English Second Language·Reading skills · NSSCO 4.6
Fact, opinion & bias; purpose, attitude & inference
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Not everything you read is simply true. Some of it can be proved, some of it is only what the writer thinks, and some of it is quietly trying to sway you. In this lesson we become careful, thinking readers. We learn to tell fact from opinion, to spot bias and loaded words, to work out WHY a writer wrote something, to feel HOW they feel about it, and to read between the lines for what they hint at but never say.
What you'll learn in this lesson
By the end you should be able to (NSSCO English Second Language 4.6):
- Distinguish between a fact (which can be checked or proved) and an opinion (what someone thinks or feels)
- Identify the signal words that usually show an opinion
- Recognise bias in a text and explain how to spot it — one-sided writing, emotive language, no evidence, ignoring the other side
- Identify the writer's purpose: to inform, to persuade, to entertain, to instruct or to describe
- Identify the writer's attitude, or tone, from the words they choose
- Make simple inferences — work out what is implied but not directly stated — and tell the difference between stated and implied information
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Miss Veronica and Mike talk through the whole topic — with the figure and working drawn live.