Fact and Opinion

Recognising the difference between facts and opinions and their uses

There is usually a question on the Reading Paper which asks you about the writer’s

use of fact and opinion in the text.

What is a fact? What is an opinion? How are they used?

Fact and opinion

• Fact – can be proved to be true• Opinion – a belief, attitude or viewpoint. Opinions

can represent an individual or group• Bias is shown in people’s opinions when personal

feelings are allowed to influence their judgement. It can be evident in the words writers use to put across a point of view. Bias can be created through the way facts are selected and used, as well as through opinion

Higher end marks MUST explain the use of fact and opinion.

Which of these are facts? Which are opinions?

Most of the time, Homer would like to strangle Bart.

This is my family.

Homer works at

the power plant.

Lisa is the nice one.

Facts are often near:

numbers statistics names

Opinions are often near:

maybe perhaps possibly probably likely could/should/might I believe I think

Things to remember about fact and opinion:

my job in the exam is not to prove true or false – this would be mostly impossible!

my job is to find what could (in theory) be tested for true or false = facts

if it can be tested (in real life), it is factual – even if it’s a false fact!

my job is also to find what could never be tested for true or false = opinions

opinions cannot be tested/provenI must comment on why the writer is using them

Underline the facts and opinions in this text

AVRIL LAVIGNE Talented Tomboy!If you could have any pop star as your best mate, you could do a lot worse than Avril. Everything about her screams “normal chick”. She doesn’t pose for the cameras, wear tiny skirts or “do” dance routines. “People want me to look all pretty and sexy for pictures and it’s just not my thing,” she reckons. Nah, forget girlie, Avril’s all about songs, boardin’ moves and hanging out with sk8er bois. She’s an average girl, who lives with her parents and, er, just happens to be worth a fortune!Avril comes from a sleepy town in mid-Canada but always knew she was destined for greater things. “I remember when I was really young, standing on my bed like it was a stage, singing at the top of my lungs and visualising thousands of people surrounding me.” At the age of 18, she’s already achieved her ambition. Her debut single Complicated topped charts all over the world and her rockin’ album Let Go has shown everyone that she’s no one hit wonder.And instead of going down the usual “kit off to sell records” route, Avril has made it her way. She reckons the main thing that female fans write to her about is how she sells music, not her body. And in a world where you can’t flash too much flesh, that’s quite an achievement. “I smash guitars in my videos, I swear in my interviews because that’s the attitude I’ve always had,” she admits. Hey, who are we to argue?

Aren’t girls just great? We wear the coolest clothes, chat up the best boys and when it comes to music, we win hands down. J17 salutes the girls putting the ggrrrr back into the charts...

Donna Channy, Michelle Langan, J17 Spring 2002

Fact and OpinionA question may asks you to explain HOW the fact and opinions are used in a text.You can do this by:

• Identifying as many facts and opinions in the text as possible

• Select the 2-3 facts and opinions that you think you can explain the use of (sometimes the question will tell you how many to explain)

• For each, think about how this fact/opinion specially has been used either to support the writer’s purpose or the audience’s reaction to the text (think P.A.F.T.)For example: in using the fact: “at the age of 18, she’s already achieved her ambition”

the writer is appealing to the audience of the text, who are 15-17 year old girls. This fact interests them as they can imagine themselves in Avril’s shoes. This is one of the features which makes the text appeal to it’s target audience.

Take 3 facts or opinions you’ve found in the text and for each EXPLAIN

HOW it is used in the text. Remember to link it to an element of

P.A.F. and tone.

Fact and opinion

• Not true or false!• Facts can be tested/proven – opinion can’t. You

can have ‘false facts’.• Unless the question asks otherwise, select 2/3

of each.• Higher grades will require the explanation of the

uses of facts and opinions. Use the following:– “Why has the writer used these specific facts/opinions for this

specific audience?”– “Why has the writer used these specific facts/opinions for this

specific purpose?”– Also – you could explain how they make the audience feel –

shocked? amused? horrified? and why.

Fact and opinion

• Not true or false!• Facts can be tested/proven – opinion can’t. You can

have ‘false facts’.• Unless the question asks otherwise, select 2/3 of

each.• Higher grades will require the explanation of the

uses of facts and opinions. Use the following:– “Why has the writer used these specific facts/opinions for this

specific audience?”– “Why has the writer used these specific facts/opinions for this

specific purpose?”– Also – you could explain how they make the audience feel –

shocked? amused? horrified? and why.

