

sometimes as late as 9:00 at night! Last week she called me
“ate” so disrespectful!--I quickly corrected her. Today she
came over for lunch and brought Graham Cake--without
even asking if it was okay. What if I had already made a
Graham Cake?

1. To whom is the author biased against?

2. Which words show the author's bias?
Pre-test

In the long history of the United States,

there never was a black president, if
Obama is elected, he would be the
first Negro in the White House.

1. To whom is the author biased against?

2. Which words show the author's bias?
 Pre-Test

Since the resignation of the assistant CEO of

the company last week, Mark Mercado, a
manager, and Linda Deleon, a supervisor,
and mother of two, are vying for the
position.

1. To whom is the author biased against?

2. Which words show the author's bias?
 LOOKING BACK TO YOUR LESSON

Recognizing the Denotative and Connotative

meanings of words can help ensure that you
understand exactly what an author is trying to
say.
The denotative meaning is the literal or formal
meaning of a word. For instance, the term dog
denotes an animal with fur, four legs, and a tail.
LOOKING BACK TO YOUR LESSON

The connotative meaning is not part

of the official dictionary definition, the
emotions and associations connected
to a word are known as its
connotative meaning. Depending on
how a word has been used over time,
it may have a positive, negative, or
neutral connotation.
LOOKING BACK TO YOUR LESSON

A word whose connotation is neither

positive nor negative. For example,
when speaking about a pet, the word
“dog” has a neutral connotation; but,
the word “mutt” has a negative
connotation, and the word “purebred”
has a positive connotation.
Read the sentences below. Identify the
words having negative connotation.

1. Tondo is a gritty neighborhood, but the rents are low.

2. On my flight to Cebu, I sat next to this babe. She was
beautiful.
3. Every morning my neighbor takes his mutt to the park. It
always barks loudly when leaving the building.
4. You need to be pushy when you are looking for a job.
5. Bob is bullheaded sometimes, but he always gets the
job done.
Author’s Bias

An important part of evaluating an author’s

ethos is identifying that author’s bias. Bias is
any opinion that influences a person’s
thoughts, feelings, or actions. A person can be
biased against something or have a bias for
something. An author’s bias is an opinion or
prejudice that affects that author’s writing and
prevents the author from being completely
neutral about the topic or issue about which
s/he is writing.
How to determine the author’s bias

The author may state directly some of

his/her biases by telling the reader his/her
opinions on certain topics or admitting that
s/he has a conflict of interest or preference.
But when an author does not acknowledge
his/her own bias, a reader can infer what an
author’s bias maybe by looking at the
author’s diction.
 When looking at the author’s diction:

Does the author use words with more negative connotations

when referring to one side of an issue or particular people?
Example: Negative:
 Let's just say she's dumb.
 Is that what you're reading? Your interests sure are weird.
 Before he makes any purchases, Billy likes to do his
research; he's so cheap.
 At work and at home, she's very egotistical.
When looking at the author’s diction:
Does the author use words with more positive connotations
when referring to one side of an issue or particular people?
Example: Positive:
 Let's just say she's a little more simple than others her
age.
 Is that what you're reading? Your interests sure are
unique.
 Before he makes any purchases, Billy likes to do his
research; he's very economical.
 At work and at home, she's very confident.
To be "simple" or "simple-minded," probably means
you're very sweet, but not the smartest person in the
room. To be labeled as flat out dumb is not only
hurtful but deliberately insulting. Uniqueness is a bit
like prettiness; there's nothing wrong with being
special. Weird, however, carries a very negative
undertone. When we think of someone economical,
we tend to consider them to be logical and wise.
Meanwhile, cheap is a derogatory term for someone
stingy. Determined… assertive… confident. Each of
these labels carries a positive connotation; they
indicate a "go-getter." However, once someone slips
from confident to egotistical, they're no longer an
inspiration to be around.
Activity 1

Read the paragraphs and answer the questions

after each paragraph. For each paragraph,
determine what the author’s bias is by looking for
patterns in the author’s diction (connotations) and
the use of evidence.
 (This paragraph examines the effects of beauty
on people’s (particularly women’s) lives.)

