What does a child have to do to identify writer viewpoint in the 11+?

Identify the writer viewpoint from language choices. It is one of 41 named English skills in the 11+, in the reading strand, and this page carries 1 interactive exercise that practises it.

What is not part of identify writer viewpoint in the 11+?

The skill map draws the line here: Excludes purpose unless viewpoint evidence is required. A question past that line is testing a different named English skill, which is worth knowing before you spend a week practising the wrong one.

Which other 11+ skills should we practise alongside identify writer viewpoint?

The reading strand holds 11 skills that are tested together, and the pages next to identify writer viewpoint are infer a character state, infer implicit meaning and interpret a word in context. Each has its own exercise and its own link, and none of them needs an account.

How can my child practise identify writer viewpoint for free?

Use Comprehension X-Ray, embedded on this page. It is the exercise the skill map attaches to identify writer viewpoint, it runs in the browser with no account to make, these exercises are not scored and do not save learner records. The separate quiz sends answers for marking and shows a score, without saving an assessment record. It also has its own link, so you can send it to a child without sending them anywhere else first.

English · Reading

Identify writer viewpoint

Identify the writer viewpoint from language choices.

Watch the worked example

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Spot the Writer's Viewpoint

This video shows how to use a writer’s choice of words to work out their attitude towards the subject. Watch an 11+ English question solved step by step.

0:00 / 2:55

Turn on captions with the CC button. Jump to any part with the chapter buttons.

Read the transcript

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Quick quiz: Identify writer viewpoint

10 questions, with feedback after each one. No sign-up needed.

Read the questions in this quiz

Question 1
Choose the option that best completes the sentence.
- A.the new card system has made lunchtime worse for pupils
- B.the old paper ticket system was too slow for modern schools
- C.teachers are unable to manage the lunch queue properly
- D.pupils should be given more time to eat their lunch
Question 2
Choose the option that best completes the sentence.
- A.the school is asking too much of pupils outside lessons
- B.pupils should manage their time better to finish homework earlier
- C.television programmes are a distraction pupils should give up
- D.parents today are too soft compared with previous generations
Question 3
Choose the option that best completes the sentence.
- A.the new uniform rule places an unfair cost burden on families
- B.school uniforms should be abolished completely
- C.the school newsletter is dishonest about most things
- D.navy jumpers look better than the new blazer
Question 4
Choose the option that best completes the sentence.
- A.the shortened trip wasted the little time pupils actually had at the museum
- B.school trips are a pointless use of teaching time
- C.the coach company should be blamed for the delay
- D.pupils should never be rushed through any museum exhibit
Question 5
Choose the option that best completes the sentence.
- A.the new school lunches are unappetising and pupils are going hungry because of them
- B.the school kitchen deserves praise for trying something different
- C.pupils today are too fussy to appreciate healthy food
- D.the award the recipe won proves the meal must be nutritious
Question 6
Choose the option that best completes the sentence.
- A.closing Elmfield Park will take something valuable away from the community
- B.the supermarket's new car park will bring more shoppers to the area
- C.parks like Elmfield are rarely used and could be replaced without harm
- D.the council always makes fair decisions about local land
Question 7
Choose the option that best completes the sentence.
- A.the new lunch queue system treats Year 6 pupils unfairly
- B.the new lunch queue system has made lunchtimes calmer for everyone
- C.the poster near the hall is completely accurate about fairness
- D.younger pupils should be made to wait longer instead
Question 8
Choose the option that best completes the sentence.
- A.the phone ban leaves pupils without a way to reach help when needed
- B.the phone ban has successfully improved pupils' concentration in class
- C.the head teacher's explanation fully justifies the new rule
- D.pupils should be allowed to keep their phones during lessons instead
Question 9
Choose the option that best completes the sentence.
- A.the increased homework load is taking over pupils' evenings unfairly
- B.the increased homework will clearly help pupils do better in exams
- C.Tom's sister should also be given more homework to complete
- D.football training is more important than doing homework
Question 10
Choose the option that best completes the sentence.
- A.the council is removing the tree without proper consideration
- B.the tree is dangerous and must be removed for safety
- C.children should not be allowed to play in the park unsupervised
- D.the plaque should be moved to a different tree

Practise it now

Highlight only the sentences that show this is true. Then show the examiner.

This exercise practises identify writer viewpoint alongside its own main skill, Inference & Evidence.

Loading the interactive exercise. Nothing you do here is saved or scored.

A worked example

One question of the kind this skill is tested with, worked all the way through: the reasoning, and what the wrong answers are there to catch.

Reading an opinion out of word choices

Read the passage, then decide what the writer thinks of the changes.

The council calls it a "modernisation". What it means is that the last bench on the green has been carted away, the lime trees have been cut back to stumps, and the space where the market stood is now nine parking bays. Progress, apparently, arrives on a lorry.

