To figure out the author’s purpose, it’s important to know the difference between facts and opinions. A fact is something that’s always true. A fact can be proven. An opinion is someone’s feeling or belief that can’t be proven. People can agree or disagree with opinions. Words like “think,” “believe,” “feel,” “best,” “worst” and “must” are all clues that an author is sharing an opinion. If the author gives an opinion in a text, their purpose might be to persuade.

Question

To figure out the author’s purpose, it’s important to know the difference between facts and opinions. A fact is something that’s always true. A fact can be proven. An opinion is someone’s feeling or belief that can’t be proven. People can agree or disagree with opinions. Words like “think,” “believe,” “feel,” “best,” “worst” and “must” are all clues that an author is sharing an opinion. If the author gives an opinion in a text, their purpose might be to persuade.

Which of the following is an example of an author’s opinion?

A

A giant panda’s diet is over 99% bamboo.

B

The oldest living panda is 37 years old.

C

Panda’s paws have thumbs.

D

Pandas are the most beautiful animals.

GPT-4o mini · Answer

The statement that represents an author's opinion is:

D

"Pandas are the most beautiful animals."

This statement reflects a personal belief and can't be proven to be universally true, which is characteristic of an opinion. The other statements (A, B, and C) present factual information that can be verified.