FACT AND OPINION

FACT
A fact is a statement that is true and can be verified or proven. In other words,

a fact is true and correct no matter what, it is objective.

Example:

The construction of the White House in the United States of America began in

1792.
 FACT

Explanation:

This sentence is a historical fact. The construction of the White

House began in 1792.
 OPINION

An opinion, however, is a statement that holds an element of belief;

it tells how someone feels. An opinion is not always true and cannot
be proven because it is subjective.

Example:

The construction of the White House in the United States of America

began in 1792. It took too many years for President Adams to move

in.
 OPINION

Explanation:

The choice of the phrase ‘too long’ is the writer’s opinion that
the span of time was too long . This is an opinion and cannot be
proven. Only the number of years can be proven because those
are recorded facts.
 Opinions
There are certain words/phrases that will help you to identify
an opinion. Some of these words include:

Maybe Believe

Perhaps Think

Best / Worst Apparently

Experts Agree Probably

 OBJECTIVE WRITING
Objective writing is factual, omitting any attention to the writer, namely to
the writer's feelings.

Example:

The kitchen table is rectangular, seventy-two inches long and thirty inches
wide. Made of a two-inch-thick piece of oak, its top is covered with a waxy
oilcloth, patterned in dark red and blue squares, against a white
background. In the right corner, close to the wall, a square-blue ceramic
tile serves as the protective base for a brown earthenware teapot.
 OBJECTIVE WRITING
A single white placemat has been set to the left of the tile, with a
knife and fork on either side of a white dinner plate, around nine
inches in diameter. On the plate are two thick pieces of steak.

NOTE:

Notice how "objective" the narrator in the piece is; his or her
eyes scan the scene but there is no emotional response
provoked by the scene. The writing remains factual.
 SUBJECTIVE WRITING
Subjective writing, on the other hand, includes attention to both the
subject it describes and the writer's reactions (internal, personal) to that
subject. It basically expresses opinions.

Example:

Our lives at home converged around the pleasantly-shaped kitchen table.

It was the magnet that drew our family together quite warmly. Cut from
the sturdiest oak, the table was tough, smooth and long enough for my
mother, my two sisters and I, to work or play on at the same time.
 SUBJECTIVE WRITING
Our favourite light blue ceramic tile, stationed in the right corner, was
the table's sole defense against the ravages of everything, from a
steaming teapot, to the latest red-hot gadge from the Sears catalogue.
More often than not, however, the heat would spread quickly beyond
the small tile and onto the checkered oilcloth, which just as quickly
exuded a rank and sour odour. Yet no matter how intensely the four of
us competed for elbow room at the table, none dared to venture near
the lone dinner place, that was arranged securely to the left of the tile.
 SUBJECTIVE WRITING
There was no telling when he would get home from work but
when he did, he expected the food to be ready--steaming hot.
He liked to eat right away--steak mostly--two well done, thick
pieces.

NOTE:
The narrator scans the scene but notice now the objects take on
a sense of "utility" and "meaning"--the narrator explains how
certain objects are important, even bordering on the personal
and emotional meaning behind each piece.
 FACT MIXED WITH OPINION
Many times, what you read in magazines and newspapers are a
mixture of fact (objective) and opinion (subjective). The two
elements are even mixed within single sentences. Read the
following sentence:

It was a Christmas present dreams are made of; a stunning

customized Mercedes Benz, threatening and imposing in matt
black, sitting on beautiful chrome aluminium wheels.
 FACT MIXED WITH OPINION
The facts are:
1)It was a Christmas present
2)It was a customized Mercedes Benz

3)It was matt black

4)It had chrome aluminium wheels

The opinions are:

1)Dreams are made of
2)It was stunning

3)It was threatening and imposing

4)The wheels were beautiful

 Practice
Activity: Separate the fact (objective) from the opinion (subjective) in each
of the following sentences.

1) Blue whales are the largest and most fascinating of creatures found in
our oceans. It is a great tragedy that such magnificent creatures have been
hunted almost to the point of extinction.

2) The leatherback is the most beguiling of creatures, being the only sea
turtle that lacks a hard shell. It is remarkable that the leatherback survives
almost entirely on jellyfish and it is deplorable that so many die by
mistakenly eating plastic bags floating on the water.
 Practice
3) The mourning dove is a bird commonly found in the Caribbean and much
loved by all inhabitants of the island. They are light grey and brown, though
the males and females are similar in appearance, the females are much
more attractive.

4) The kitchen table, a long lost remnant cut from sturdy oak, was sturdy
like my father's hands and as equally calloused by age and tempered by
heat. The table had large welts that had grown even darker and more
foreboding with age and mother frequently commented on getting a new
table because of these
 Practice
clear signs of progress, but father would have none of it—the
table was as dear to him as his own child. After all, this was his
grandfather's table, handcut, the final essence of that old
progenitor's largesse on the earth. Dumping this table would be
akin to dumping my father's grandaddy. Such an act would be
akin to murder itself. This table was like family.