Unit 1 – Informational Texts

Reporting the News

Objective vs. Subjective

• Objective - Not influenced by personal feelings or opinions in considering and representing facts.

• Subjective - Based on or influenced by personal feelings, tastes, or opinions.

• Bias - prejudice in favor of or against one thing, person, or group compared with another, usually in a way considered to be unfair.

Objectivity’s purpose

- When an issue or event is reported objectively, the reader has the opportunity to take their own stance on the issue free of bias.

Objective Statement

• On Saturday, June fourteenth, John Doe was arrested for armed robbery on the 1400th block of main street.

Subjective Sentence

• On June 14th, John Doe, a ruthless monster, was arrested for armed robbery on the 1400th block of Main St.

Subjective or Objective?

• John Doe proved to be a true American hero as he served lunch to impoverished families in Gateway Park last Wednesday

Subjective or Objective

• John Doe served free lunches to families at Gateway Park last Wednesday.

Assignment

• Think of one class, or lunch period and write both a subjective and objective account of the event.

Subjective Example

Objective Example.

• During first period, the class was introduced to Mr. Murray. It is Mr. Murray’s first year teaching at Destiny High School, and he says he is excited. During class today we did not do much English work. Instead, we went over the syllabus and class expectations, interviewed a classmate and played 21 questions.

Subjective Example

• During first period, we were introduced to our dorky new teacher, Mr. Murray. He just moved to Milwaukee from Iowa, where all they do is eat corn and ride tractors. However, Mr. Murray is the best teacher in the world because he lets us listen to music while we work, as long as we don’t act like crazy hooligans all of the time. It seems as though this year at Destiny is going to be the most successful school year that any of us have ever been a part of.