Recognizing Intent, Attitude, Tone, Bias

• What’s the writer’s attitude? (interested, neutral, professional) tone? (POV, level of formality, word use) biases?
• Does the writer mean what she says or is she making her point in an indirect way through humor, satire, irony, or sarcasm?
• Are the writer’s words to be taken exactly as they appear, or are they slang, idioms, or figures or speech?
• Which of the writer’s statements are facts? opinions?