The writer disapproves of the changes
The writer approves of the changes
The writer has no opinion either way
The writer is unsure whether the changes will work

Answer: The writer disapproves of the changes

How you get there

The writer never says "I disagree", so the viewpoint has to be read out of the words chosen. "Modernisation" sits inside quotation marks, which holds the council's own word at arm's length. "Carted away" and "cut back to stumps" are harsher than "removed" and "pruned" would have been. The last line says the opposite of what it means. Three choices leaning the same way is a viewpoint.

Why the other answers tempt

"The writer has no opinion either way" tempts because the passage is mostly plain facts: a bench, some trees, nine parking bays. Facts can still be picked and worded to argue, so ask which facts were chosen and what they were called.

If they are stuck, say this

Underline every word the writer could have said more neutrally, then ask which way all of them lean together. One loaded word may be an accident; four in a row is not.

Now do it live in Comprehension X-Ray

Kitchen-table script for parents

Try this together

A friendly mini script for the breakfast table, school run or a quiet two minutes. Read it aloud as written, or make it your own.

Ready? Let's have a go at Identify writer viewpoint together. What it means is that the last bench on the green has been carted away, the lime trees have been cut back to stumps, and the space where the market stood is now nine parking bays. Here comes the question: Read the passage, then decide what the writer thinks of the changes. Before we race ahead, let us choose one good first step. Here is a helpful clue: Underline every word the writer could have said more neutrally, then ask which way all of them lean together. Nice work. Now let us follow the thinking: "Carted away" and "cut back to stumps" are harsher than "removed" and "pruned" would have been. So our answer is: The writer disapproves of the changes. There is one sneaky trap to watch for: Facts can still be picked and worded to argue, so ask which facts were chosen and what they were called. Can you show me that first move again in your own words? Brilliant. No rush; we are practising a method you can reuse, not trying to win a speed contest.

What this exercise is doing

Comprehension X-Ray

Highlight only the sentences that show this is true. Then show the examiner.

This engine’s own main skill is Inference & Evidence. It practises identify writer viewpoint alongside it.

Evidence is not "the bit that mentions it" - it is the bit that could not be true unless the statement were true. Maya turning at the fork without checking the signpost, and warning the others about a loose step she has never been shown, both need her to have been here before. The other sentences fit the scene beautifully, but a first-time visitor could have produced every one of them.

What to say if they get stuck

A sentence is only evidence if the statement would fall apart without it.
Some sentences are about the lighthouse, or about the weather. Being on the same topic is not the same as being proof.
Look for things Maya does that she could only do if she already knew the path.

Open Comprehension X-Ray on its own page to share it

How identify writer viewpoint differs from the skills beside it

The same exercise practises several skills, and telling them apart is often the difficulty rather than the exercise itself. On this page the skill is: identify the writer viewpoint from language choices, and it stops where excludes purpose unless viewpoint evidence is required.

Identify textual mood
Identify the mood created by a short passage or poem. Excludes naming the writer viewpoint.
Infer implicit meaning
Draw one supported conclusion that is not directly stated. Excludes author viewpoint and broad theme.
Retrieve an explicit detail
Find a detail stated directly in a passage. Excludes inference and summary.

Related english skills

Distinguish fact and opinionClassify one statement as presented fact or opinion.
Identify a main ideaSelect the main idea of a passage or section.
Identify writer purposeIdentify why a text or section was written.
Identify a themeIdentify the broader idea developed across a passage.
Infer a character stateInfer one character feeling, motive, or attitude from textual evidence.
Interpret a word in contextInfer the meaning of one word from its sentence and passage context.
Sequence passage eventsPut explicitly described events in passage order.

All english 11+ skills

Questions parents ask about identify writer viewpoint

What this skill involves, common mistakes and ways to practise it at home.

: Identify the writer viewpoint from language choices. It is one of 41 named English skills in the 11+, in the reading strand, and this page carries 1 interactive exercise that practises it.
: "The writer has no opinion either way" tempts because the passage is mostly plain facts: a bench, some trees, nine parking bays. Facts can still be picked and worded to argue, so ask which facts were chosen and what they were called. The wrong answers on this skill are built out of that, not out of random numbers, so it is worth naming out loud before your child meets it under time pressure.
: Point at the next move rather than explaining the whole rule. Underline every word the writer could have said more neutrally, then ask which way all of them lean together. One loaded word may be an accident; four in a row is not.
: The skill map draws the line here: Excludes purpose unless viewpoint evidence is required. A question past that line is testing a different named English skill, which is worth knowing before you spend a week practising the wrong one.
: The reading strand holds 11 skills that are tested together, and the pages next to identify writer viewpoint are infer a character state, infer implicit meaning and interpret a word in context. Each has its own exercise and its own link, and none of them needs an account.
: Use Comprehension X-Ray, embedded on this page. It is the exercise the skill map attaches to identify writer viewpoint, it runs in the browser with no account to make, these exercises are not scored and do not save learner records. The separate quiz sends answers for marking and shows a score, without saving an assessment record. It also has its own link, so you can send it to a child without sending them anywhere else first.

Comprehension, vocabulary, grammar and punctuation are four different problems

A free diagnostic separates them, so practice goes where the gap actually is rather than on whichever one is easiest to set.