Reading Comprehension Success in 20 Minutes a Day, 3rd Edition

FACT: Wednesday is the fourth day of the week.
Now, turn it into an opinion. Make it something
debatable, like this:
OPINION: Wednesday is the longest day of the week.
Here’s another example.
FACT: You must be 18 years old to vote in the United
States.
OPINION: The voting age should be lowered to 16 years
of age.
Now you try. Suggested answers come after the
questions.
6. FACT: Healthcare costs have risen over the last
several years.
OPINION:
7. FACT: The 22nd Amendment of the United States
Constitution establishes a two-term limit
for the presidency.
OPINION:
8. FACT: More than 58,000 Americans lost their lives
in the Vietnam War.
OPINION:

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9. FACT: The Motion Picture Association R
(Restricted) rating requires anyone under
17 to be accompanied by a parent or adult
guardian.
OPINION:
10. FACT: Use of performance-enhancing drugs is
strictly prohibited in both amateur and
professional sports.
OPINION:
Answers
There are, of course, many opinions you could form
from these subjects. Here are some possible answers.
6. Our government should make healthcare a higher
priority.
Companies should give employees several health-
care programs from which to choose.
People should stop complaining about health-
care costs.
7. Presidents should be allowed to serve for three
terms.
Limiting service to two terms will make U.S. pres-
idents more effective.
Term limits are a very bad idea.
8. American soldiers should not have been sent to
Vietnam.
Our government did all the right things concern-
ing the Vietnam War.
9. The Motion Picture Association should not be
able to rate films.
The Motion Picture Association ratings should
be taken seriously by all parents.
Movie ratings are useless.
10. Performance-enhancing drugs should be legal.
Competitive sports would be more interesting to
watch if performance-enhancing drugs were legal.
Performance-enhancing drugs are the worst thing
that ever happened to competitive sports.

S u m m a r y
The ability to differentiate between fact and opinion is
a very important skill. Like a detective, you need to
know the difference between what people think and
what people know, between what people believe to be
true and what has been proven to be true. Then you will
be able to see whether writers support their opinions,
and if they do, how they do it. This will allow you to
judge for yourself the validity of those opinions.