GED Social Studies: Facts and Opinions
So, you’re reading an article in a magazine, or someone’s blog. Everything in it’s a fact, right? They’re reporting facts, right? Not true! Things you read have all kinds of opinions in them, as well as facts. Sometimes it’s hard to tell the difference! And you don’t want to think that someone’s opinion is a cold, hard fact. You want to make up your own mind on your opinions! That’s why the GED social studies test tests your ability to tell facts from opinions.
The GED social studies test includes questions that ask you to tell the difference between a fact (something that’s definitely true and that you can check out in other sources to make sure it’s true), and an opinion (something a writer thinks or believes based on evidence and values). Sometimes it’s difficult to know which is which, in part because they’re often mixed together.
Here’s an example. This is from a political blog on The Washington Post newspaper website, called The Fix. The article is called “What’s Next for McCain?”
The scheduled meeting today between President-elect Barack Obama and his vanquished Republican rival John McCain is more about symbolism than substance, but it raises an intriguing question about what the future holds for the Arizona senator.
Prior to running for president this year, McCain was generally regarded as one of a handful of senators — of either partisan stripe — willing to work across the aisle to broker compromises on major issues of the day. Campaign finance reform is the most lasting example, but others — including his leadership role in the “Gang of 14″ — also cropped up regularly over McCain’s past decade of work in the Senate.
Which of these phrases indicates an opinion, rather than a fact?
A) scheduled meeting today
B) Republican rival
C) more about symbolism than substance
D) running for president this year
E) leadership role in the “Gang of 14″
What do you think? If this question was on the GED test, could you answer it?
Which choice tells you what the writer thinks, not something in the outside world that you could check out. McCain’s “leadership role” in the “Gang of 14″ is something you could check out and be certain of. That he ran for president this year–well, I’d say that’s a fact!
A “scheduled meeting today” is also a fact. If it’s on the calendar, it’s scheduled! “Republican rival”… the word “rival” just means someone you’re competing against, you know, who you’re up against. I’d say it’s a fact that McCain competed against Obama! Definitely rivals.
That leaves “more about symbolism than substance.” Could you really check that out? Is it a fact, something the writer knows? It sounds like an opinion, a conclusion the writer’s come to. Do you see what I mean? It’s what he thinks about the meeting, not a specific thing that’s definitely true about the meeting.
Telling facts from opinions on the GED test won’t be too hard… as long as you have a good idea what makes a fact, and what makes an opinion.
Good GED studying!
For more information about the GED test and GED test preparation, visit The GED Academy at http://www.passGED.com.
