On the GED social studies test, you’ll encounter questions asking you to identify an opinion or a fact within the provided choices.
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Video Transcription
On the GED social studies test, you’ll encounter questions asking you to identify an opinion or a fact within the provided choices. A strategic way to answer these types of questions is to find the opinions first because they are often easier to identify due to specific word choices. Another useful strategy is to focus on analyzing the provided four choices rather than the long passage. These questions often come with lengthy passages meant to help you find the correct answers, but it’s more effective to concentrate on the choices, as sentences containing opinions use distinctive wording.
Before diving into these details, let’s quickly summarize what a fact and an opinion are. A fact is something that can be proven to be true or false. For example, “Franklin Delano Roosevelt was the President of the United States from 1933-1945” is a fact because historical records can verify it.
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An opinion, on the other hand, is a statement that reflects someone’s personal beliefs or judgment and cannot be proven. For instance, saying, “Franklin Delano Roosevelt was the most successful President of the United States,” is an opinion. How do you verify the statement “the most successful President of the United States”? Many people believe other US presidents deserve the title “the most successful.”
It’s important to remember that agreeing with an opinion doesn’t make it a fact. For example, “The best way to relax is listening to music” might be true, and you agree with it, but it is still an opinion because it reflects a belief about what is best.
As mentioned at the beginning of this lesson, when answering a question that asks you to choose a statement indicating a fact or an opinion, start by quickly reading the provided choices and look for words typically associated with opinions. The most obvious ones are words like right, wrong, best, and worst when they describe something.
For example: “It’s wrong that President Roosevelt is not on the dollar bill.” This is an opinion and a judgment because what is considered “wrong” for one person might be right for someone else, who might say other US presidents deserve to be on the dollar bill.
Before discussing other words, I want to quickly mention that on the GED test, the word “right” can also be used as a noun, as in “I have the right to vote.”
Now, look at this sample question:
Which statement from President Franklin D. Roosevelt is a fact and not an opinion?
A. “It is right that we seek to protect our citizens from the dangers of war.”
B. “It is wrong for any nation to impose its will upon another.”
C. “Every citizen has the right to speak freely without fear of retribution.”
D. “It is wrong that so many suffer from poverty in a land of plenty.”
The correct answer is: C. “Every citizen has the right to speak freely without fear of retribution.”
Explanation:
A. “It is right that we seek to protect our citizens from the dangers of war.” This is an opinion because it expresses a belief about what should be done.
B. “It is wrong for any nation to impose its will upon another.” This is an opinion as it reflects a moral judgment.
C. “Every citizen has the right to speak freely without fear of retribution.” This is a fact because it states a legal right that can be verified.
D. “It is wrong that so many suffer from poverty in a land of plenty.” This is an opinion as it reflects a value judgment about poverty.
Another set of words that indicate opinions are “should,” “would,” and “could.” These are called modal verbs and are used to express opinions in a polite, not forceful, way.
Here is a sample question: Which statement is an opinion?
A) We should always remember that retirement benefits…
B) The United States was the only major industrial nation that lacked a national social security program.
C) The Social Security Act is a 1935 legislative act that created the Social Security system.
Out of these three choices, option A is an opinion because the word “should” tells us that something can’t be proven, but rather suggests what we ought to remember.
Other popular words that indicate opinion are “important” or “essential,” such as in: “It’s important we all remember to honor our veterans.” However, be careful not to discard statements using these words if they provide evidence to support them.
For example: “The human body requires water to function properly; it is essential for survival.” This statement is a fact because it can be scientifically verified that water is necessary for the human body’s proper functioning and survival.
As you can see, identifying a fact or an opinion in these questions is not difficult if you remember these few simple rules.
Last Updated on October 20, 2025.