Differentiating Fact from Opinion and….

1. Differentiating Fact from Opinion and…. Detecting Bias in Non-Fiction!

2. A Fact is…. • An event or thing known to have happened or existed • A truth verifiable from experience or observation • Are scientific hypotheses (theories) facts?

3. Examples of Facts • The moon orbits the Earth. • The Earth is round. • My favorite color is blue.

4. An Opinion is… • A personal belief or judgment that is not founded on proof or certainty.

5. Examples of Opinions • Economics is an interesting course. • Climate change is as dangerous as some suggest. • Winning the war in Iraq is possible. • The United States should be participating in the rebuilding of Iraq.

6. Political Ads…. • X voted for spending $10 million on the stimulus. • Y voted for the government take-over of health care. • Z should listen to women voters and do the right thing.

7. Easy….right?? • In academic writing, though, authors often make their opinions sound like fact (since they are writing in the third person). • They are STILL opinions, though!

8. Even though there are nay-sayers, global warming is a truly essential topic for the next Congressional session. • Clearly, the war in Iraq is worth fighting and worth winning. If the United States removes its troops now, the war would stand in the loss column.

9. Wal-Mart exhibits unfair labor practices in connection with its relationships with unions. • Obama-care will ruin our nation and send our national deficit spiraling out of control.

10. 9News Truth Test • Truth Test

11. Detecting Bias • When reading… • Detect the author’s opinion on a topic • Keep it separate from the facts that he or she is reporting on.

12. When Writing • Be sure to employ the strong writing tactics of making your own opinions sound like facts. • That will make your own writing more believable. • Andrew Carnegie was a robber-baron, not a philanthropist. • Women should have equal access to voting.

13. Bias • A point of view

14. Every Text Has a Bias! • Nothing can be completely neutral • Every text is created by a real human being. • Humans place their beliefs into their work.

16. Bias is NOT Inherently BAD!! • It is too simplistic to simply say about a text “that is biased” and then NOT pay attention to it. • A strong reader will do the following:

17. Good readers….. • Predict texts’ potential bias • Read actively to seek the FACTS in a text. • Read actively to seek the OPNIONS in a text.

18. Enter….SOAPStone • S – Subject • What is the subject of this piece? • O – Occasion • Why / when was this piece written? • A – Audience • Who is the intended audience? • Are YOU the intended audience? • P – Purpose • What was the intended purpose of this piece?

19. SOAPStone • S – Speaker • Who is telling the story? • Tone – Tone! • What is the author’s tone toward the subject? • What emotional sense does the reader walk away with?

20. Let’s Practice! • What bias (point of view) might you expect if you view / read / hear a text with the following considerations….. • Republican political ad….about Obama • Democratic political ad…..about education

21. Elmer Fudd on….gun control? • Stewie on…..parenting? • Simon Cowell on…..amateur singers? • Mr. Peterson on…..work ethic?

22. John Stewart