M.

Rayyan Mohsin
(Partner - Jibraeel)

Evaluating Information Sources: Recognizing Author’s Bias

Definition: Bias in a writing can be defined as the prejudice against something an author is
writing about.The term "biased language" refers to words and phrases that are considered
prejudiced, offensive, and hurtful. Biased language includes expressions that demean or
exclude people because of age, sex, race, ethnicity, social class, or physical or mental traits.

Purpose: This project creates awareness in students of ways in which an author’s/researcher’s

bias can influence writing and research projects. You are supposed to read two articles (online
and print) /blogs/research journals that fall in the same genre/domain and identify the bias
created by the writer.

Type: Students will work in pairs for this project.

Division of the Project: The project is divided into two phases. In Phase 1, you will select and
skim 2 articles and fill out the worksheet given below. In Phase 2, you will annotate the selected
articles and then you will write a critical analysis of the articles. The focus of your analysis will be
to point out the words/phrases/sentences that help create bias in the writings which will be
coupled with your own opinions.

Submission Date: 31st October, 2022

You are supposed to submit your readings with the worksheet.

Late submissions will not be accepted.

You are supposed to submit the project both in hard and soft copy.

Write everything in your own words for both the phases and acknowledge all the
sources. In case of copy/paste, you will be graded F on the project.

Phase 1 Worksheet

A) Select a genre for reading. You can only choose one of the genres from the list below.
You cannot change the genre in the second phase.

● Science & Technology

● Fashion
● Business
● Politics
● Sports
● Environment
● Society/Culture
 ● History

Fashion
Selected Genre: _______________________________

B) State the name of the authors and the chosen articles. You have to choose two articles
and two authors belonging to the same genre. (For example, if you have chosen the
genre, Business, then you have to choose two authors who write about business. Then,
you have to pick two articles. ONE EACH.)

● State the name of the first author and mention the title of the chosen article.

Elizabeth Wellington
Author 1 : ________________________________________

Melania's RNC fashion: A scary statement

Article 1 : _________________________________________

● State the name of the second author and mention the title of the chosen article.

Jibraeel's Part
Author 2 : __________________________________________

Jibraeel's Part
Article 1 : ___________________________________________

C) To answer this question, you must first do an author study. Read a bit about both the
authors from different sources so that you can compare and contrast, analyze the things
critically and build connections.

● Write a paragraph of 40-50 words comprising all the important points about the
first author (background, style of writing, credentials etc.). Write everything in
your own words and mention the sources.

The First author is Elizabeth Wellington who writes for the philadelphia Inquirer newspaper.
____________________________________________________________________________

Being a columnist, Elizabeth writes mostly about topics revolving around the niches of gender,
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race, fashion, culture and wellness. She is an opinion writer, therefore most of her articles
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rely heavily solely on her takes and what she thinks about the relevant topics. She doesn't
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shy away from blatantly voicing out her opinion even if they are sometimes controversial or
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are not something most people would like to hear. However, in doing so, she sometimes over
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expresses to a point where she often contradicts herself which only stems from a place of bias.
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● Write a paragraph of 40-50 words comprising all the important points about the
second author (background, style of writing, credentials etc.). Write everything in
your own words and mention the sources.

Jibraeel's Part
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D) Read the chosen articles carefully and summarize them in your own words. The
summaries must include all the important details. Do not include your own opinions in
the summary.

● Write a summary of the article written by the first author. The word count for the
summary is 100-120 words.

"Melania Trump's RNC fashion: A scary statement" is an article written by Elizabeth

______________________________________________________________________

Wellington who is a writer for the Philadelphi Inquirer newspaper. This article of Elizabeth
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covers the appearance of Malenia Trump at the "RNC" which is a political convention that
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was held shortly before the 2016 US elections. The author discussed the attire of the
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Trump couple, and explained how they both looked elegant and on point. Malenia wore
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 a dress by Roksanda Ilinic who has also designed for Kate Middleton earlier. Donald
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Trumps political campaigning has always been the type to recieve immense backlash,
______________________________________________________________________

especially from the minorities within the US, since he was believed to be a racist and a
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white supremacist. Thus, this dress of his wife stood out and was interpreted as a
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messageType
that hinted the notion that in the government of power, white is always right
text here
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given Malenia's dress was completely white.

______________________________________________________________________

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● Write a summary of the article written by the second author. The word count for
the summary is 100-120 words.

Jibraeel's Part.
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E) Make a bibliography of the sources you consulted to do an author study and also of
the chosen articles.
Sources consulted for author study:

Wellington, E. (2022, October 26). Ye is full of hate. It's time for him to go.
Retrieved from Inquirer.com: https://www.inquirer.com/columnists/ye-kanye-west-adidas-antisemitism-a
nti-black-20221025.html

Wellington, E. (2022, August 9). Vogue quietly corrects errors to Philly travel guide.
Retrieved from Inquirer.com: https://www.inquirer.com/fashion/billy-penn-vogue-travel-c
orrections-beatrice-forman-20220808.html

Wellington, E. (2022, October 5).

Can we forget about ‘the slap’ and focus on the historical importance of Will Smith’s new movie,
‘Emancipation?’. Retrieved from Inquirer.com:
The chosen Article:
Wellington, E. (2016, July 19). Malenia's RNC fashion: A scary statement.
Retrieved from Inquirer.com: https://www.inquirer.com/philly/living/style/Melania-Trump-RNC-
fashion-A-scary-statement.html