Distinguishing Facts and Opinions

Study Notes

An opinion is defined as a person's ideas or beliefs about a particular subject.

As of 2014, the rate of union membership had fallen 9 percent over the past 30 years (fact).
It's a shame that as of 2014, the rate of union membership had fallen 9 percent over the past 30 years (fact + opinion).

Tone is the general feeling or attitude expressed in a piece of writing.
Categories of tone: humorous, approving, disapproving, persuasive, objective, informative, and formal.
Example of approving tone: It was vitally important for the many who supported equality during the US civil rights movement to openly express their views in order to avoid disaster.
Example of informative tone: The many who supported equality during the US civil rights movement openly expressed their views.

Bias refers to a writer's partiality toward a particular perspective.
A writer may be biased toward a viewpoint (showing support or positive feelings) or biased against a viewpoint (demonstrating opposition or negative feelings).
Example of bias: the attitude of a proud parent toward his or her child, who may be considered highly gifted even when their abilities are not extraordinary.

Signal phrases may indicate the author's own opinion or the opinion of someone else.
Example of author's opinion: In my opinion, the current administration seems to be putting civil rights on the back burner.
Example of opinion reported by an author: The current administration is thought to be putting civil rights on the back burner.

The objective of a textbook, newspaper, or magazine news report is to inform, typically in an unbiased manner.
The objective of blog posts, editorials, and feature articles tends to be to persuade, meaning that the information found in them is much more likely to include opinions.