Facts VS Opinions

Amira El-Soussi
Facts VS OPinions

In college, you'll read thousands of facts as well as thousands of opinions

of experts.

At various times, you'll probably have to obtain information from the

Internet, newspapers, journals, magazines, essays, and so forth . Not all of
the information will be written by experts, nor will all of it be factual.

For these reasons, it's going to be important for you to be able to

distinguish facts from opinions.
Facts

1 2 3
You already know that not Information can be verified by By the way, the opposite of a
everything you hear or read is research, observation , fact is information that can be
true. Information that can be experimentation, or disproved. In other words, it is
verified (proved true) is called experience. simply incorrect information,
a fact. and it is of no value. Many
students mistakenly think that
the opposite of a fact is an
opinion.
Opinions
• Some things, however, cannot be proved or disproved
For example: "The United States would be better off if a woman were president".
• Information that cannot be proved or disproved is called an opinion; it is a statement that presents a
person’s judgement or belief.

• Let's say, for example, it is my opinion (that is, it is my belief) that love is the most powerful emotion .
• There is no way to prove or disprove my belief, so it will always be an opinion. Others might disagree
and ague that fear, guilt, or anger is the most powerful emotion-and those would also be opinions.

• For you: _______________ is the most powerful emotion.

Mohammad says: “Studying more than 20 hours
a week causes insanity.”

• What is the above statement?

• Now let's say, for example, that Mohammad thinks that the above is true.
• If that statement can be researched and tested, it will either turn out to be true (in
which case, it is a fact) or it will be proved incorrect (in which case, it is wrong
information).
• Either way, it will not be an opinion. (Sorry about that, but you can't dodge
studying more than 20 hours a week by declaring that it causes insanity.)
Distinguish between facts and opinions

• In college you may be asked to write papers on controversial issues. For instance, a
professor might ask you to select an issue and gather information from various sources.
• As you are reading the material, you will have to decide whether the authors are
presenting facts or opinions. If you think information is a fact when it's actually an
opinion, you can be misled.
• Moreover, writers sometimes try to make their opinions sound as if they were facts so that
the reader will accept what they say. You don't want to be manipulated, so it's important
for you to be able distinguish facts from opinions.
• When you read an opinion, you will have to decide how well supported the opinion is.
That means you must determine whether the opinion is supported by relevant facts and/or
by expert opinions that pertain directly to the topic or issue.
Check
 Extra clues about opinions:
• The first clue “Judgment words” :They mean different things to different people. For example, consider the
words better, sad, successful, disappointing, beautiful, effective, unappealing, and remarkable.
In the statement, “James Lee Burke is today’s most talented mystery writer,” the words most talented will
mean different things to different people. Does most talented mean he invents clever plots? Creates fascinating
characters? Describes things vividly and realistically? Perhaps it means all of these things—or something else
altogether. Whenever different people can interpret something in different ways, it’s a major tip-off you’re
getting an opinion.
• The second clue is even more obvious. Authors use words and phrases such as these to alert you to an opinion: In
our opinion, It seems to us, It appears that, It seems likely that, Experts interpret this to mean, In our view,
Perhaps, It could be that, It seems, Presumably, Arguably, One interpretation is that, It seems possible that, and
Apparently.
• The third clue to an opinion is when an author speaks of something that is going to happen in the future.
Obviously, you can’t prove something that hasn’t happened yet. If an author says, “Someday stem cell research
will offer the cure to dozens of illnesses we cannot currently cure,” someday and will offer (future tense) alert
you that the statement is an opinion.
Common Expressions
Let’s try
•1. The quality of life has decreased in the last ten years.

•A) Fact B) Opinion

•2. The written part of the driving test must be completed before the practical driving part.

•A) Fact B) Opinion

•3. Access courses are designed to prepare students for higher education.

•A) Fact B) Opinion

•4. Country living is the only way to live.

•A) Fact B) Opinion

•5. If you live in London, you have to be able to use the underground.

•A) Fact B) Opinion

Continue
6. Local councilors should spend more time listening to residents and less time listening to each other.

A) Fact B) Opinion

7. Local councilors are elected for a period of four years.

A) Fact B) Opinion

8. Finding somewhere to live is a long and frustrating business.

A) Fact B) Opinion

9. There are 650 members of Parliament (MPs) in the UK House of Commons.

A) Fact B) Opinion

10. English professional football puts too much emphasis on money.

A) Fact B) Opinion
Read the article from the BBC’s news website. The facts should be highlighted in red and the opinions in blue.
The facts are taken from a survey that can be verified. The opinions are taken from comments made by various
people such as journalists and writers. They express the viewpoint of that particular person.

Indians “world’s biggest readers”

Indians are the world’s biggest bookworms, reading on average 10.7 hours a week, twice
as long as Americans, according to a new survey. The NOP World Culture Score index
surveyed 30,000 people in 30 countries from December 2004 to February 2005. Analysts
said self-help and aspirational reading could explain India’s high figures. Britons and
Americans scored 50% lower than the Indians’ hours and Japanese and Koreans were even
lower at 4.1 and 3.1 hours respectively. R. Sriram, chief executive officer of Crosswords
Bookstores, a chain of 26 book shops around India, says Indians are extremely
entrepreneurial and reading “is a fundamental part of their being”. The NOP survey of
30,000 consumers aged over 13 saw China and the Philippines take second and third place
respectively in average hours a week spent reading books, newspapers and magazines.
Read the article from the the NRDC “Voices on the Page” archive. The facts
should be highlighted in bold and the opinions underlined

The twenty-first century

I think firstly health is better in the 21st century because there are more doctors, nurses, opticians.
Secondly, in my opinion, the law and military and police are a good thing about the 21st century
because the police are very important to keep the peace. The military defeats the enemy; also the
United Nations cannot work without the military. Education is better than war. We learn different
things, such as the English language, maths, computers and arts, etc. Communication is very
important and better than before. We have telephones, fax, email, television, mobiles, newspapers
and magazines. Transport and travel have improved. We can travel all over the world quickly
because we have a lot of aeroplanes, trains, cars, ships.
(Adapted from a piece of writing by an anonymous writer in the NRDC “Voices on the Page”
archive.)
Write a report about the county in which you live. Give opinions only.
Write sentences about the county in which you live. Give facts only.
 How to evaluate an opinion?
Check out the types of support authors present to “make their case”
• Types of support refers to the kind of evidence the author uses to back up their opinion/ the argument
• Support can include:
1. research findings,
2. Case studies,
3. personal experience or observation,
4. examples,
5. facts,
6. comparisons,
7. expert testimony or opinion.
• Note: the author may be an expert on the topic or may quote or present research findings and opinions of other experts. Be leery, however, when
authors make vague claims (such as “Research proves . . . ,” “Studies show . . . ,” and “Many authorities believe . . . ”), yet never give the
specifics.
Evaluate the support itself.
Ask yourself this question, “Is the support directly related to the argument?” If so, the support is relevant.
In other words, the support has relevance if it is directly related to the argument.
1. Fact/Opinion
2. Fact/Opinion
3. Fact/Opinion
4. Fact/Opinion
5. Fact/Opinion
6. Fact/Opinion
7. Fact/Opinion
8.Think about how well the
author supports his claim
with examples and
supporting details.