Study skills B1+ Units

Identifying fact and opinion

1 When you are reading the text types 1–5, what do you think are more important: facts, opinions or both?
Circle your choice.
1 a film review facts / opinions / both STUDY TIP
2 a news report facts / opinions / both
3 an advertisement facts / opinions / both A fact is something that can be
4 an article facts / opinions / both proved to be true or false.
An opinion is a statement based
5 a blog entry facts / opinions / both
on personal beliefs that cannot
be proved with evidence.
2 Read the Study tip. Are statements 1–8 facts or opinions?
Opinions often, but not always,
Write F (fact) or O (opinion).
begin with I think … or I believe
1 Messi is the best footballer in the world. … or include adjectives or
2 The population of China is increasing. superlatives. Often opinions
are presented to convince the
3 Chocolate tastes better than cheese.
reader to share an opinion the
4 The average temperature in New York in July is 24.9ºC. writer has or to sell a product.
5 Chicken with vegetables is the healthiest meal. An important skill when reading
6 Many people go for a run in the morning. is to know whether the writer
is being objective and using
7 By 2050, everybody will use 3D printers. facts or is being subjective and
8 Everybody should learn to cook. expressing an opinion.

3 You will often find a combination of facts and opinions in a text. Read the text and do the activities (4–6).

Green Smoothies
D
o you want to give yourself more energy in the
morning? Or lose weight? Try a green smoothie.
A green smoothie is a mix of vegetable leaves, fruit
and some liquid. You put the ingredients in a blender or
food mixer, press the button and in two minutes you
have your smoothie. And the best thing is they taste
delicious. There are a lot of green smoothie recipes
but the tastiest is spinach, banana and coconut milk.
If you drink a green smoothie every day you will lose
weight and have more energy. I lost one kilogram last
week! If you haven’t tried one, you should drink a green
smoothie today.

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Study skills B1+ Units

4 Read the sentences and parts of sentences from the text and decide if they are Fact or Opinion.
Write F (fact) or O (opinion).

a A green smoothie is a mix of vegetable leaves, fruit and some liquid.

b … they taste delicious!
c There are a lot of green smoothie recipes …
d … the tastiest is spinach, banana and coconut milk.
e If you drink a green smoothie every day, you will lose weight and have more energy.

5 Write one more fact and one more opinion from the text.

6 Complete the sentences (1–5) with the first word or phrase that you think of.

1 Politicians are …
2 Footballers are …
3 Americans are …
4 Girls are …
5 Boys are …

7 Which of your answers in 6 are facts and which are opinions?

8 Look at your opinions in 6 and tick

STUDY TIP
(✔) where you think your opinions
are usually from. We often get our opinions from family, friends,
My own experience the television, social media or advertising.
Opinions of family It is important to train your mind to think
Opinions of friends
critically and form your own opinions from
the information you receive. If you read
Television
something on the Internet or see something on
Social media the television, think about who is making the
Advertising statement and who might benefit from it.
Other

9 Read the Study tip and complete the table with an example from the Internet or television.

Statement Is it fact Who is making the Does he/she benefit Your own opinion.
or statement? from making the
opinion? statement? How?

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