Identifying facts and opinions

In a nutshell

Sometimes non-fiction texts mix facts and opinions. This makes it difficult to tell what is definitely true and what the author believes to be true. This summary will explore the differences between fact and opinion in non-fiction texts and help you tell the difference between them.

Facts

A fact is a statement of truth that can be proven right or wrong by evidence. Facts are usually widely accepted.

Example

Manchester is a city in England.

Opinions

An opinion is a statement that is thought or believed to be true and cannot be proven right or wrong by evidence. Opinions can be very varied amongst different people.

Example

Manchester is the best city in England.

Mixing facts and opinions

Sometimes you will only expect to find opinions or facts in a non-fiction text.

Example

An online review will mainly provide opinions and a school textbook will mainly provide facts.

However, sometimes a text includes a mixture of facts and opinions. In these cases, it is important to know which statements are definitely true and which statements are believed to be true by the author.

Example

Whilst a biography provides a detailed explanation of a subject's life using facts, the author can also share their own opinions about their life. For instance, in a biography about Taylor Swift, the author might write 'Taylor has won 11 Grammys. She truly is the most amazing artist'. It is a fact that Taylor Swift has won 11 Grammys, but it is the author's opinion that she is the most amazing artist.

Knowing the difference between facts and opinions

One way you can decide whether a statement is fact or opinion is to investigate the kind of language the author uses. Words which point towards evidence can be suggestive of facts, while words which point towards an expression of a point of view indicate an opinion.

Example

Words and phrases like 'this is demonstrated by', 'this shows' or 'this is confirmed by' suggest a fact is being stated. Alternatively, words and phrases like 'she claims', 'I think' and 'they argue' suggest an opinion is being stated.

However, sometimes language is not clear enough to suggest which statements are facts and which statements are opinions. In these cases, you should think about whether or not a statement is based on evidence that can be proven right or wrong. Remember, just because an author might suggest a statement is definitely true, does not mean that it is.

Example

An author of an online review might refer to their favourite author's new release as 'the best book in the world'. Even though this seems to be presented as a fact (there is no expression of opinion like 'I think'), this statement is clearly not based on evidence that can be proven right or wrong and therefore is an opinion.