Distinguishing Fact from Opinion

It’s a fact; it’s known for certain to be true.. It’s a matter of fact; something proven to be true by the specific statistics provided in the rest of the paragraph.. Opinion WHEN FACTS

One of the most

important signs of a

good reader is the ability

to distinguish between

fact and opinion This

chapter will show you

how facts are different

from opinions and how

this distinction can help

you remember more

“J ust the facts, ma’am, just the facts.”

This often-quoted line comes from the 1960s televi-sion series “Dragnet.” On the show, Detective Joe Friday and his partner would solve crimes by piecing together the facts

of each case When Detective Friday told a witness that he was looking for “just the facts,” he was making an important distinction between

fact and opinion It didn’t matter to him who witnesses thought did it

or what witnesses thought happened Rather, he needed to know what really happened.

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 people think or believe, not what they know Opinions are debatable; facts are not For example, “Basketball is the most exciting sport” is debatable; you might disagree Thus, it’s an opinion But “Basketball is a team sport” is not debatable; it’s impossible to disagree with this statement It’s a fact; it’s known for certain to be true

You will understand and remember more if you can distinguish between fact and opinion—between

what the writer thinks and what the writer knows,

between what is proven to be true and what needs to be proven This is largely because you can react to an idea once you identify it as either a fact

or an opinion You’ll learn more about this in Chapter 13

ASKING QUESTIONS

A good test for whether something is a fact or opinion is to ask yourself,

“Can this statement be debated? Is this known for certain to be true?” If

you can answer yes to the first question, you probably have an opinion If you can answer yes to the second, you probably have a fact For example, think back to the topic sentences you created in Chapter 6 Were they assertions that expressed fact, or opinion? Here’s one topic sentence from that chapter:

The number of work-related accidents has dropped

by 50 percent

Does this topic sentence express a fact or an opinion? Well, is it debatable? Can someone disagree? Probably not It’s a matter of fact; something proven to be true by the specific statistics provided in the rest of the paragraph

Now look at this topic sentence:

Vanessa is a wonderful supervisor

What are Facts?

• Facts are things known

for certain to have

happened.

• Facts are things known

for certain to be true.

• Facts are things known

for certain to exist.

What are Opinions?

• Opinions are things

believed or thought

to have happened.

• Opinions are things

believed or thought

to be true.

• Opinions are things

believed or thought

to exist.

Is this idea debatable? Definitely Someone else might think she’s a lousy

supervisor, and someone else might think she’s just okay This sentence is

clearly a matter of opinion

PRACTICE 1

Determine whether the following sentences are fact or opinion:

1 America is a democratic country

2 America must preserve democracy at all costs

3 The meetings should be held on Tuesdays, not Wednesdays

4 These meetings are held Wednesdays

5 These meetings are often a waste of time

Answers

1 Fact

2 Opinion

3 Opinion

4 Fact

5 Opinion

WHEN FACTS AND OPINIONS

ARE MIXED TOGETHER

It’s usually easy to determine whether something is fact or opinion when

it’s standing alone like the sentences you just reviewed It’s a little more

complicated when you’re working with paragraphs and larger texts

That’s because unless what you’re reading is a textbook or a scientific or

technical manual, you’ll probably come across a combination of facts and

opinions, sometimes even in the same sentence Here’s an example:

Email and other technologies make it possible for many

people to work from home, and companies should fully

support employees who want to “telecommute.”

The first part of the sentence expresses a fact; technology has indeed

made telecommuting possible for a lot of employees But the second part

of the sentence—that companies should support the folks who want to

work from home—is clearly debatable It is an opinion

PRACTICE 2

Here’s a paragraph that has both fact and opinion See if you can correctly identify which ideas are debatable and which are not Underline the facts and use a highlighter or colored pen to highlight the opinions (Some things may be neither; just leave those sections as is.)

New York and other U.S cities have begun using vehicles powered by natural gas This is a good idea, because vehicles that use natural gas do not pollute the air Pollution is the biggest problem facing cities right now Furthermore, natural gas is more cost-effective than regular gas All cities should use only vehicles powered by natural gas

Answer

New York and other U.S cities have begun using vehicles

powered by natural gas This is a good idea, because vehicles that use natural gas do not pollute the air Pollution is the

biggest problem facing cities right now Furthermore,

natural gas is more cost-effective than regular gas All cities

should use only vehicles powered by natural gas.

