5. What is …???
Bias
is the tendency of an individual to have
a positive or negative tendency or liking
towards or against something. Showing
bias prevents an individual to approach
an issue or matter from neutral point of
view.
7. Biased Statement
“Jenna deserves to
be the school
valedictorian since she
is more intelligent than
Jane and because
Jenna is my best
friend.”
8. Bias In Writing
• A prejudice against an author is writing about.
• Favoritism for something an author is writing about.
• An author letting feeling or emotions cloud his/ her
objectivity connecting something he/ she is writing
about.
9. Recognizing Bias
• Look for loaded words – words that are charged
with emotion ( whether positive or negative) can
reveal an author’s opinion about his/her topic
Emotional Bias
• stem from impulse or intuition and tend to result
from reasoning influenced by feelings.
• are harder to connect for because they are based
on feelings which can be difficult to change.
10. Recognizing Bias
2. Watch out for stereotypes
-If the author labels an entire group, the writing is
probably biased.
-People are often biased against other outside of their
social group.
11. Examples:
Black people to be more violent and tend to
engage more in crimes than the white people.
People with tattoos are troublemaker and bad
people.
Politician are all corrupt.
People with lighter skin complex are kinder and
more intelligent and more capable than those with
darker complexion.
All Filipinos working abroad are domestic helpers
who can’t afford branded items.
12. Recognizing Bias
3. Notice vague language or generalizations- if the author
isn’t using specific language, this could be an indicator of
bias.
Example:
Biased: Education do not consider each child’s particular
learning style when developing lesson.
Better: Some do not consider each child’s particular
learning style when developing lessons
13. Recognizing Bias
4. Be on the look out for one-side arguments- if the
author only presents one side of an arguments, his/
her writing is probably biased.
Example:
Biased: My daughter texts constantly, which shows
that teenagers use cell phones more than they did in
the past.
Better: Teenager’s use of cell phones, specifically for
texting, has increased 33% in the last 2 years (
Mcdonalds,2011).
14. Recognizing Bias
5. Does the author present facts or opinions?
Facts are what they are- the truth. But opinions can be
based on feelings, emotions, or prejudices, which aren’t
objective.
16. Indicators of Biases
What is the author’s point of view on the issue?
What does the author stand to gain?
Does the author present the other side of the story?
If yes, was the author objective in presenting the
other side of the matter?
18. Scenario 1:
You want to watch an upcoming thriller movie and so you
read movie reviews online. You came across the blog of the
famous movie critic. Cameron Panis Jr. He isn’t a fan of
Vince Disel, the star of the movie. “Pandemic Revolution”
because of an incident when Vince spilled sauce on
Cameron shoes. Although Cameron enjoyed the movie he
didn’t put on a good review and commented that Vince
Disel is a lousy actor who just paraded his muscled body.
19. Scenario 2:
Minchin is interested in buying a new smartphone since
it will be needed for his online classes. She goes to the All
Phone Store and inquire about the latest A Phone and
series. Mr. Barnie the manager, discourages Minchin from
buying A Phone and stating its limitations and keeps on
showing Minchin different models of phones. Minchin finds
out that All Phones Store does not sell A Phone series.
20. Writer should write objectively and inclusively to receive respect and
trust from readers, as well as to avoid alienating readers. To be
objective means to write with curiosity, rather than having a present
opinion, and to engage with research, rather than presenting a
personal preference.
