Researchers and journalists work on complex and essential topics that cannot be discussed without emotions. Even though they write serious papers, they sometimes tend to succumb to biases. For this reason, they often make excessive efforts to convince readers of their point of view. This is not always good since any serious article should be objective and reflect the facts without relying on emotions and prejudices. The purpose of this paper is to discuss ways of identifying biases in different texts.
The first sign that an author has a particular bias and tries to impose it on the reader is the use of the dramatic style of writing and images. Using these techniques, authors try to make an emotional impact on the reader. This allows them to describe something wrong in their eyes in the worst possible way. This method is quite effective, especially if the reader is impressionable, but it not always untenable. Another noticeable sign of the presence of bias is the development of the researcher’s thought in only one direction. In this case, authors, for example, describing two opposite points of view, pay most of the attention to only one of them, while ignoring the other. It also indicates bias and a desire to convince readers of something specific.
Using these signs, one can detect bias in various scientific and unscientific articles. For instance, an article by Weinstein (2020) is partly controversial in this regard. It contains vivid images and phrases in large print, which should impress readers. Weinstein (2020) describes his young colleague with the following words: “after opening a cage locker and pulling out an M249 SAW that seemed almost as big as her, she cycled the gun’s action as expertly as any Marine machine gunner I’ve met” (p. 38). This phrase, undoubtedly, has a high level of imagery and affects the reader’s perception of the text. However, in general, the author remains unbiased throughout the article, vividly describing various events; therefore, this article can be called relatively objective.
Reference
Weinstein, A. (2020). A shoot in hell. The New Republic, 36-39.