 Asalaamu alaikum. Welcome to virtual university. In today's lesson we will be looking at different ways of determining fact from opinion and in the second half we will be of the lesson we will be looking at different ways of indicating time sequences in practical scientific texts. Now being able to disassociate facts from opinions is an essential first step in acquiring a critical ability. As a critical reader you ought to be able to distinguish what are facts and what are opinions. Now when most writers or speakers communicate they include their opinions of a subject in what they are saying in what they are writing. What they say is therefore at least partly biased. Now while bias is unavoidable writers do try to remain as objective as possible. Scientific reports for example are samples of writing in which authors try to be as factual as they can. However there are other types of material materials such as newspaper editorials, political speeches, advertisements etc. where opinions are central to the writing. In such writings the author or the writer tries to convince his readers to change their minds and share his viewpoints. If you read editorials of newspapers you will find that somewhere at the end or near the end the editor makes his opinion quite clear he states it in a very clear manner. Now this means that facts and opinions are valuable to writers but it is the reader who ought to know the difference between the two in order to evaluate what they read. In other words a skilled reader must be able to distinguish fact from opinion. Now I am sure this is something you already do without realizing it. I am sure you are able to distinguish fact from opinion but most of the time most of the time when we talk you will notice that we do mix facts with opinion and in today's lesson we will try to learn you will try to learn to sift fact from opinion. You know the meaning of sift it is to separate fact from opinion. Now what is fact? A fact is a statement that can be proved true through objective evidence. It is a statement that can be proved true through objective evidence. Now this evidence may be physical proof it may be the testimony of witnesses and this testimony could be spoken or written. For example if you have this statement the neem tree in our garden is 25 feet tall. Yes the neem tree in our garden is 25 feet tall. Well anyone can go and measure the tree and confirm or disprove the fact. It is either 25 feet or it is not and that statement can be verified. The next statement the Lahore museum is the oldest museum in Pakistan. The Lahore museum is the oldest museum in Pakistan. Anyone interested in checking out any researcher can check with historical publications historical documents and find out if the museum is truly old is truly the oldest in Pakistan. The third statement Pakistan won the 1992 world cup cricket world cup. Anyone interested in sports can check the sports record and confirm this. So these were three statements all dealing with facts which could be proved or otherwise just by checking. Now we turn to opinion. What is an opinion? An opinion is a statement that cannot be objectively proved true or false. Opinions usually express beliefs feelings judgments that a person may have on a subject or about a subject. For instance the Alhamra Arts Council building is the most beautiful building in Lahore. The Alhamra Arts Council building is the most beautiful building in Lahore. Fine that may be your opinion it may it might not be my opinion. Now there is no way that this statement can be proved because people can look at the same building and come to different conclusions about its beauty. Just as I said earlier I might consider it beautiful but somebody else might not. Beautiful mind you is a value word. What is a value word? A value word is a word we use to express our judgment. Now remember value words are signals that an opinion is being expressed and you as the reader have your antennas have your antennas on the lookout for these value words. These value words by their very nature represent opinions not facts. Example if you came across this statement the Prime Minister should have willed his property to the nation. The Prime Minister should have willed his property to the nation. Well that is your opinion that might not be somebody else's opinion. Number 2 Pakistan cricket team is the best in the world. Again this is an opinion. The word best is debatable. Now to sharpen your understanding of fact and opinion read the following statements and decide whether each one is a fact or an opinion. Number one my brother Aslam is very handsome. My brother Aslam is very handsome. Fact or opinion. Number two last night there was an accident on the highway. Last night there was an accident on the highway. Number three Muhammad Ali Bogra was the worst Prime Minister our country ever had. Number four ostriches do not hide their heads in the sand. Now statement number one that is your opinion. Your brother is handsome you may consider him somebody else might not. Number two so statement number one is an opinion. Statement number two can be verified. Last night there was an accident on the highway. It can be checked prove true or otherwise. Number three Muhammad Ali Bogra well that is your opinion. We have had all sorts of Prime Ministers and maybe he was not the worst. Maybe there were others that is one person's opinion. And number four ostriches do not hide their heads in the sand. Contrary to popular opinion this is a fact which can be checked through observation or reports of observations. Now here are some more points about fact and opinion. When you separate fact from opinion keep a few points in mind. Number one a statement of fact may be found to be untrue a statement of fact may be found to be untrue. Sometimes evidence may show a fact is not really true. People go and check up and they find that the facts are wrong. Number two opinions may be masked as facts. Opinions can be put across in such a way that you might think you might accept them as facts when in reality in actual fact they are not facts. But the speaker or the writer is stating them in such a way that you being a gullible person you fall for the trick. Sometimes people present their opinions as if they are facts. Example and this is very very common. People make statements like the economy in fact is in the worst shape it has been in for years. They say it in such a manner or they write in such a manner. They use such words that a person who is not trained will think that this writer this speaker is actually stating a fact. Another example in point of fact neither candidate for the Nazim's office is well qualified. In point of fact neither candidate