2019-08-13 Writing: facts and opinions

Greg Malivuk
gmalivuk@staffordhouse.com
http://www.pastebin.com/u/gmalivuk - Notes from all classes
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p. 170 practice 2A - Write the adjective form of each noun.
1 violence - violent
2 harm - harmful
3 aggression - aggressive
4 anger - angry
5 sensitivity - sensitive
6 entertainment - entertaining
7 imagination - imaginative
8 emotion - emotional
part B - Choose the correct form for each sentence.
1 violence
2 harm
3 entertainment
4 aggression
5 emotional
6 imagination
7 entertaining
8 sensitivity
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My neighborhood is a very safe place. I live there because of the safety.
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p. 171 - Which statements are facts and which are opinions?
The ones on the left are facts, the ones on the right are opinions.
EXCEPT:
	- “Using a cell phone while driving is dangerous.” doesn’t become an opinon just because I don’t know what accident reports say, and it doesn’t become a fact just because accident reports say it
	- “dangerous” is vague, so maybe it’s always an opinion without more specific details

Mrs. King said, “I am a good mother.” - fact, because she really did say this
Mrs. King is a good mother. - opinion, because this isn’t objective
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fact: real, objective things that we can check or test
	“People who play violent video games are more violent than people who don’t.”
(If two people disagree about a fact, at least one of them is wrong.)

opinion: subjective feelings which we can’t check
	“People who play violent video games are bad people.”
(If two people disagree about an opinion, neither one is wrong.)
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true fact: It is 26 degress in Boston right now.
“false fact”: It is 10 degrees in Boston right now.
unverified fact: It is 25 degrees in NYC.
conjecture/guess: It’s probably about 25 degrees in NYC.
opinion: The weather is perfect right now.
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p. 172 - Complete the outline of the video game paragraph (168-9) and decide whether each thing is a fact or opinion.
A   F
  1 F
  2 F
B   O (or unsupported fact - we could check this, but the writer didn’t check)
  1 I believe that these games make it entertaining to shoot and kill, and the line between imaginary violence and real violence becomes very thin or disappears entirely for children. O (or unsupported F)
  2 F
  3 F
C In my opnion, children who do not...solution. O
  1 F
  2 Two students shot and killed 12 classmates, a teacher, and themselves at a Colorado high school. F
  3 F
I feel...banned. O
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Be careful: people can be incorrect (or lying) about whether something is a fact or opinion.
“In my view, the Sun rises in the west.” - This is a “false fact”. Adding “in my view” doesn’t change it to an opinion.
“According to research, this morning’s sunrise was the most beautiful of the month.” - This is an opinion.
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Transition signals for opinions:
In my opinion, [sentence]
In my view, …
I believe / I think / I feel …
From my perspective, …
In my mind, …

Transitions for sources (usually of facts):
According to [source], [sentence].
	According to the 2010 US Census, there were 617,680 people living in the city of Boston.
Studies show / Research shows
Based on [source], [sentence].
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Homework: list some facts that (if true) could support these opinions:
- It’s too cold to go swimming today.
- It’s bad to study English.
- Everyone should become vegetarian.