Helping English

FACT AND OPINION

FACT

            A fact is a statement that can be proven through objective evidence. This evidence may be physical proof or the spoken or written testimony of witnesses.

Fact: The Quad Tower is the tallest building in this city.

Fact: Albert Einstein willed his violin to his grandson.

Fact: The 1990 Cincinnati Reds won the World Series in four games.

All the above facts are verifiable through records.

OPINION

            An opinion is a statement that cannot be objectively proven true or false. Opinions usually express the beliefs, feelings, or judgements that a person has about a subject.

Opinion: The Quad Tower is the ugliest building in the city. (There is no way to prove this statement.)

Opinion: Einstein should have willed his violin to a museum. (Who says? Not his grandson. This is an opinion)

Opinion: The 1990 Cincinnati Reds were the best team in the history of baseball. (Whether something is “best” is always debatable. “Best” is a value word*)

*Remember that value words often represent opinions. Here are examples of value words.

Exercise:

Read the following statements and decide whether each is fact or opinion.

_____1.          My brother Jim is very intelligent.

_____2.          Last night, a tree outside our school was struck by lightning.

_____3.          Installing a TV is an easy job for any do-it-yourselfer.

_____4.          Donald believes in myths.

_____5.          The pop music is a bad influence on young people.

Answer Key 

1 opinion - 2 fact - 3 opinion - 4 fact - 5 opinion 

Exercise:

Two sentences in the following passage are facts, two are opinions and one combine fact and opinion. Identify all.

1 There were several queens of Egypt by the name of Cleopatra, including the one who ruled in the days of Antony and Caesar. 2 She is one of the most interesting figures in the Egyptian history. 3 History records that she was born in 69 B.C. and killed herself almost forty years later. 4 The story of how she killed herself is very easy to believe. 5 Reports say she killed herself with an asp, the Egyptian cobra – a symbol of Egyptian royalty, so there could have been no better way for the queen to end her life.

Answer key

1 fact – 2 opinion – 3 fact – 4 opinion – 5 fact & opinion

Exercise:

Write one fact and one opinion about the following.

Richard Nixon

Fact: Richard Nixon was the 37^th president of the United States.

Opinion: Richard Nixon was the worst president the US ever had.

Ostriches

Fact: _______________________________________________________

Opinion: ____________________________________________________

Harry Potter  

Fact: ____________________________________________________________

Opinion: _________________________________________________________

Dubai

Fact: _____________________________________________________________

Opinion: __________________________________________________________

Answer Key:

Ostriches

Fact: Ostriches do not hide their heads in sand.

Opinion: Ostrich eggs make the best omelet.

Harry Potter  (novels)   

Fact: The novels chronicle the lives of a young wizard, Harry Potter and his companions at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Opinion: Hermione Granger is the smartest of all characters.  

Dubai

Fact: Dubai is a busy business hub in the Middle East.

Opinion: Dubai is the cleanest city in the world.

Note for  teachers:

To get a better sense of fact and opinion, ask students to write three facts about themselves and three opinions.

Facts about me:

• I am six feet tall.
• I do my writing on a Macintosh computer.
• I have two sisters.

Three of my opinions:

• Schools, including colleges, should require students to do a great deal of reading.
• Macintosh computers are superior to IBM computers.
• In the first five seasons, L.A. Law was the best dramatic series ever shown on television.

Now (student) write three facts and opinions:

Three of your facts:

1. 

2. 

3. 

Three of your opinions:

1. 

2. 

3.