0004 Use Critical-Reasoning Skills to Evaluate Written Material
Interpret a Passage to Determine the Writer's Opinion, Point of View, or Position on an Issue
Sometimes a writer makes his/her own views on the subject clear:
“I think handguns ought to be controlled.”
or
“Freedom to buy and own handguns should be unrestricted.”
At other times, writers simply discuss an issue:
“The control of handguns is a controversial issue.”
In these latter cases, however, you should check to make sure that the point of view really is balanced and that the discussion is not slanted to one side or the other.
For example:
If both sides of an issue are being fairly presented, both discussions will be approximately the same length. Biased, or slanted, language that tries to influence the reader towards one side or the other will be avoided.
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