Fact v. Opinion In nonfiction writing, authors often use a combination of facts, opinions, and assertions to support their ideas. A factual claim can be proved with evidence. An opinion is a person’s judgment or belief. It may be supported by factual evidence, but the opinion itself cannot be proved. A commonplace assertion is a statement that is generally accepted as true, but cannot always be proved. Look for clue words that signal belief or judgment, such as best, worst, bad, or good. The best way to test for an opinion or assertion is to determine whether you could look it up to verify its truth. If you cannot, it’s an opinion or assertion!

Persuasive techniques are the methods that a writer uses to make the audience think or act a certain way. They appeal to the reader’s reason, emotions, or respect for an expert opinion. Loaded terms: the use of words with strong emotional associations – Going to college gives you freedom and choice! Caricature: a description of a person, idea, or thing that exaggerates to an extreme degree – Teenagers are dangerous, unsafe drivers who threaten the lives of everyone on the road. Leading question: a question that is asked or worded in a certain way to suggest the correct or desired answer – Don’t you want your child to get a great education? Testimonial: using a quote from an expert in the field or a famous celebrity to support the writer’s position – Kim Kardashian: “I love my new BMW! It’s the best car money can buy!” Bandwagon appeal: using the human desire to fit in or be like everyone else to get the reader to agree – Want to run with the in-crowd? Get the latest pair of Nike Air Force 1 in Elephant Print! Statistics: numerical facts or data (the writer should always give the reader the source of the statistic) – 8,400,000 Americans get lung cancer every year, according to the American Medical Association.

Guided Practice “Luby’s is the healthiest fast-food choice for children under the age of 5.” -Dr. Paddock, Austin Association of Pediatricians – Testimonial (using an expert in the field to support the idea) The Restaurant Coalition found that Luby’s meals have 50% larger portions than fast food drive in companies. – Statistic (numerical fact – this could be looked up, the source is given) Come eat at Luby’s, and enjoy our delicious, nutritious, nationally famous diner meals! – Loaded terms (delicious, nutritious, nationally famous = appeal to your positive emotions connected to those words) Join your friends, family, and neighbors at Luby’s today! – Bandwagon appeal (everyone is eating here!) Your school cafeteria food tastes so bad it makes your skin crawl and your stomach flip over. Now’s the time to switch to Luby’s instead! – Caricature (exaggerating how bad the school food is to an extreme degree) How many times has your stomach started growling five minutes after you ate your microwaved frozen lunch? Come on over to Luby’s and get yourself a real meal! – Leading question (pushes reader toward a certain answer due to the way it is worded

Independent Practice Loaded terms: What starts as a hiccup in a 6 year old’s education can be a crisis by the time that child reaches high school. Statistic: …low income students slip as many as three months in reading comprehension compared with middle-income students. Leading question: … are we willing to make tough choices and invest in the future leaders of America so they can get the education they need? Testimonial: “There is an idyllic view of summer, but we’ve known for decades that the reality is very different for a lot of underprivileged kids,” says Ron Fairchild, CEO of a nonprofit organization called the National Summer Learning Association.