Question

Alcatraz Island is in the middle of San Francisco Bay. In 1934, the federal government began using the military buildings there as a maximum security prison. Today, the prison is a tourist attraction. California’s first lighthouse was built on the island.

What is the author’s viewpoint?


neutral


negative


positive

Answer 1

The answer is indeed neutral.

Step-by-step explanation:

When an author's purpose is to merely inform readers about facts, the viewpoint usually employed is a neutral one. To inform someone of a simple fact, there is no need to express emotion or feelings. Also, if the author does not intend to convince readers of his opinion, it is unnecessary to positively or negatively position himself in relation to the subject.

The passage we are analyzing here provides us with historical facts about the Alcatraz Island. It lets us know when it began to be used as a prison, what it is used for today etc. The author does not, for example, describe the fact of there having been a prison as something bad, something to be ashamed of. That would have been a negative viewpoint. He also does not compliment the current tourist attraction, saying it is fun or worth visiting. Thus, there is no positive or negative stance taken toward this subject, only a neutral one.

Answer 2

The correct answer is A. Neutral

Step-by-step explanation:

In texts, the author's viewpoint refers to the author feelings, position and thoughts in relation to the main topic described in a text, this can be identified by the use of language and the type of content included by the author to refer to a specific topic or issue. In this way, the viewpoint of the author can be neutral if it uses only facts and it is objective or positive or negative if the viewpoint is biased or supports positively or negatively one topic or issue.

In the excerpt presented, the author describes Alcatraz Island and for doing this the author presents mainly facts and information presented that led the reader known Alcatraz was a maximum security prison but now it is a tourist attraction. This implies the author uses mainly facts and it is not supporting a positive or negative idea about Alcatraz and therefore the author's viewpoint is Neutral.