Question

Read the following passage. With a brilliant government strategy, the Incas maintained the conquered tribes’ social structures and expanded them to include an empire. Because of the Incas’ wise and thoughtful governing methods, they went on to rule a peaceful and prosperous society for more than a thousand years. What is the author’s viewpoint?

A. positive
B. negative
C. neutral

Answer 1

positive; he states that the polices were 'good,' instead of just what they were.

Answer 2

The correct answer is: A. positive.

Indeed, the lexical field confirms such assessment since all the adjectives imply praise of the Incas’ government strategy. Words like brilliant, wise, thoughtful are meant to elicit a positive response from the reader. Had the author decided to avoid such adjectives the tone would have been neutral. The author could also have used other more neutral adjectives such as effective and efficient.