Distinguishing Fact from Opinion

123 CHAPTER 12 D ISTINGUISHING F ACT FROM O PINION 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 READ BETTER , REMEMBER MORE 124 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. DISTINGUISHING FACT FROM OPINION 125 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. P RACTICE 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. READ BETTER , REMEMBER MORE 126 P RACTICE 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 N ew Y ork and other U .S. cities have begun using vehicles p owe red by nat ural gas . This is a good idea, because v ehicles 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. DISTINGUISHING FACT FROM OPINION 127 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. P RACTICE 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. READ BETTER , REMEMBER MORE 128 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 DISTINGUISHING FACT FROM OPINION 129 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. . 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. read to their children. HOW DISTINGUISHING BETWEEN FACT AND OPINION CAN HELP YOU REMEMBER Distinguishing between fact and opinion can help you remember