Distinguishing Between Fact and Opinion Practice

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Distinguishing Between Fact and Opinion Practice

Practice 1

Try these questions on the following statements. Read them carefully, and then write F in the blank if the statement is a fact and O if it is an opinion. The answers appear right after the questions.

1. The Academy Awards honor the film industry.
2. The Academy Awards are always fun to watch.
3. More independent films should win Academy Awards.
4. The Academy Awards are an annual event.
5. Best Director is the most interesting Academy Award category.

Answers

1. Fact
2. Opinion
3. Opinion
4. Fact
5. Opinion

Practice 2

Now try the same exercise with a complete paragraph. Underline the facts and use a highlighter or colored pen to highlight the opinions. Be careful—you may find fact and opinion together in the same sentence. When you've finished, you can check your answers against the marked passage that follows.

There are many different ways to invest your money to provide for a financially secure future. Many people invest in stocks and bonds, but I think good old- fashioned savings accounts and CDs (certificates of deposit) are the best way to invest your hard-earned money. Stocks and bonds are often risky, and it doesn't make sense to risk losing the money you've worked so hard for. True, regular savings accounts and CDs can't make you a millionaire overnight or provide the high returns some stock investments do. But by the same token, savings accounts and CDs are fully insured and provide steady, secure interest on your money. That makes a whole lot of cents.

Answers

How did you do? Was it easy to distinguish between the facts and the opinions? Here's what your marked - up passage should look like. The facts are underlined and the opinions are in boldface type.

There are many different ways to invest your money to provide for a financially secure future. Many people invest in stocks and bonds, but I think good old - fashioned savings accounts and CDs (certificates of deposit) are the best way to invest your hard - earned money. Stocks and bonds are often risky, and it doesn't make sense to risk losing the money you've worked so hard for. True, regular savings accounts and CDs can't make you a millionaire overnight or provide the high returns some stock investments do. But by the same token, savings accounts and CDs are fully insured and provide steady, secure interest on your money. That makes a whole lot of cents.

Practice 3

To strengthen your ability to distinguish between fact and opinion, try this. Take a fact, such as:

FACT: Wednesday is the fourth day of the week.

Now, turn it into an opinion. Make it something debatable, like this:

OPINION: Wednesday feels like the longest day of the week.

Here's another example.

FACT: You must be 18 years old to vote in the United States.

OPINION: The voting age should be lowered to 16 years of age.

Try these next. Suggested answers come after the questions.

6. FACT: Healthcare costs have risen over the last several years.

OPINION:

7. FACT: The 22nd Amendment of the United States Constitution establishes a two-term limit for the presidency.

OPINION:

8. FACT: More than 58,000 Americans lost their lives in the Vietnam War.

OPINION:

9. FACT: The Motion Picture Association of America's R (Restricted) rating requires anyone under 17 to be accompanied by a parent or adult guardian.

OPINION:

10. FACT: Use of performance-enhancing drugs is strictly prohibited in both amateur and professional sports.

OPINION:

Answers

There are, of course, many opinions you could form from these subjects. Here are some possible answers.

6. Our government should make healthcare a higher priority.

Companies should give employees several healthcare programs from which to choose.

People should stop complaining about healthcare costs.

7. Presidents should be allowed to serve for three terms.

Limiting service to two terms makes U.S. presidents more effective.

Term limits are a very bad idea.

8. American soldiers should not have been sent to Vietnam.

Our government did all the right things concerning the Vietnam War.

9. The Motion Picture Association of America should not be able to rate films.

The Motion Picture Association of America ratings should be taken seriously by all parents.

Movie ratings are useless.

10. Performance-enhancing drugs should be legal.

Competitive sports would be more interesting to watch if performance-enhancing drugs were legal.

Performance-enhancing drugs are the worst thing that ever happened to competitive sports.

Test your knowledge at Reading Comprehension Final Practice Test.