FACT AND OPINION

Every man has a right to be wrong

in his opinions. But no man has a
right to be wrong in his facts.
-Bernard M. Baruch
 Unless you are writing an editorial or
review, the stories you write are not
about you or your opinion. Therefore,
it’s generally best to write your stories in
the third person.
 Good stories do include both fact and
opinion. Opinions must be attributed to
sources. Facts do not need to be
attributed, unless they are contested or
controversial.
 Know the difference?
Let’s Get The Facts Straight!

 Facts are statements that can be proven.

 Opinions can not be proven. They are
based on someone’s thoughts, their
feelings and their understanding.
 Though you may be able to use facts to
add credibility to an opinion, it is still an
opinion!
 Thoughan opinion may be widely
accepted, that does not make it a fact.
Let’s Get The Facts Straight!
A fact is something that can be proven by
a reliable authority such as:
A history book Statistics Proven
scientific law
Measurements
Government
law
Mathematics
An
observation
 Some Examples of Facts
John F. Kennedy History Book
was President
1961-1963
The adult human Science
body has 206 bones
56% of US gun Statistics
Deaths are suicides
21 is the legal Government Law
drinking age in
Cincinnati, OH
More Examples of Facts
What about observations?
Observations are facts because they can be proven by
the senses.

Fact How it is Provable

Some flowers are You can bring in

larger than others. flowers of various
sizes.
The shirt is green. You can bring in the
shirt so that the color
can be seen.
Getting the Facts on Facts

Some facts change over time.

For example:

It was once considered to be a fact that the world was flat.

Because new things are being discovered

everyday, reliable authorities are sometimes
forced to alter what we all once considered
to be facts.
 Lets Look at Some Examples
of Opinions
Here are some of the same topics that we saw as facts. Can you figure out
how they were changed to opinions?

John F. Kennedy was an excellent

President.

Apparently, the adult human body has more

bones than necessary.
It is likely that the US suicide rate will
decrease soon.

It is unfair for the legal drinking age to be 21.

Types of Opinions

There are Several Types of

Opinions:

Hypothesis Statements
Theory Statements
Assumptive Statements
Value Statements
Exaggerated Statements
Statements of Hypothesis

A Hypothesis is an assumption made in an

attempt to explain an observation. Though
an observation is a FACT, a hypothesis is
an OPINION.

Some flowers are larger than

others because they are in more
fertile soil.
For example, if I were to elaborate on a previous
observation and say:
This hypothesis would have to be further
investigated and scientifically proven to be considered
as a fact.
Statements of Theory

A theory is an opinion that is a widely

believed explanation for a group of
observations. Here are two well known
examples:
• The Theory of Relativity.
• The Evolutionary Theory.
Though many scientists believe that these
theories are true, we still consider them to be
opinions rather than facts because they have
not been proven.
Statements of Assumption

An assumptive statement is an opinion that

is an improvable prediction. Here are
three examples:

o If Bill Clinton ran for NYC mayor he would definitely win.

o The war in Iraq will eventually cost the US all of its allies.
o When the new Matt Damon movie comes out it will definitely
be at the top of the charts!

Though these are stated as though they are true, they

are only assumptive opinions.
Statements of Value

A value statement is any claim that is

based on someone’s belief. Here are three
examples:
• Colin Powell is an excellent candidate for president.
• The use of animals in lab testing is cruel and must be
stopped.
• The Bahamas is the most beautiful place on Earth.

Value Statements are often opinions attempting

to sway the reader to a certain belief.
Statements of Exaggeration

An exaggerated statement is one of that

embellishes the facts, often to sway the
reader. Here are two examples:
• There were millions of people rioting on the streets
of down town Cincinnati.
• The president has not made one good decision since
he has been in office!

Writers often use exaggeration to make their point

more clear. They are still opinions.
 Opinions: Words To Look Out
For
There are certain words that will WARN you that you are being given an
opinion and not a FACT!

Maybe
Necessary
Perhaps
Apparently
Best/Worst
Probably
Experts Agree
Successful
 Getting the Facts About
Opinions
An opinion is not necessarily wrong, it is merely not
a provable fact.
For Example:
“Bridgette is a very beautiful young lady.”

Even if everyone agreed with this statement, it

is still an opinion because it is not provable.
Beauty is relative.
Keeping your Facts Straight

Separate the facts from the opinions.

The best way to choose a spouse is based
on brains, not beauty.
The car probably stopped running because
it ran out of gas.
The Mac computer lab is in Blodgett Hall.
If I were to go on to receive my Bachelors,
I would not be successful.
There are 121 prescription drugs that
come from plants.
 How well did you do?
The car probably stopped The Mac computer lab is
running because it ran out in Blodgett Hall.
of gas.
Opinion: Fact
Hypothesis

If I were to go on to The best way to choose a

receive my Bachelors, I spouse is based on brains,
would not be successful. not beauty.

Opinion: Opinion: Value

Assumption statement
There are 121 prescription drugs that
come from plants.

Fact