Identifying Tone and Bias in Writing
June 11, 2026
Posted by STLCC in Reading Resources
Throughout your day, you are bombarded with messages from news sources, social media, email, as well as organization and business communications and newsletters. Without realizing it, you pick up on tone and bias in writing as you think about what you read. Being aware of tone and bias is important because both can impact feelings and judgments, which is what writers are trying to do.
Using Contextual Clues
Every day you use contextual clues to identify topics as you listen or read, and you can use these clues to identify tone and bias as well. However, these clues will be more subtle, and you will be looking for words that intend to make you feel a certain way about a topic. That means you are looking for words that describe actions, decisions or results of something.
Identifying Important Words
Reading for the author’s tone means looking for the words describing the actions or feelings in writing or identifying how the words used make you feel as the reader. When reading for tone and bias, think about whether the words are making you feel negatively or positively about a topic or action.
- Look at verbs describing decision-type actions. Authors often use strong verbs like “confirmed, determined, agreed, claimed” rather than “said” to support a point they are making.
- Look for other words that describe actions that can persuade others to feel a certain way about an action, such as “unprofessionally, disrespectfully, unapologetically” rather than “professionally, respectfully, effectively.”
- Identify words that signal what the author thinks is not important, such as “irrelevant, meaningless, immaterial, extraneous, useless” or what the author thinks is important, such as “meaningful, critical, useful, pertinent or valid.”
Tone and Types of Words
| Tone | Types of Words |
|---|---|
| Negative |
|
| Positive |
|
Identifying Author’s Purpose
If you are like most people, you dive into what you are reading, often not thinking about who wrote the article or information and whether they are experts in their area. You may not think about whether they have something to gain from convincing you to believe in or support a certain idea or position. However, taking these steps means that you are looking for bias in writing, and it is an important step to take as a reader.
Doing so not only helps you to become an informed reader, but it also helps you as you develop your own writing skills. You will learn to look at an author’s byline and background, evaluate their sources and their credibility, analyze what information they reported, and identify whether the author includes the opposing view.
Bias and Types of Information
| Bias | Types of Information |
|---|---|
| Author | Who wrote the article? Do they work for an organization with something to gain? What’s the author’s background? |
| Sources | Does the author identify sources and include their background? Can you tell if they are experts? |
| Opposing Viewpoints | Are others’ views reviewed and discussed in detail or not at all? Do you feel it was fair and thorough, or did it leave you feeling like you have questions? |
| Facts or Emotional Language | Did the author use objective facts and allow you to decide what you think about the topic, or did they use subjective emotional language and a tone with a goal of making you feel a certain way? |
| Intent | What’s the author’s purpose? Is the author trying to persuade you to do something or take action? |
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