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Chapter 8:

Chapter 8:. Distinguishing Facts from Opinions. Three Types of Information. There are three types of information: * Facts (correct information) * Opinions (beliefs; judgments) * Incorrect information. A fact is information that can be verified (proved true).

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Chapter 8:

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  1. Chapter 8: Distinguishing Facts from Opinions

  2. Three Types of Information There are three types of information: * Facts (correct information) * Opinions (beliefs; judgments) * Incorrect information Chapter 8: Distinguishing Facts from Opinions

  3. A fact is information that can be verified (proved true). Information that is a fact can be verified by you or by someone else through research, observation, experimentation, or experience. Chapter 8: Distinguishing Facts from Opinions

  4. An opinion is information that cannot be verified (proved true) or disproved (proved untrue). Opinions represent people’s judgments or beliefs. (This is why people disagree or even argue about opinions.) Chapter 8: Distinguishing Facts from Opinions

  5. Clues to Opinions • “Judgment words” that can be interpreted several ways (such as better, successful, effective, beautiful, etc.) • Word and phrases such as It seems, In our opinion, Perhaps, In our view, It appears that, and Experts interpret this to mean, etc. • When authors speak of something that might happen in the future Chapter 8: Distinguishing Facts from Opinions

  6. Incorrect Information The opposite of a fact is not an opinion: The opposite of a fact is incorrect information. Information that can be disproved is incorrect information. Chapter 8: Distinguishing Facts from Opinions

  7. The Technique The procedure for distinguishing facts from opinions is: • Ask yourself, “Can the information be verified?” • If it can be proved (by you or someone else), it is a fact. (valuable) • If it can be disproved, it is incorrect information. (of no value) • If it cannot be proved or disproved, it is an opinion. (valuable if well-supported; of little or no value if poorly-supported or unsupported) Chapter 8: Distinguishing Facts from Opinions

  8. The Edge:Pointers from the Coach --Facts are not more important than opinions. Well-supported opinions and the opinions of experts can be very valuable. --College textbooks contain both facts and opinions. --A writer may try to make something sound as if it is a fact, even though it is not. Chapter 8: Distinguishing Facts from Opinions

  9. The Edge (continued) --A single paragraph can consist of facts only, opinions only, or it can contain both. --When you evaluate a statement, you must evaluate it as a whole. --In deciding whether something is a fact, the question is whether verification could be done, not whether you yourself could do the verification. Chapter 8: Distinguishing Facts from Opinions

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