Finding Fact or Observing Opinion
Fact: something that can be proved to be true.
Opinion: what someone thinks or feels.
Being able to tell the difference between facts and opinions is very important, especially when you are reading for research or to learn something new. Various words are often used to signal that something is an opinion, such as: think, feel, prefer, should, believe, point of view, viewpoint, convinced, the best, the greatest, the worst, always, never, most, least and words for good and bad such as amazing, beneficial, appalling, advantages, disadvantages.
To work out whether something is a fact or an opinion, think about whether everyone would agree with the statement. If you think everyone would have to agree, then it is probably a fact. If you read the following, for example:
1. The car is red. Would everyone who can see colours, agree? Yes. This is a fact.
2. That is the most beautiful red I have ever seen. Would everyone agree it is the most beautiful red? No. This is an opinion.
Comprehension Tests
Comprehension questions often ask you to work out whether information in a text is a fact or an opinion.
1. Read the question carefully and work out what you are being asked to think about.
2. Find the keywords in the text and re-read the sentence and/or section they are in.
3. Think about whether it is something that could be proven to be true or whether it is something someone thinks or feels. Feeling words such as think, feel and believe show us something is an opinion. Other words such as like, love, the best, amazing, incredible, exciting and many more also indicate opinions that not everyone would agree with.
4. If you are answering a multiple choice question, remember to check all possible answers before choosing the best one.
Opinion: what someone thinks or feels.
Being able to tell the difference between facts and opinions is very important, especially when you are reading for research or to learn something new. Various words are often used to signal that something is an opinion, such as: think, feel, prefer, should, believe, point of view, viewpoint, convinced, the best, the greatest, the worst, always, never, most, least and words for good and bad such as amazing, beneficial, appalling, advantages, disadvantages.
To work out whether something is a fact or an opinion, think about whether everyone would agree with the statement. If you think everyone would have to agree, then it is probably a fact. If you read the following, for example:
1. The car is red. Would everyone who can see colours, agree? Yes. This is a fact.
2. That is the most beautiful red I have ever seen. Would everyone agree it is the most beautiful red? No. This is an opinion.
Comprehension Tests
Comprehension questions often ask you to work out whether information in a text is a fact or an opinion.
1. Read the question carefully and work out what you are being asked to think about.
2. Find the keywords in the text and re-read the sentence and/or section they are in.
3. Think about whether it is something that could be proven to be true or whether it is something someone thinks or feels. Feeling words such as think, feel and believe show us something is an opinion. Other words such as like, love, the best, amazing, incredible, exciting and many more also indicate opinions that not everyone would agree with.
4. If you are answering a multiple choice question, remember to check all possible answers before choosing the best one.