[form] "LEARNING HOW TO THINK STRAIGHT" Your Name please: [text,r_name,30] Email: [text,r_email,30] ------------------------------------------------------------------------ What's an opinion? An OPINON is a belief that someone has about someone or something without having enough information to show it is a fact. Here are two sentences. One's an opinion: one's a fact GARY'S A FOOL This is an OPINION - not observable, not verifiable. LEANNE said, "GARY'S A FOOL." This is a FACT - She DID say it, several people heard her and they all reported the same statement. Now this doesn't mean GARY's a fool. But it does mean that LEANNE said it. Check this out Check the statements below that you're sure are facts - that is, that you can observe and verify and prove them. 1. Paris is a city [radio,01,fact,checked]FACT [radio,01,opinion]OPINION 2. Paris is the greatest city in the world [radio,02,fact,checked]FACT [radio,02,opinion]OPINION 3. Some people say Paris is the greatest city in the world [radio,03,fact,checked]FACT [radio,03,opinion]OPINION 4. Paris is not a great city [radio,04,fact,checked]FACT [radio,04,opinion]OPINION 5. Paris will always be a city [radio,05,fact,checked]FACT [radio,05,opinion]OPINION "Paris is a city" and "Some people say Paris is the greatest city in the world" are facts. Did you check them? ALL the other statements are opinions And, as a matter of fact, "Paris is a city" is not just that one single fact because Paris is also a region, and it is NOT a country. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Take Note Begin considering the statements you make. Ask yourself, “Fact or not?” Is a statement an absolute truth? Is it true for all times and all places and all people? If it isn’t, what conditions or qualifying words can you add that will make it a true statement – a fact? Examine what you read in the same way. History is quite hard to verify. Did Christopher Columbus discover America? Some history books say he did. Other histories name someone else. In cases like this, where you cannot personally verify something, you can give the source of your information. You can say , “According to my history book,” and then go on to repeat the information provided in your book. That way you will show that you have learned the information there but you will avoid stating it as an unconditional fact. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Questions or Comments? [textarea,questions or comments,3,70] [checkbox,send copy,checked] To receive a copy of your work here. Uncheck it if you have printed off a hardcopy for yourself. [submit,SEND this Entry][reset,Start Over again] [/form]