Learn · Reading · 4 min

Fact vs opinion

Persuasive writing mixes the two on purpose, and exams ask you to pull them apart. One test settles almost every case:

Could someone check it and settle the argument?

Yes → fact. No, people could reasonably disagree → opinion.

facta number, a date, a measurement, a name — checkable
opinionbest, worst, should, unfair, beautiful, shameful — judgement
carefula fact can be WRONG and still be a fact

Sort it: fact or opinion? — 1 of 8

“Our school day begins at 8:40 am.”

Now — the two traps

Trap 1 — a wrong fact is still a fact

“Mount Everest is 12,000 metres tall.” That is false — but it is still a fact-type claim, because you can look it up and settle it. Fact vs opinion is about whether it can be checked, not whether it is true.

Trap 2 — “I saw it myself” is not a measurement

“Half the class isn’t really awake in first period.” The writer did watch the lesson — but “half” here is an impression, not a count. A number only makes something a fact if it was actually counted or measured.

Tips & tricks

Hunt for the judgement word

Scan the option for best, worst, should, must, unfair, beautiful, shameful, worth. One of those almost always means opinion.

“I believe” and “I think” are giveaways

A writer flagging their own view is signposting an opinion — but watch out, they often drop the flag and state the opinion flatly.

Attributed research is still evidence

“Studies have found…” reports something checkable, so it counts as fact-type — even inside a very opinionated article.

The question may ask for the opposite

Half of these questions ask which is an OPINION. Underline which one you’re hunting before you read the options.

Facts are used to prop up opinions

“A plumber quoted $1,400” (fact) “so it’s a bargain” (opinion). Exams love asking you to split exactly that sentence.

Now you try — 0/4

From a letter to the school newsletter

“Our library closes at 3:15 pm, only fifteen minutes after the last bell. That is far too soon. Last week I counted twenty-three students waiting outside a locked door. Surely a school that calls reading important should keep its library open until four.”

1. Which sentence is a FACT?

2. Which is the clearest OPINION?

3. 'Last week I counted twenty-three students waiting outside a locked door.' Why does this count as a fact?

4. 'The Great Wall of China is 50,000 kilometres long.' This statement is —

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