Reading comprehension success - LearningExpress 2005
Lesson 4 The Difference between Fact a and Opinion
Building a Strong Foundation
Lesson summary
To make sense of what you read, you must be able to tell whether you’re reading fact or opinion. This lesson tells you how to distinguish what someone knows for certain from what someone believes.
What’s the difference between fact and opinion, and what does it matter, anyway? It matters a great deal, especially when it comes to reading comprehension.
During your life, you’ll be exposed to a wide variety of literature, ranging from analytical articles based on cold hard facts to fictional novels that arise wholly from the author’s imagination. However, much of what you read will be a mixture of facts and the author’s opinions. Part of becoming a critical reader means realizing that opinions are not evidence; for opinions to be valid, they must be supported by cold, hard facts.
Facts are:
■ Things known for certain to have happened
■ Things known for certain to be true
■ Things known for certain to exist
Opinions, on the other hand, are:
■ Things believed to have happened
■ Things believed to be true
■ Things believed to exist
As you can see, the key difference between fact and opinion lies in the difference between believing and knowing. Opinions may be based on facts, but they are still what we think, not what we know. Opinions are debatable; facts are not.
► Using Facts to Support Opinions
Reasonable opinions are those based on fact; and indeed, that is what much of writing is: the writer’s opinion (an assertion about his or her subject) supported by facts or other evidence.
Think about the topic sentences you formed after you finished Lesson 2. Perhaps you made an assertion like this:
James is a terrific boss.
This sentence is a good topic sentence; it’s an assertion about the subject, James. And it is also an opinion. It is, after all, debatable; someone could just as easily take the opposite position and say:
James is a terrible boss.
This is another good topic sentence, and it’s another opinion. Now, a good writer will show his or her readers that this opinion is valid by supporting it with facts. For example:
James is a terrific boss. He always asks us how we’re doing. He lets us leave early or come in late when we have to take care of our children. He always gives holiday bonuses. And he offers tuition reimbursement for any course, even if it has nothing to do with our position.
Notice how the topic sentence states an opinion, whereas the rest of the sentences support that opinion with facts about how James treats his employees. Now that paragraph is much more effective than something like this:
James is a terrible boss. I really don’t like him. He just can’t get along with people. And he has stupid ideas about politics.
Why is the first paragraph so much better? Because it’s not just opinion. It’s opinion supported by evidence. The second paragraph is all opinion. Every sentence is debatable; every sentence tells us what the author believes is true, but not what is known to be true. The author of the second paragraph doesn’t provide any evidence to support why he or she thinks that James is such a lousy boss. As a result, we’re not likely to take his or her opinion very seriously.
In the first paragraph, on the other hand, the writer offers concrete evidence for why he or she believes James is a great boss. After the initial opinion, the writer provides facts—specific things James does (which can be verified by other observers) that make him a good boss. You may still not agree that James is a great boss, but at least you can see exactly why this writer thinks so.
► Distinguishing Fact from Opinion
When you read academic materials, very often you will have to distinguish between fact and opinion— between what the writer thinks and how the writer supports what he or she thinks, between what is proven to be true and what needs to be proved.
A good test for whether something is a fact or opinion might be to ask yourself, “Can this statement be debated? Is this known for certain to be true?” If you answer yes to the first question, you have an opinion; if you answer yes to the second, you have a fact.
Practice 1
Try these questions on the following statements. Read them carefully, and then write F in the blank if the statement is a fact and O if it is an opinion. The answers appear right after the questions.
1. The Academy Awards honor the film industry.
2. The Academy Awards are always fun to watch.
3. More independent films should win Academy Awards.
4. The Academy Awards are an annual event.
5. Best director is the most interesting Academy Award category.
Answers
1. Fact
2. Opinion
3. Opinion
4. Fact
5. Opinion
Practice 2
Now try the same exercise with a complete paragraph. Underline the facts and use a highlighter or colored pen to highlight the opinions. Be careful—you may find fact and opinion together in the same sentence. When you’ve finished, you can check your answers against the marked passage that follows.
There are many different ways to invest your money to provide for a financially secure future. Many people invest in stocks and bonds, but I think good old- fashioned savings accounts and CDs (certificates of deposit) are the best way to invest your hard-earned money. Stocks and bonds are often risky, and it doesn’t make sense to risk losing the money you’ve worked so hard for. True, regular savings accounts and CDs can’t make you a millionaire overnight or provide the high returns some stock investments do. But by the same token, savings accounts and CDs are fully insured and provide steady, secure interest on your money. That makes a whole lot of cents.
Answers
How did you do? Was it easy to distinguish between the facts and the opinions? Here’s what your marked-up passage should look like. The facts are underlined and the opinions are in boldface type.
Practice 3
To strengthen your ability to distinguish between fact and opinion, try this. Take a fact, such as:
FACT: Wednesday is the fourth day of the week.
Now, turn it into an opinion. Make it something debatable, like this:
OPINION: Wednesday is the longest day of the week.
Here’s another example.
FACT: You must be 18 years old to vote in the United States.
OPINION: The voting age should be lowered to 16 years of age.
Now you try. Suggested answers come after the questions.
6. FACT: Healthcare costs have risen over the last several years.
OPINION:
7. FACT: The 22nd Amendment of the United States Constitution establishes a two-term limit for the presidency.
OPINION:
8. FACT: More than 58,000 Americans lost their lives in the Vietnam War.
OPINION:
9. FACT: The Motion Picture Association R (Restricted) rating requires anyone under 17 to be accompanied by a parent or adult guardian.
OPINION:
10. FACT: Use of performance-enhancing drugs is strictly prohibited in both amateur and professional sports.
OPINION:
Answers
There are, of course, many opinions you could form from these subjects. Here are some possible answers.
6. Our government should make healthcare a higher priority.
Companies should give employees several healthcare programs from which to choose.
People should stop complaining about healthcare costs.
7. Presidents should be allowed to serve for three terms.
Limiting service to two terms will make U.S. presidents more effective.
Term limits are a very bad idea.
8. American soldiers should not have been sent to Vietnam.
Our government did all the right things concerning the Vietnam War.
9. The Motion Picture Association should not be able to rate films.
The Motion Picture Association ratings should be taken seriously by all parents.
Movie ratings are useless.
10. Performance-enhancing drugs should be legal. Competitive sports would be more interesting to watch if performance-enhancing drugs were legal. Performance-enhancing drugs are the worst thing that ever happened to competitive sports.
► Summary
The ability to differentiate between fact and opinion is a very important skill. Like a detective, you need to know the difference between what people think and what people know, between what people believe to be true and what has been proven to be true. Then you will be able to see whether writers support their opinions, and if they do, how they do it. This will allow you to judge for yourself the validity of those opinions.
Skill Building until Next Time
■ Listen carefully to what people say today and try to determine whether they are stating a fact or expressing an opinion. When they offer opinions, do they support them?
■ As you come across facts and opinions today, practice turning them into their opposites; make facts out of opinions and opinions out of facts.