Overview: Fact or Opinion
In order to read effectively in middle and high school, students must be able to identify and comprehend which statements are fact, and which are opinion. This is an essential part of understanding the meaning of the passage, whether it is read as part of an assignment in school or in the workplace. Knowing the difference between fact and opinion may be even more important when the purpose of reading is for news or entertainment.
The Reading Dialogue
By the time students are in late elementary, middle, or high school, many students have mastered all the basic skills of reading. Because the processes are automatic, students can focus upon a dialogue with the author, identifying the authors’ opinions, as well as identifying their own reactions to what is said as they engage with the text. Some opinions are easy to identify, but others are more subtle.
Just the Facts
Some narratives are so factual that they sound like Sgt. Joe Friday from the classic TV show Dragnet wrote them. They present just the facts, and everyone could agree with them. Those are the sort of items that students could use in a research report, such as facts about size, number, and such. However, facts and bland verbs can be boring, colorless, and leave out many details. Narratives that express a point of view tend to be more interesting to read.
Cues to Opinion
Writers may not say anything so obvious as, “I think”, “I feel” or “In my opinion” to state that opinions are following facts, but most writers have a point of view. Perhaps they are writing to persuade and stacking their examples to make a particular argument. Perhaps they are presenting circular reasoning, partial truths, or questionable cause and effect. For example, advertisements for new cars often show them driven in perfect weather by attractive people to fun destinations. The point of view presented is that if a driver chooses to buy that car, they will have all the above results happen to them.
Loaded Language and Connotation
Writers also present opinion by using loaded language that appeals to readers’ fears and prejudices. For example, when witnesses to an auto accident are asked , “How fast were the cars going when they smashed into each other?”, they answer with higher rates of speed. The verb smashed is loaded and connotes higher, more dangerous speeds.
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