d. Viewpoint Question
Viewpoint is someone’s ability to see the world in their own way. Viewpoint questions are used to test your ability to recognize the writer’s opinion on a topic in the passage. This is a test to know your ability to distinguish facts from opinion.
A fact is a piece of information that has been discovered or proved true. The following statements are facts:
- Children in Germany start learning English at the age of seven.
- Over 20% of Australia’s population is foreign-born.
- We all need water to survive.
An opinion is a statement that reflects a person’s individual viewpoint on a topic. Also, most writers and speakers don’t put ‘I think’ in front of every opinion they give. This means that as a reader, you need to look for other words that help to indicate a personal opinion.
The following statements are opinions based on the above facts. The words that show the writer’s opinion are in bold:
- Germans are very good speakers of English.
- Australia has a good balance of different cultures in its society.
- Free bottled water should be given to students in schools.
The question types that are used to test your understanding of the writer’s viewpoints are: