Author's craft & word meaning · Topic 8 of 8

Fact vs Opinion

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Reading · fact vs opinion

A fact can be checked with evidence; an opinion is a belief or judgment people can disagree on. Judgment and "should" words signal opinion.

01 · FactFact = can be checked and proven

02 · OpinionOpinion = a belief or judgment

03 · The testAsk: could I check it?

Fact = a statement that can be checked and proven with evidence must know

Opinion = a belief or judgment people can disagree about must know

In arguments, facts are the evidence; the claim is the opinion

Ask: could I check it? Yes = fact; depends who judges = opinion

Rating words signal opinion: best, better, beautiful, awful

"Ought" words signal opinion: should, must, ought to, has to

Belief and guess words signal opinion: I think, I believe, seems, probably

Absolutes can flag opinion: always, never, all, every, only

Fact markers: numbers, dates, measurements, names, "a study found"

Fact + judgment in one sentence → call it opinion

Opening date and length → fact (records can confirm)

"The loveliest sight" → opinion (a judgment)

Checkable facts + "a stunning achievement" → opinion overall

Commonly confused

	Fact	Opinion
Can it be checked?	Yes: measured, observed, recorded	No: depends on who is judging
Telltale words	Numbers, dates, names, "a study found"	best, beautiful, should, I believe
Example	The bridge is 1.7 miles long.	The bridge is the loveliest in the city.
Role in an argument	The evidence	The claim the evidence supports

Trap: an expert's judgment is still opinion

Trap: a number inside a judgment ("too much") is still opinion

Show 3 more facts

Trap: "in fact" or "the truth is" can front an opinion

Informed and expert opinions can be sound, yet are still opinions

"Fact" = checkable, not automatically true

Pearl

If you could look it up, it is a fact; if you could argue about it, it is an opinion.

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