SUPPORT FOR OPINIONS

Because facts are things that are known to be true, readers generally don’t

need evidence that they’re true Readers do want details, explanations, or

examples, but they often don’t need you to prove your case

Opinions, on the other hand, are debatable, and they always need

evidence Readers need to see why writers think and say what they do.

Often this evidence will come in the form of facts But just because a writer offers evidence for an opinion doesn’t mean readers have to agree with that opinion The same facts can often be used to support many different opinions

Still, an opinion that is supported by evidence (examples, details, reasons, explanations, or statistics) is much stronger than opinions that stand alone For example, read the two paragraphs below In one, the writer supports her opinion, but in the other she does not

Edward Wilson was an outstanding employee and a great

supervisor He was a nice guy, too

Edward Wilson was an outstanding employee He came to us

as an entry-level production worker and worked so well with

others that he became a team leader within a year He was

such an excellent team leader that the following year he was

promoted to supervisor While he was a supervisor, his crew

consistently met or exceeded production goals and had the

fewest problems of any team with quality control In

addi-tion, Edward was a very kind and generous person He often

went out of his way to help the people he supervised He

covered their shifts in emergencies, gave them rides home

when they worked overtime, and helped them resolve

conflicts with others

Why is the second paragraph so much better than the first? Because

the second paragraph offers you more than just opinions It offers

opin-ions supported by specific facts and examples The first paragraph, on the

other hand, is just opinions Every sentence is debatable Every sentence

says what the author thinks is true, but not what is known to be true.

The author of the first paragraph doesn’t provide any evidence to

support why she thinks Edward Wilson was a great employee As a result,

we’re not likely to take her opinion very seriously—certainly not as

seri-ously as we take the opinion of the writer of the second paragraph

PRACTICE 3

To strengthen your ability to distinguish between fact and opinion, try

this exercise Take a fact, such as:

Many companies have dress down days on Fridays

Then turn it into an opinion Make a debatable statement about the

same subject, like the following:

1 Dress down days improve employee morale

2 Every day should be a dress down day

3 Dress down days make workers less productive.

4 Dress down days make workers more productive

Write three facts in the space below Then, turn each fact into an opin-ion Make sure your facts are not debatable, and make sure your opinions are In fact, you may want to write two opposing opinions just to make sure that your opinions are debatable (like 3 and 4 above)

1

2

3

Answers

Answers will vary depending upon what facts you chose Here are a few examples of facts turned into opposing opinions:

Fact: Wednesdays are in the middle of the week

Opinions: Wednesdays are always the longest day of the week

Wednesdays are the most exciting day of the week

Fact: Next Tuesday is election day

Opinions: Everyone should vote in next Tuesday’s election

No one should bother voting in next Tuesday’s election

Fact: Reading to your children when they’re very young will help

them do better in school

Opinions: All parents should read to their young children every day

Parents should not read to their children

HOW DISTINGUISHING BETWEEN FACT AND OPINION CAN HELP YOU REMEMBER

Distinguishing between fact and opinion can help you remember more

of what you read because it helps you think critically about what you read When you’re distinguishing between fact and opinion, you’re essen-tially asking yourself, “Is this something I should accept as true?” You can

also determine how you feel about an issue that the writer offers an

opin-ion about You’ll see more about this in Chapter 13

I N S HORT

Facts are things known for certain to be true Opinions, on the other hand,

are things believed to be true To distinguish between fact and opinion,

determine whether the idea is debatable or not If it is debatable, it’s an

opinion Good writers will support their opinions with evidence: details,

examples, facts, and so on

Skill Building Until Next Time

1 Listen carefully to what other people around you say today Are

they stating facts or expressing opinions? When they offer

opin-ions, do they provide support for them? Is it enough support for

you to find their opinion convincing?

2 Read the editorials in your newspaper this week Notice how good

editorial writers use specific facts and examples to support their

opinions