Bias and Fact Detection

Students identify which statements are facts, opinions, or hedged claims, and evaluate text balance.

Procedure

1. Give students a text containing a mix of facts, opinions, and hedged claims.
2. Students highlight: facts in one colour, opinions in another, hedged language ("may," "it is believed") in a third.
3. Pairs compare and discuss any disagreements.
4. Evaluate: is the text balanced or biased? What's the evidence?
5. Class discussion on the author's purpose and perspective.

Tips

• Start with a clearly biased text (advertising, editorial) before moving to more subtle examples (news articles, textbooks).