Critical Reading Skills for College and Career Readiness:

Unit OneDistinguishing Fact vs. Opinion

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, an opinion is “a belief, judgment, or way of thinking about something: what someonethinks about a particular thing” (Merriam Webster).

Generally, an opinion will also include some statement of interpretation, judgment or value, using words of judgment, such as good, better, best, great, greater, greatest, bad, worse, worst, wrong, right, etc. as in the sentence: Kansas City is a nicer town than Dallas.

A fact, on the other hand, is a specific detail of information that can be proven or disproven to be true, generally by physical evidence, even if the proof is not currently available. It was a fact at one time, for example, that the Earth was flat, but when it became possible to do so, this was proven to be incorrect.

When presenting an argument, a writer can use both fact and opinion. Sometimes these can be difficult to distinguish between, especially when both are presented in combination.

Also, some evidence may resemble fact in its presentation, but may actually be conjecture. Some (but not all) of the words to watch for to distinguish between statements of fact and statements of opinion include: – believe– think– argue– feel– opinion– view

Although the first half of the following sentences may very well be facts, the second half of each sentence is only an opinion. Look for the give-away verb (and sometimes a vague agent).

It is believed that the Bermuda Triangle is an alien abduction site.

Many people think Bigfoot is a surviving subspecies of Neanderthal man.

What words are clues to the absence of fact in this statement?

It is often argued that the Loch Ness monster is actually a plesiosaur.

How about in this one?

I feel that many lives would be saved if everyone ate one apple every day.

Cancer will be cured in this century, in my opinion.

MODAL VERBS can also signal an opinion or conjecture masquerading as a fact, modal verbs such as:wouldshouldcould might

These modal verbs affect the meaning of the main verb in the following sentences, making them speculative (not facts):

If I had trained more intensively, I could have won the Olympic pole vault.

If we provide more funding to medical research laboratories, they might cure cancer in this century.

A larger police force should lessen crime in our city.

Higher gasoline tax would probably mean lower consumption of fuel.

Surely, all of these things are possible, but the reader must be careful not to interpret them as facts, especially if these propositions are dressed up with statistics, such as:

If I had trained just 25% more intensively, I could have won the Olympic pole vault.

If we provide more funding to even half (50%) of the medical research laboratories, they might cure cancer in this century.

A 20% larger police force should lessen crime in our city by 20%.

A 10% igher gasoline tax would probably mean a 10% decrease in consumption of fuel.

This video from the International English Language Testing System preparation materials (jointly managed by the University of Cambridge English Language Assessment, British Council, IDP Education, and IELTS Australia) can help by providing some tools for distinguishing between fact and opinion. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7LD2rfBrV4Y

Activity (1.A)Distinguishing Fact from Opinion.

On your activity sheet, identify which of the following sentences are facts and which are opinions. Be ready to explain your reasoning.

Let’s take a look. Please explain your decision.

1. Buying a new car is a terrible waste of money.2. The best dessert is chocolate ice cream with marshmallow sauce.3. A very hot day is much worse than a very cold day. 4. Morocco and Algeria share a border.5. A 20% reduction in the use of fossil fuel should initiate a similar

reduction in global warming.6. As believed by the majority of Ford truck owners, the Chevrolet pickup is

an inferior product. 7. Much evidence exists that the ruins at Machu Picchu are ancient alien

residences. 8. The majority of the Earth is covered by water.9. The hottest recorded temperature in the world was 134 degrees

Fahrenheit on July 10, 1913, at Death Valley.10. Minnesota is not as nice a place to live as Texas because Minnesota is

much colder.