How can I answer an RUAE question on author bias?

Bias is when an author is trying to influence the reader's opinion on a topic.Bias within a text can usually be recognised through the connotations of the author's word choice. If the majority of the words in the RUAE text are negatively loaded when describing their topic (for example: bad, disgusting, bland, boring, ugly, tasteless), this generally reveals that the author is negatively biased towards the topic. If the author is trying to paint a positive picture of their topic (being positively biased), they will use attractive words such as happy, pretty, sweet, exciting etc. Stating the authors stance on the topic and giving examples of their word choice is a good way to start your answer. Then, you should comment on how this word choice affects your perception of the topic. You can also make reference to positive and negative imagery such as similes and metaphors here. Check and see if the author gives both sides of the argument. If the text only conveys a positive viewpoint of the text's topic and exclusively uses facts and statistics to make their chosen topic 'look good', it is positively biased. It is worth pointing out these facts and statistics in your answer, and noting the absence of the other side of the argument. Have a look at punctuation. If the author employs scare quotes, they may be mocking something, even if it seems to be an ordinary word. For example, if an author mentions "a 'unique' fashion sense", the meaning of 'unique' is subverted to mean something a little bizarre, as indicated by the author's scare quotes, implying sarcasm. Question marks are also important for identifying bias. If the author poses a rhetorical question to the reader in which there seems to be an obvious Yes or No answer, then bias may be shown.