Discussion: Opinion, Preference and Fact

In the previous post about Discussion we looked at the 3 most important parts of a discussion.

Do you remember what those were? You can go back and read the post about Discussions, but let's do a quick review,

Review

A discussion is a detailed conversation on a topic. The purpose of a discussion is to learn as much as possible about the topic.

3 important parts of a discussion:

Opinion - A belief about a topic. An opinion is hard to discuss by itself so we need reasons and examples to help explain our opinion.
Reason - The 'why' of it all is important to any opinion. Reasons will help your partner understand your opinion.
Example - Examples are necessary to connect opinion and reasons to reality. Examples also help your partner understand your opinion.

Opinions in more Detail

An opinion is what you think of something. Opinions used for discussions is one that someone can disagree with.

Examples:
Smoking is unhealthy.
Smoking is relaxing.
Chinese pollution is causing health problems in Japan.
The Walking Dead is the most exciting show on television right now.


Preference

A preference is an expression of personal choice; likes and dislikes are expressions of preference. I like dogs is not a fact but an opinion. Although its not useful for a discussion.

(Not a discussion)
A: I like dogs.
B: No, you don't.


Making a preference into an opinion for discussion adds a reason why you believe. Use adjectives like playful, friendly, dangerous, healthy, good, bad etc.

(A discussion)
A: Dogs are friendly.
B: No, they're not.

This starts a discussion using examples and reasons why dogs are friendly or not.

Examples:
Pizza is my favorite food.
I like to read mystery novels.
My hobby is writing.

Fact

A fact is a statement accepted by people as being generally true. "The Earth goes around the sun" is a fact. Facts are used in discussions to persuade people to believe their opinion.

Examples:
The Indians are the baseball team in Cleveland, Ohio.
Tokyo is the largest city in Japan.
Mario Bros. is an arcade game developed by Nintendo in 1983.

Test Your Understanding:

Read each statement and determine if it's an Opinion (O), Preference (P), or Fact (F).

O P F: I like to sleep.
O P F: Tokyo is the capital of Japan.
O P F: Snakes are good pets.
O P F: I would rather eat bread than rice.
O P F: English is too difficult.
O P F: Chocolate is a food produced from the seed of a cocoa tree.
O P F: Chocolate is delicious.

Put your answers in the comments below or email them to us at chromatic.english@gmail.com.

Happy Learning and Speak Bravely!