Men's looks matter to heterosexual women only somewhat. Most women prefer
men who are taller than they are, with symmetrical features (a sign that a
potential partner is healthy and parasite-free). But, women across cultures are
intent on finding male partners with high status, power, and access to
resources—which means a short guy can add maybe a foot to his height with a
private jet. And, just like women who aren't very attractive, men who make very
little money or are chronically out of work tend to have a really hard time finding
partners. There is some male grumbling about this. Yet, while feminist
journalists deforest North America publishing articles urging women to bow out
of the beauty arms race and "Learn to love that woman in the mirror!", nobody
gets into the ridiculous position of advising men to "Learn to love that
unemployed guy sprawled on the couch!"
Men's looks matter to heterosexual women only somewhat. Most women prefer
men who are taller than they are, with symmetrical features (a sign that a
potential partner is healthy and parasite-free). But, women across cultures are
intent on finding male partners with high status, power, and access to
resources—which means a short guy can add maybe a foot to his height with a
private jet. And, just like women who aren't very attractive, men who make very
little money or are chronically out of work tend to have a really hard time finding
partners. There is some male grumbling about this. Yet, while feminist
journalists deforest North America publishing articles urging women to bow out
of the beauty arms race and "Learn to love that woman in the mirror!", nobody
gets into the ridiculous position of advising men to "Learn to love that
unemployed guy sprawled on the couch!"

1. To whom the author is biased for or against?

2. What are the negative connotative words used by the author that show bias?
3. What are the positive connotative words used by the author that show bias?
ACTIVITY 2 Recognizing Bias

1. Look for loaded words – words that are charged with

emotion (whether positive or negative) can reveal an
author’s opinion about his/her topic.
Example: terror, terrorist, freedom, sex, gay, reason and
radical.
ACTIVITY 2 Recognizing Bias

2. Watch out for stereotypes – if the author labels an

entire group, the writing is probably biased.
Examples: All teenagers are rebels.
All Asians are good at math. All Asians like to eat rice
and drive slow.
Men are strong and do all the work.
ACTIVITY 2 Recognizing Bias

3. Notice vague language or generalizations – if the

author isn’t using specific language, this could be an
indicator of bias.
Examples: We’ve been living here for more or less
five years.
She’s got a small dog, a kind of Aspin, or something.
I can’t meet up later. I have too much stuff to do.
ACTIVITY 2 Recognizing Bias

4. Be on the lookout for one-sided arguments – if the

author only presents one side of an argument, his/her
writing is probably biased.
Example: Informing volunteers only about the
benefits of the vaccine, but not explaining the side-
effects or risks associated with it.
ACTIVITY 2 Recognizing Bias

Does the author present facts or

opinions? Facts are what they are –
the truth. Opinions, on the other
hand, can be based on feelings,
emotions, or prejudice.
ACTIVITY 2 Recognizing Bias

Look for the following:

✓Loaded words
✓Stereotyping words
✓Generalizing words
✓Author’s opinion
 ACTIVITY 2
When I met with Mayor Gomez, I noticed that he had the
✓Loaded words appearance of a hobo. He was unshaven and wearing dirty
✓Stereotyping words
✓Generalizing words clothes. He spoke to me about his horrible plan to fix our
✓Author’s opinion city’s roads. Anyone who knows the plan will tell you that it
will bankrupt our city. The plan to fix our roads mostly
benefits friends of the Mayor. He plans to pay his buddies in
the construction business thousands of dollars over the next
two years. I do not want to insult anyone, but the Mayor is
of Italian descent, and we all know what reputation they
have in this part of the country. Need I remind you of Al
Capone and other Italian Mafia members?
Source: “Author’s Tone and Bias.” n.d.
 REMEMBER

An author’s bias is an opinion or prejudice that affects that author’s

writing and prevents the author from being completely neutral about
the topic or issue about which s/he is writing.
To determine the author’s bias a reader must look at the author’s
negative connotations and positive connotations when referring to
one side of an issue or particular people. These connotations are
another clue to what or whom the author may be biased for or
against. Another is looking at the author’s use of negative evidence
and positive evidence for one side of an issue than the other.
In recognizing bias a reader should look for loaded words, watch out
for stereotypes, notice vague language or generalizations, be on the
lookout for one-sided arguments, and personal opinions.
Activity to be done and submitted

➢Do post-test on pages 8-9

➢Direction: Read the
paragraphs/sentences and
answer the questions that follow.
➢Submit your work online