ACT Preparation / Unit 18 ACT 1704 worked example, 60 to 90 seconds
Is It Fact or Opinion?
The idea
A fact-or-opinion question is answered in three steps. First, read the statement alone and ask whether it could be checked by a record, a measurement or an observation. Second, look for judgment words: evaluative adjectives such as best or worst, and words of obligation such as should or must. Third, decide; a statement that mixes a fact with a judgment counts as opinion, because its key claim cannot be checked.
In practice
Worked example: four statements from an invented article on a city park. "The park covers 40 acres" can be measured: fact. "The park should add more benches" uses should: opinion. "The park drew 2,000 visitors on Saturday" can be counted: fact. "The park's 40 acres are wasted on lawns" begins with a fact but turns on wasted, a judgment: opinion.
Where people slip
A number does not make a statement factual. "Two thousand visitors proves the park is beloved" uses a count to support an opinion.
Your place on the trail
Every lesson rests on earlier ones and opens later ones. Tap any to jump.
Builds on
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