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Not all VR passages are neutral. Many contain subtle (or not-so-subtle) indications of the author's viewpoint, attitude, or bias. Questions about the author's position and tone test whether you can detect these signals — and whether you can distinguish between what the author personally believes and what the author merely reports. This is a higher-order reading skill that many candidates find challenging, particularly when the author's position is embedded within an apparently factual passage.
Several question types directly or indirectly test your ability to identify the author's stance:
| Question Type | Example |
|---|---|
| Direct tone question | "What is the author's attitude towards the policy?" |
| Author agreement | "Which of the following would the author most likely agree with?" |
| Purpose question | "Why does the author mention the 2019 study?" |
| TFC with opinion | "The author believes that the policy has been ineffective." (True/False/Can't Tell) |
Even when questions do not explicitly ask about the author, understanding tone helps you evaluate whether a passage is presenting facts or opinions — which directly affects TFC answers.
Authors reveal their position through the words they choose. Factual language describes; evaluative language judges.
| Neutral/Factual | Positive Evaluation | Negative Evaluation |
|---|---|---|
| "The policy was introduced" | "The policy was a welcome development" | "The policy was a misguided attempt" |
| "The study found" | "The study convincingly demonstrated" | "The study failed to account for" |
| "Critics have argued" | "Critics have rightly pointed out" | "Critics have wrongly assumed" |
| "The results showed" | "The results clearly showed" | "The results merely showed" |
Key Principle: Words like "welcome", "convincingly", "rightly", "clearly" are not factual descriptors — they are the author's evaluations. When you spot these, you are seeing the author's position.
One of the most reliable indicators of an author's position is the concession-contrast pattern: the author acknowledges one side before asserting the opposite.
Pattern: "Although/While/Despite [concession], [author's actual position]."
Examples:
The rule: In a concession-contrast structure, the author's true position is in the main clause (after the comma), not the subordinate clause (before the comma).
When an author agrees with a view, they tend to present it as fact. When they disagree, they attribute it to others and distance themselves from it.
| Author Agrees | Author Distances |
|---|---|
| "The evidence shows" | "Supporters claim" |
| "Research has demonstrated" | "It has been argued that" |
| "The data confirm" | "Some commentators have suggested" |
| "It is clear that" | "According to proponents" |
Example:
"Proponents of the scheme claim that it has reduced waiting times. However, the data tell a different story: average waiting times have increased by 12% since the scheme's introduction."
Here, the author attributes the positive view to "proponents" (distancing) and presents the negative data as objective fact. The author clearly disagrees with the proponents.
Authors sometimes use rhetorical questions to imply a position without stating it explicitly.
"With unemployment rising and public services stretched to breaking point, is this really the right time to cut foreign aid?"
The expected answer is "no" — the author is implying that it is not the right time. Rhetorical questions almost always point towards the author's position.
Even in apparently balanced passages, the author's choice of evidence can reveal a position.
Signs of selective evidence:
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