Being a Critical Reader

A critical reader knows how to separate fact from opinion. We encounter facts and opinions in combination in most of what we read. Think about a newspaper. There are factual news stories about a car accident in one section, and then a movie review in another. Still other articles might give both the facts about the latest Vancouver Canucks game and an opinion about how the team played that night.

So to start, where would you expect to find more factual information?

• textbook or diary?
• web log or automobile owner’s manual?

Some writing may lend itself to being more factual, such as a science textbook, and other writing to being more opinionated, like your friend’s diary. What about the internet? Are all websites reliable? Do they contain information you can trust?

When is it important to know the difference between fact and opinion?

• If you were looking for information for a research report on the internet, you would want to know if what you read on a given website is fact or opinion.
• Or, if you read an article in a magazine about a new health supplement—something that is sure to make you stronger and fitter in a matter of days—you would want to know if the claims were based on fact or opinion before you spent any money on the product.
• And what about a column in a newspaper? Do you let someone else’s opinions on events shape yours, or do you first find out the facts, listen to others’ opinions, and then make up your own mind?

Through much of Family Studies 10–12, you will be asked to read articles and case studies that will require you to differentiate between fact and opinion.