reading

Point of View - Venuto

Directions: Read the sheet below (there’s a back side). After, read the article “Why Time Magazine Owes the Fitness Industry a Big Fat Apology” on your own. When you finish, answer the questions. Stay focused here and work towards responding to the questions with concrete details. If you do not understand a question, check with another group or your instructor.

1) What is the topic of the article?

2) What is your opinion of the article’s topic (for this to work, you have to be totally honest)?

3) What is the author’s opinion on the topic? What are the author’s credentials on the subject? (Tom Venuto is a lifetime natural body builder and fitness writer. He runs the Burn the Fat Blog.) The information in parentheses is his brief bio. You still need to determine his credentials on the topic.

4) What does the author have to gain by writing this article?

5) Does the author use Fact or Opinion (or both) as support? If both, which is more effective and why?

6) Are the facts selected slanted to reflect the author’s bias? Explain your response.

7) What is the author’s purpose for writing the piece?

8) What is the author’s tone? List some words or phrases from the article that you think suggest the author’s tone.

9) React to the author’s point of view. Do you think it was objective and that he was “right?” Or do you think he was biased and “wrong.” After reacting, explain why you reacted this way.

“Summary Points” from College Reading pp. 415

➤ Does a textbook reflect the author’s point of view?

Authors have opinions, theories, and prejudices that influence their presentation of material. When facts are slanted, though not necessarily distorted, the material is biased in favor of the author’s beliefs.

➤ What is the author’s point of view?

A bias is a prejudice, a preference, or an inclination. The bias, in a sense, creates the point of view—the particular angle from which the author views the material.

➤ What is the reader’s point of view?

The reader’s point of view is the prejudice or bias the reader has concerning the subject. Readers should not let their viewpoint impede their understanding of the author’s opinions and ideas.

➤ What is the difference between a fact and an opinion?

A fact is a statement that can be proved true; an opinion is a statement of feeling or a judgment. Both facts and opinions are used persuasively to support positions.

➤ What is the author’s purpose?

The author’s purpose may be to inform, to persuade, to entertain, or to achieve some other goal. An author always has a purpose in mind, and to be a well informed consumer, a sophisticated reader should recognize that purpose.

➤ What is the author’s tone?

The tone of an author’s writing is similar to the tone of a speaker’s voice. The reader’s job is to look for clues to determine the author’s attitude about the subject.