Distinguishing Between Fact and Opinion

Imagine observing a student in the third row tap his pencil against a desk exactly fourteen times in sixty seconds. That is a measurement. You write in your observation notes that the student is bored. That is an interpretation. As a future educator, you will constantly navigate the space between what actually happened in your classroom and what you believe happened. In reading comprehension, we must do exactly the same thing. To analyze a text accurately, readers must separate the objective reality of an event from an author's interpretation of that event.

When you sit down to take the Praxis Core Reading exam, you are essentially evaluating how an author has built their argument. Writers construct arguments using two fundamental materials: verifiable realities and personal perspectives. If you cannot reliably distinguish between the two, you cannot dismantle, analyze, or evaluate the text. Let us look at exactly how language signals the difference between the two, and how authors weave them together to persuade you.