Last lesson we looked at:

Today we will continue to develop a secure understanding of HOW writers use fact and opinion in their texts.

Gloucestershire Cheese Rolling http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KOyQBSMeIhM

• Read through the text once and identify the P.A.F.T.. How do you expect texts of this P.A.F. to use fact and opinion?

• Read through the text a second time and highlight the key facts and opinions .

• Complete the worksheet exploring HOW the writer uses facts and opinions in the text.

Gloucestershire Cheese RollingComplete the grid below exploring HOW the writer uses facts and opinions in the text FACT/OPINION HOW it is used by the writer Is it being used to support the purpose,

audience or tone of the text?“While Spain has... Gloucestershire is...”“...an unbelievable spectacle to top them all.”

The facts about the dangers of competing in the race make it sound exciting. The fact supports the previous mentions of “fearless competitors” and “death-defying slopes”.

The facts make the race sound dangerous but not deadly. This helps the article fulfil it’s purpose to entertain and inform as the reader enjoys picturing the excitement of such a dangerous race.

“... one of the world’s wackiest spectator events.”“With a disputed history dating back to at least the 1800s...”

To reinforce the writer’s claim that the event is very popular. It supports the point with the large number of people and the fact that they are more than just locals.

This supports the tone of the text which is excited and celebratory because it suggests that many people enjoy the event and find it exciting enough to watch on video many times.

EXTRA:•Overall, how does the article use fact and opinion? What is the balance? Is it as we would expect for the purpose and form?•How does the writer build a sense of the excitement and spectacle that rolling a cheese down a hill can bring?

Fact and opinionLast week we learnt:• Fact and opinion is not as simple as true or false!• Facts can be tested/proven; opinion cannot be proven.

You can have ‘false facts’.• Unless the question asks otherwise, select 2/3 of

examples to support your answer to a question about a writer’s use of fact and opinion.

• Higher grades will require the explanation of the uses of facts and opinions. Think about the following:– “Why has the writer used these specific facts/opinions for this specific

audience?”– “Why has the writer used these specific facts/opinions for this specific

purpose?”– Also – you could explain how they make the audience feel – shocked?

amused? horrified? and why.Today we are continuing to develop a secure understanding of HOW writers

use fact and opinion in their texts. So can you answer:

Gloucestershire Cheese Rolling

• Overall, how does the article use fact and opinion? What is the balance? Is it as we would expect for the purpose and form?

• How does the writer build a sense of the excitement and spectacle that rolling a cheese down a hill can bring through their use of these specific facts/opinions? How does the reader feel because of the specific facts/ opinions used by the writer?

The Olympics: better than they looked on the tinWatching sport is usually less interesting than watching cardboard exist. Now my eyeballs are eating up the Games.Thanks, Olympics, for confounding my inner cynic. In the run up to the Games, I was expecting the whole thing to be awful. They announced plans to ban non-Olympic vehicles from every single road in the capital apart from Horn Lane in Acton, which meant people were going to be forced to drive their cars through buildings and rivers and way up into the sky just to get to work.Everything was terrible. And then the Games began and suddenly everything sort of wasn't. The opening ceremony helped, with its mix of spectacle and eccentricity. I was in America and the ceremony leaked through to make me feel a tad sniffly and homesick. I flew home the following day. The mood when I landed was markedly different from when I left. Was the nation pleased to see me? No. It was indoors, watching sport. And soon, I was joining them.I have no idea why some things qualify as Olympic sports and others don't, though there's an obvious and heavy class bias in favour of things you can imagine royals doing in a tapestry, such as archery or dressage. Falconry would surely be included if Ken Loach hadn't depicted a commoner doing it in the film Kes. You need your own castle grounds to practise half these sports. No wonder a disproportionate number of our victors thus far seem notably posh, apart from Bradley Wiggins, the first member of Oasis to attend a London comprehensive school and win four gold medals.

Still, despite my confusion over the more pageant-like events, I'm finding the Olympics hypnotically watchable, and it's because … well … look, I don't know.I don't know. Understand this: for 100% of my life so far, I found watching sport – any sport – marginally less interesting than watching cardboard exist. Now my eyeballs are eating it up, even while my brain fails to make sense of it. Take the swimming. I have no idea why there are so many different flavours: 50m, 200m, 400m, 800m, breaststroke, butterfly, freestyle, relay, marathons, medleys. I've seen endless hours of swimming. By choice. You could leave it on in the background. It was like having a fish tank full of mysterious water people in the corner of the room. Made me feel like a god tinkering in his shed, glancing at his pets now and then. Oddly comforting. At the time of writing, the running-and-jumping stuff has begun in earnest; the sheer physical agony of which I can personally relate to thanks to hours spent playing the Track and Field computer game in the 80s. No reason to believe this won't become another time sponge. So yes, thanks, Olympics, for confounding my inner cynic, and not being awful. And for, I suppose, on balance, I admit, I confess, in a whisper – actually being quite good.

