Reading Skill
DISTINGUISHING FACTS FROM OPINIONS
Distinguishing facts from opinions is a vital critical thinking and reasoning skill. To make wise decisions and solve problems effectively, you need to know the difference between what people think (opinion) and what people know (fact); between what people believe to be true (opinion) and what has been proven to be true (fact). You should also be able to determine whether something presented as fact is really true or if you should accept it as a tentative truth.
Opinions are statements of belief, judgment or feeling, attitudes, and preferences; therefore, opinions vary from people to people, they cannot be verified because they are based on an individual’s perceptions of the world. When you’re trying to decide whether a statement is a fact or an opinion, you can look for some clue words that often appear in the statements of opinions, such as:
1. words, mostly adjectives and adverbs, that state an opinion by evaluating or making a judgment,e.g. most important, strangest, some, several, a lot, most, a majority, large number, often, sometimes,frequently, seldom, and rarely;
2. words that show that an opinion will follow, e.g. believe, think, in my opinion;
3. words that indicate uncertainty in a statement, e.g. possible, perhaps, likely, maybe, just as they know that some “facts” may be inaccurate.
Everyone has opinions, but they may not always be sound. First of all, some opinions can be unreasonable.Secondly, some opinions are based on shaky or inadequate evidence.
Facts are statements that tell what really happened, that can be verified, or that actually exists. Facts don’t vary between people. They are based upon direct experience and observation, so they often include specific data such as numbers, dates, times, or other statistics. They also include information like names of people, places, or events. Therefore, facts can be proven. You should be aware as you read that a statement presented as a fact can be incorrect. Writers are not always right, and sometimes, they include inaccurate information by accident or even on purpose.
Why must we distinguish facts from opinions while reading?
1. We may be misled by the writers. Writers may combine fact and opinion in a way that makes it hard to say where the facts end and the opinions begin—or they may present opinions as if they were facts,which easily misleads us readers.
2. We may be misled by ourselves. The biggest difficulty in distinguishing fact from opinion may arise when you agree with the writer’s opinion: when we believe something very strongly, it’s easy to mistake our opinions for facts. So critical reading involves careful examination of our own beliefs as well as the author’s.