Analyzing Details: Fact or Opinion Authors will use both fact and opinion in their writing. As a reader you must be able to tell the difference.

Facts Facts can be proven to be true. THERE IS NO ARGUMENT TO DISPROVE FACTS!

Opinions Opinions are things that people believe based on their feelings. IF YOU CAN ARGUE OVER IT, IT IS PROBABLY AN OPINION!

When reading, be careful that you do not jump to a conclusion. Before you assume something is a fact, ask yourself the following question: DOES THE WRITER OFFER PROOF? CAN I FIND PROOF SOMEWHERE ELSE?

Directions In the following slides you will have a series of reading passages. On a sheet of paper write down the number at the top of each slide, along with whether it is fact or opinion. The quiz following the practice will ask you for your answers, but it will be in a random order. YOU MUST HANDWRITE DOWN THE ANSWERS OR YOU COULD POSSIBLY PUT THE ANSWERS IN THE WRONG ORDER!

1) Fact or Opinion? Pop and rap music has evolved into a shallow, image-obsessed industry that conforms to what the public wants to hear and see, eliminating the focus on the actual music. Mainstream music is no longer composed of emotion, but instead themes of money, sex, and fame. Pop and rap performers are notorious for their run-ins with police, their latest diet, or their most recent affair. Photos and rumors fly while the music is ignored.

2) Fact or Opinion Albert Einstein once said, “Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted.” Even he saw the obvious fallacies in testing.  The basic purpose of school is to equip us for success. That's what teachers, principals, governments, and oceans of bureaucracy exist to do. But success is measured in so much more than just scantron bubbles and fill-in-the-blank questions. A person's morals and character play a far greater part in personal achievement than knowing trivial facts. 

3) Fact or Opinion? Cinco de Mayo (Spanish for "fifth of May") is a celebration held on May 5. It is celebrated nationwide in the United States and regionally in Mexico, primarily in the state of Puebla, where the holiday is called El Dia de la Batalla de Puebla (English: The Day of the Battle of Puebla). The date is observed in the United States as a celebration of Mexican heritage and pride, and to commemorate the cause of freedom and democracy during the first years of the American Civil War. In the state of Puebla, the date is observed to commemorate the Mexican army's unlikely victory over French forces at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862, under the leadership of General Ignacio Zaragoza Seguín. Contrary to widespread popular belief, Cinco de Mayo is not Mexico's Independence Day—the most important national patriotic holiday in Mexico—which is actually celebrated on September 16.

4) Fact or Opinion? The Electoral College consists of the electors appointed by each state who formally elect the President and Vice President of the United States. Since 1964, there have been 538 electors in each presidential election. Article II, Section 1, Clause 2 of the Constitution specifies how many electors each state is entitled to have and that each state's legislature decides how its electors are to be chosen. U.S. territories are not represented in the Electoral College. The Electoral College is an example of an indirect election, as opposed to a direct election by United States citizens (such as for members of the United States House of Representatives).

5) Fact or Opinion? Do you believe in love in high school? Could it possibly exist? No way, kids don't know what true love is... But, how many people do you know that dated in high school that are currently married and happy? I personally know about 4 couples very very well that are now happy after being high school sweethearts. Did they just like each other as teens and grow to love each other? When did the "like" change to "love?" In college? Age 21? 22?23? Or could they possibly have loved each other all along?

6) Fact or Opinion? Igneous rock (derived from the Latin word igneus meaning of fire, from ignis meaning fire) is one of the three main rock types, the others being sedimentary and metamorphic rock. Igneous rock is formed through the cooling and solidification of magma or lava. Igneous rock may form with or without crystallization, either below the surface as intrusive (plutonic) rocks or on the surface as extrusive (volcanic) rocks. This magma can be derived from partial melts of pre-existing rocks in either a planet's mantle or crust. Typically, the melting is caused by one or more of three processes: an increase in temperature, a decrease in pressure, or a change in composition.

7) Fact or Opinion? There are many things in this society which should be banned, but the death penalty is not one of them. It is definitely the right way to go as far as capital discipline is concerned. Right now in our country, I find it outrageous that criminals think that they can get away with just about anything. In some states, including Alabama, the death penalty has helped them lower the rate of violent crimes. We need some form of capital punishment to send a message to career criminals that they will not get away with these severe crimes.