Fact versus Opinion Objective verses Subjective
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Transcript Fact versus Opinion Objective verses Subjective
Fact v.s Opinion
Objective v.s. Subjective
Understanding the Difference
What is Reliability & Validity?
Reliability – is the text dependable?
Validity – Is it correct?
On the Test…
On the FCAT, you will be asked questions
about the validity and reliability of an
author’s claims in a passage.
For instance, what makes a particular
author qualified to write about a subject?
Or what does the author use to support the
main points of the essay? (For example,
does the author use personal opinions,
common knowledge, or expert opinions?)
To answer these questions, it is best to
understand where the source of information
is coming from.
Primary Sources
Primary sources are written by people who
witnessed or participated in an event
Memoirs
Interviews
Letters
Diaries
Autobiographies
Secondary Sources
Secondary sources are one step removed from the
actual event - the information is second hand
knowledge. The author has read primary sources
and evaluates or analyzes the event.
Text books
Histories
Articles
Encyclopedias
Biographies
Fact versus Opinion
Fact: something known to be true;
something that can be shown to be
true, to have existed, or to have
happened.
Opinion: a view or judgment formed
in the mind about a particular issue
Identify whether each of the following
statements are facts or opinions.
1. Lexington is a boring city.
2. People with blonde hair and blue eyes
are the most beautiful people in the
world.
3. Racism is a problem in America.
4. Young people are less experienced and
knowledgeable than older people.
5. Hip-hop videos are insulting to women.
Let’s Practice!!
Let’s create a two column Fact and Opinion Column
Note chart to identify the differences between
facts & opinions.
Take a sheet of paper and fold it in half “hot dog”
style – long way
In the column on the left write Facts and in the
column on the right write Opinions. Your chart
should look like the model on the board.
Objective verses Subjective
Objective: a point of view that is not
influenced by personal feelings or
prejudice; based on facts; unbiased
Subjective: a point of view that is
based on a person’s own moods,
attitudes, and opinions
Bias: a point of view or interpretation
that is slated or inspired with
prejudice and personal feelings.
How do you know if a statement
is objective?
Objective is...
Observable
Factual
Describable
Countable
Truthful
Examples:
There are 32
desks in this
room.
The forecast
says there is a
30% chance of
snow.
Hitler was a
German leader.
How do you know if a statement
is subjective.?
Subjective is...
Opinion
Judgment
Assumption
Belief
Rumor
Suspicion
Some SUBJECTIVE WORDS TO
LOOK FOR:
famous, notable, great, etc;
any reference to size: large,
small, tall, short, etc;
or distance: near, far, etc;
character traits: beautiful,
evil, friendly, greedy,
honest, intelligent, old,
popular, ugly, young, etc
Subjectivity implies polarity and may
emphasize one extreme or the other (good
or bad, best or worst)
Key Words
Some SUBJECTIVE WORDS TO LOOK FOR:
famous, notable, great, etc;
any reference to size: large, small, tall,
short, etc;
or distance: near, far, etc;
character trait: beautiful, evil, friendly,
greedy, honest, intelligent, old, popular,
ugly, young, etc
Look for the 3 “R’s”
Reliable – Have you heard of the author? Has your
teacher mentioned the author? What are the
author’s credentials? Is the author biased or
objective?
Recent – When was the book/article published? Has
it been updated or revised? Current events need to
be up to date. Periodicals usually provide the most
recent information.
Relevant – Does the book have material you can
use? Does it support your research? Is it related to
your topic or is it just interesting data?
Now you know. Now what?
Once you have identified the facts and opinions
and the objective and subjective statements, what
do you do now?
You practice a very important skill: identify the
reliability and validity of an argument presented
to you by the author.
In the piece we’re going to read, you should locate
objective and subjective statements made by the
author (the writer of the article).