Author's Opinion

Author opinion questions ask what the writer thinks - not what the passage states as fact, but the position the author takes on it.

They look like:

• "The author would most likely agree with..."
• "Which of the following best reflects the author's view?"
• "The author's attitude toward X is best described as..."

There's no keyword to scan for. The question points at the passage as a whole, not a specific sentence. That means scanning won't work here - you need a different approach.

These appear in roughly 5% of VR questions. They take longer than keyword-based questions, but the technique below keeps them manageable.

The author's position is almost always stated in the introduction (first paragraph) and conclusion (last paragraph). The middle paragraphs provide evidence and detail, but the bookends tell you what the author actually thinks. Read those and skip the rest.

Four steps, target 25-35 seconds:

1. Read the first 2-3 sentences (introduction).
2. Read the last 2-3 sentences (conclusion).
3. Decide: is the author for or against the topic?
4. Select the option that matches their stance.

You don't need to read the full passage. The intro sets up the author's position. The conclusion reinforces it. Everything in between is supporting evidence you can ignore for this question type.

Conclusion sentence:

"Unsurprisingly, many water companies who tried to deactivate UV treatment found that people got upset about it."

Decoding: "Unsurprisingly" = the author agrees with the upset. The author thinks deactivating UV is bad. So: author is PRO UV treatment.

Answer: A

The clue was a single word: "unsurprisingly." That one word reveals the author's position. Look for these opinion-signalling words - they do the heavy lifting.

Introduction:

"While parents worry about their children spending too much time on tablets and phones, the evidence suggests these fears are largely overstated."

Conclusion:

"Rather than restricting access altogether, parents would do better to focus on the type of content their children consume."

Decoding: The intro says fears are "overstated" - the author doesn't think screens are that bad. The conclusion says restricting access is wrong; content matters more. The author's position: screen time itself isn't the problem; content quality is what matters.

Question: "The author would most likely agree with which of the following?"

Answer: C

Notice how B is a trap. The author doesn't say screens are harmless - they say the type of content matters. B goes too far.

"Author agrees with" = "passage supports"

You don't need to psychoanalyse the author. The author "agrees with" anything the passage states or necessarily implies. This is just another Match/Opposite/Outside question - but about the passage's overall position rather than a specific sentence.

This reframe makes these questions less intimidating. You're not guessing what a real person thinks. You're checking which option aligns with the passage's direction.

When scanning the intro and conclusion, look for these markers. They're the words authors use to insert their view into otherwise neutral prose:

Sometimes the intro and conclusion don't clearly reveal the author's position. Maybe the passage is deliberately balanced, or the opinion is buried in a middle paragraph. Here's your fallback:

1. Check for opinion language in the middle paragraphs. Scan for words like "clearly," "unfortunately," "importantly," "however" - these signal the author inserting their view into otherwise neutral reporting.
2. Use the questions you've already answered. If Q1-Q3 were about specific facts, you've already read chunks of the passage. What was the overall direction of those facts - positive, negative, mixed?
3. Eliminate and guess. If you can rule out even one option, your odds improve from 25% to 33%. Rule out two and you're at 50%. That's good enough when you're stuck. Don't burn 60 seconds chasing certainty on a question worth the same as one you can answer in 15.

Next lesson: The other "whole passage" question type - Main Theme and Summarise questions. These ask what the passage is about, not what the author thinks.