Question

the driving force behind the global campaign to ban plastic straws is the surfrider foundation. this environmental organization, which is dedicated to cleaning up the oceans, says that discarded straws are some of the most common pieces of trash found in coastal waters and on beaches. on its website, surfrider also declares that, ‘though one could argue that most single - use plastics are unnecessary, straws stand alone as an item that humans could really live without.’
so far the campaign has been effective in getting governments and businesses on board. several cities on the west coast have totally banned plastic straws. it is now illegal for restaurants anywhere in california to automatically serve plastic straws with drinks. starbucks and other businesses have pledged to phase out straws soon.
the public agrees with the effort, too. responses to an article in the san francisco chronicle about the new rules are almost all favorable, such as this one from commenter bottomsup, who writes, ‘it’s a good idea. i’m tired of stepping on plastic junk when i’m trying to enjoy a day at the beach. besides, i’ve been able to drink straight from a glass since i was 3.’
some people disagree, however. another perspective was provided by checkyourprivilege, ‘good for you, but what about people with disabilities? those of us who have trouble moving our head or hands rely on straws. we can’t hold a glass. we can’t use metal straws because they don’t bend, and the paper ones just fall apart.’
what is an example of bias within the reading?
the writer doesn’t interview any scientific or legal experts to determine if the laws will succeed.
the writer uses the comment section of a single newspaper article to represent overall public opinion.
the reading references a publication called \checkyourprivilege\ that sounds like it isn’t real.
the people who commented in the newspaper did not use their real names.

Explanation:

To determine bias, we analyze each option:

• Option 1: Not interviewing experts relates to research scope, not bias in representing opinions or perspectives.
• Option 2: Using comments from one newspaper's article to represent "overall public opinion" is a sampling bias. A single article's comment section is not representative of all public opinion, as it's a limited and non - random sample.
• Option 3: The name "CheckYourPrivilege" being real or not is not relevant to bias in the context of the reading's content presentation.
• Option 4: Commenters using real names or not doesn't introduce bias in the representation of public opinion or the issue's discussion.

Answer:

B. The writer uses the comment section of a single newspaper article to represent overall public opinion.