Charlie Brooker The Guardian, Sunday 5 August 2012

The Olympics: better than they looked on the tin

• Read through the text once and identify the P.A.F.T.. How do you expect texts of this P.A.F. to use fact and opinion?

• Read through the text a second time and highlight the key facts and opinions .

• Overall, how does the article use fact and opinion? What is the balance? Is it as we would expect for the purpose and form?

• What does the writer show about their feelings towards the Olympics through the use of these specific facts/opinions? How does the reader feel because of the specific facts/opinions used by the writer? Remember to evidence particular phrases from the article to support your answers (PEARL)

This article is from The Guardian newspaper. It is an example of an EDITORIAL. An editorial is a particular style of writing in which a newspaper editor presents the newspaper’s/their opinion about current issues.

The Olympics: better than they looked on the tinWatching sport is usually less interesting than watching cardboard exist. Now my eyeballs are eating up the Games.Thanks, Olympics, for confounding my inner cynic. In the run up to the Games, I was expecting the whole thing to be awful. They announced plans to ban non-Olympic vehicles from every single road in the capital apart from Horn Lane in Acton, which meant people were going to be forced to drive their cars through buildings and rivers and way up into the sky just to get to work.Everything was terrible. And then the Games began and suddenly everything sort of wasn't. The opening ceremony helped, with its mix of spectacle and eccentricity. I was in America and the ceremony leaked through to make me feel a tad sniffly and homesick. I flew home the following day. The mood when I landed was markedly different from when I left. Was the nation pleased to see me? No. It was indoors, watching sport. And soon, I was joining them.I have no idea why some things qualify as Olympic sports and others don't, though there's an obvious and heavy class bias in favour of things you can imagine royals doing in a tapestry, such as archery or dressage. Falconry would surely be included if Ken Loach hadn't depicted a commoner doing it in the film Kes. You need your own castle grounds to practise half these sports. No wonder a disproportionate number of our victors thus far seem notably posh, apart from Bradley Wiggins, the first member of Oasis to attend a London comprehensive school and win four gold medals.

Still, despite my confusion over the more pageant-like events, I'm finding the Olympics hypnotically watchable, and it's because … well … look, I don't know.I don't know. Understand this: for 100% of my life so far, I found watching sport – any sport – marginally less interesting than watching cardboard exist. Now my eyeballs are eating it up, even while my brain fails to make sense of it. Take the swimming. I have no idea why there are so many different flavours: 50m, 200m, 400m, 800m, breaststroke, butterfly, freestyle, relay, marathons, medleys. I've seen endless hours of swimming. By choice. You could leave it on in the background. It was like having a fish tank full of mysterious water people in the corner of the room. Made me feel like a god tinkering in his shed, glancing at his pets now and then. Oddly comforting. At the time of writing, the running-and-jumping stuff has begun in earnest; the sheer physical agony of which I can personally relate to thanks to hours spent playing the Track and Field computer game in the 80s. No reason to believe this won't become another time sponge. So yes, thanks, Olympics, for confounding my inner cynic, and not being awful. And for, I suppose, on balance, I admit, I confess, in a whisper – actually being quite good.

Charlie Brooker The Guardian, Sunday 5 August 2012

Fact and opinionWe’re learnt:• Fact and opinion is not as simple as true or false!• Facts can be tested/proven; opinion cannot be proven.

You can have ‘false facts’.• Unless the question asks otherwise, select 2/3 of

examples to support your answer to a question about a writer’s use of fact and opinion.

• Higher grades will require the explanation of the uses of facts and opinions. Think about the following:– “Why has the writer used these specific facts/opinions for this specific

audience?”– “Why has the writer used these specific facts/opinions for this specific

purpose?”– Also – you could explain how they make the audience feel – shocked?

amused? horrified? and why.Today we continued to develop a secure understanding of HOW writers use

fact and opinion in their texts. So can you answer:How do the two texts differ in their use of fact and opinion?