1. Fact and Opinion: Is There Really a Difference
Every man has a right to be wrong in his opinions.
But no man has a right to be wrong in his facts.
-Baruch, Bernard M
American Financier
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2. How to Navigate Through a PowerPoint Workshop
This PowerPoint Presentation is designed to be experienced as a workshop.
To ensure that you do not miss important information, only use your mouse at this prompt:
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3. Let’s Get The Facts Straight!
There is a difference between
FACT and OPINION.
Facts are statements that can be proven.
Opinions can not be proven. They are based on someone's thoughts, their feelings and their understanding.
Though you may be able to use facts to add credibility to an opinion, it is still an opinion!
Though an opinion may be widely accepted, that does not make it a fact.
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4. Let’s Get The Facts Straight!
A fact is something that can be proven by a reliable authority such as:
Proven
scientific law A
history book
Statistics
Governmental
law
Measurements
Mathematics
An observation
Note : None of these authorities are fool proof, but information that they provide is considered to be fact.
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5. Lets Look at Some Examples of Facts
Must Have a
Reliable
Authority
John F. Kennedy was President
History Book
The adult human body has 206 bones
Science
56% of US gun Deaths are suicides
Statistic
21 is the legal drinking age in Cincinnati, OH
Governmental Law
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6. More Examples of Facts Fact How it is Provable
What About Observations?
Observations are facts because they can be proven by the senses.
Fact
How it is Provable
Some flowers are larger than others.
You can bring in flowers of various sizes
The shirt is green.
You can bring in the shirt so that the color can be seen
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7. Getting the Facts on Facts
Some facts change over time For example:
It was once considered to be a fact that the world was flat.
We believed that those traveling too far in either direction could literally fall off!
Because new things are being discovered everyday, reliable authorities are sometimes forced to alter what we all once considered to be facts.
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8. Lets Look at Some Examples of Opinions
Here are some of the same topics that we saw as facts. Can you figure out how they were changed to opinions?
John F. Kennedy was an President.
the adult human body has more bones than
that the US suicide rate will decrease soon.
for the legal drinking age to be 21.
excellent
Apparently,
All of these words are hints that there is an opinion present.
necessary.
It is likely
It is unfair
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9. Types of Opinions Lets Take a Quick Look at all of them.
There are Several Types of Opinions:
Hypothesis Statements
Theory Statements
Assumptive Statements
Value Statements
Exaggerated Statements
Lets Take a Quick Look at all of them.
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10. Types of Opinions: Statements of Hypothesis
A Hypothesis is an assumption made in an attempt to explain an observation. Though an Observation is a Fact, a Hypothesis is an Opinion.
For Example, if I were to elaborate on a previous observation and say:
Some flowers are larger than others because they are in more fertile soil.
This hypothesis would have to be further investigated and scientifically proven to be considered a fact.
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11. Types of Opinions: Statements of Theory
A theory is an opinion that is a widely believed explanation for a group of observations.
Here are two well known examples:
The Theory of Relativity.
The Evolutionary Theory.
Though many scientists believe that these theories are true, we still consider them to be opinions rather than facts because they have not been proven.
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12. Types of Opinions: Statements of Assumption
An assumptive statement is an opinion that is an improvable prediction. Here are three examples
If Hillary Clinton ran for President she would definitely win.
The war in Iraq will eventually cost the US all of its allies.
When that new movie comes out it will definitely be at the top of the charts!
Though these are stated as though they are true, they are only assumptive opinions.
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13. Types of Opinions: Statements of Value
A value statement is any claim that is based on someone's beliefs. Here are three examples
Colin Powell is an excellent candidate for president.
The use of animals in lab testing is cruel and must be stopped.
The Bahamas is the most beautiful place on Earth.
Value Statements are often opinions attempting to sway the reader to a certain belief.
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14. Types of Opinions: Statements of Exaggeration
An exaggerated statement is one that embellishes the facts, often to sway the reader. Here are two examples
There were millions of people rioting on the streets of down town Cincinnati.
The president has not made one good decision since he has been in office!
Writers often use exaggeration to make their point more clear. They are still opinions.
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15. Opinions: Words To Look Out For
There are Certain Words that will Warn You that You are Being Given an Opinion and
Not a Fact!
Successful
Maybe
Perhaps
Necessary
Best / Worst
Apparently
Probably
Experts Agree
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16. Getting the Facts About Opinions
An opinion is not necessarily wrong, it is merely not a provable fact.
For example:
“Bridgett is a very beautiful young lady.”
Even if everyone agreed with this statement, it is still an opinion because it is not provable. Beauty is relative.
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17. Keeping Your Facts Straight
Do you think that you can separate facts from opinions?
The next slide will have five statements. Decide whether each statement is a fact, or an opinion. Write down you answers on a separate sheet of paper.
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18. Keeping Your Facts Straight
Separate the facts from the opinions.
The best way to choose a spouse is based on brains, not beauty.
The car probably stopped running because it ran out of gas.
The Learning Center is in the Educational Services Building.
If I were to go on to receive my Bachelors, I would not be successful.
There are 121 prescription drugs that come from plants.
Write your answers on a separate sheet of paper.
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19. Keeping Your Facts Straight
How well did you do?
The car probably stopped running because it ran out of gas.
-Opinion: hypothesis
The Learning Center is in the Educational Services Building Fact
If I were to go on to receive my Bachelors, I would not be successful.
-Opinion: Assumption
The best way to choose a spouse is based on brains, not beauty Opinion: value statement
There are 121 prescription drugs that come from plants.
-Fact
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20. Thank You!