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What do you call a part of a statement which gives away a bias?

English Language & Usage Asked by Dan Chase on December 8, 2020

In describing a previous rule change, one could write:

"The school administration updated their rules last week to say that red is no longer a color."

but many times (mostly in the news), they will add something such as "quietly", implying deception, or with other words, more than one mental image for the same statement.

My description is off, but I’m hoping someone knows what I’m referring to, and can help me identify what this device would be called.

Ex1. "The school board last week, quietly passed a rule stating that red is no longer a color".

Ex2. "The ranking member stated, without evidence, that red seemed to imply emotion rather than a visual cue".

Both of these statements could have been written without the bold word.

2 Answers

Generally, this kind of work is called biased language or editorializing.

Correct answer by FeliniusRex on December 8, 2020

In your example 1, "quietly" is simply an adverb modifying the verb "passed". I know of no specific name for this rhetorical device.

Your example 2 fits the description of biased language or editorializing as stated by @FeliniusRex. The phrase "without evidence" can also be described as a parenthetical expression. Even though no parentheses are used, the phrase serves the function of adding information, but the sentence also makes perfect sense without it.

Answered by RobJarvis on December 8, 2020

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