for the Nazim's office is well qualified. And a third example the truth of the matter is that frozen meat tastes as good as fresh meat. The truth of the matter is that frozen meat tastes as good as fresh meat. Now notice in these three examples it was words like in fact in point of fact the truth of the matter. Now at the at the first glance the above statements appear as statements of fact but a closer examination will show you that they are statements of opinion right. Now the third thing that you have to keep in mind is that value words often represent opinions value words often represent opinions. Value words as you must have realized by now they generally they are generally subjective not objective and they express judgment while factual statements they report on observed reality while subjective statements interpret reality. Subjective statements are your interpretation of reality. Now these there are some value words like good bad great best worst terrible better lovely wonder wonderful worse disgusting there are lots of other words. So next time if you come across words like oh so and so it is wonderful. So you should realize that wonderful that person who uses that word is using is giving his own opinion. Now if someone says to you it's raining outside this observation is an objective one it can be verified but if someone says somebody can go out and check whether it's raining or not but if somebody says it's bad weather today it's nasty weather today that would be a subjective statement because that statement is a personal interpretation of reality for some people rain is good weather especially in a place like ours which is a dry country we live in a dry country and whenever it rains we enjoy it and we would think it's it's good weather. Number four please remember that much of what we read and hear is a mixture of fact and opinion. I mean if people were all the time speaking facts you know on talking about facts it could be very very boring and you must have noticed that when we talk we insert our opinions all the time we give our personal interpretation of reality. Now recognizing facts and opinions is important because a lot of information that we read and hear is really opinion. You might for instance read or hear the following statements you might hear or read about a politician saying my record in the national assembly is outstanding you might come across an advertisement which claims that a particular model of a car is the most economical on the road you know I won't name any brand but you do come across ads in the paper saying the most economical on the road this car doesn't use that much better. Now both these statements are opinions in the first statement it is the word outstanding the word outstanding should alert you if somebody if a politician says my record is outstanding all right it needs to be checked into and the second one the most economical also needs to be probed what does the politician exactly mean the second statement seems very factual but what is meant by economical. Now if the car if the car that is being advertised is offering more miles per hour per liter of petrol but if it offers the worst record for expensive repairs then surely it is not economical so far you have read single statements now you will read a passage and be on the lookout for opinion. Now remember that much of what we read is actually opinion we tend to accept what we read as facts but most of it is a mixture of fact and opinion and this exercise will help you to think for yourself and question what you read the first passage there were several queens of Egypt by the name of Cleopatra which also includes the one who ruled in the time of Caesar and Antony rulers of Rome she is one of the most interesting figures in world and Egyptian history according to historical records she was born in 69 BC and died almost 40 years later the story of how she died is very fascinating and easy to believe reports say that she killed herself by letting a cobra bite her as the Egyptian cobra was a symbol of royalty so it was a good way for a queen to end her life in the passage that you just read there are six sentences three of these sentences are facts to our opinion and one combines fact and opinion let us go back to that passage and see for ourselves will examine it and see which sentence is fact and which is opinion and which is a combination of both sentence number one there were several queens of Egypt by the name of Cleopatra which also includes the one who ruled in the time of Caesar and Antony rulers of Rome now this sentence it contains facts only which may be found and checked in any historical book historical records sentence number two she is one of the most interesting figures in world and Egyptian history now this sentence expresses an opinion to some Cleopatra may not be an interesting figure sentence number three according to historical records she was born in 69 BC and died almost 40 years later sentence this sentence is entirely based on facts historical facts which can be checked number four the story of how she died is very fascinating and easy to believe again it is an opinion how fascinating and easy to believe will differ from person to person sentence number five reports say that she killed herself by letting a cobra bite her it is a fact which can be checked and historical facts do say that she died of snake bite and the last sentence as the Egyptian cobra was a symbol of royalty so it was a good way for a queen to end her life of fact and opinion because the Egyptian cobra was a symbol of royalty and it it is called the ASP ASP in my in some books you might come across the word ASP which is it is a kind of a cobra and that was a symbol of royalty and the second half of the sentence that that it was a good way for a queen to die well it is an opinion now let us look at another short passage which will help you discriminate between this between simple reporting of something that actually happened and the more or less straightforward expression of approval or disapproval it is a passage about plants although weeds are also plants there is something negative about the name R. W. W. Emerson an American poet once described a weed as a plant whose virtues have not yet been discovered weeds are not really so bad after all for instance they can replenish depleted topsoil with minerals also some weeds contain vitamins and are edible very interesting passage let us look at the passage statement number one although although weeds are also plants there is something negative about the name number two Emerson an American poet described the first sentence and look at the second sentence third one says weeds aren't really so bad after all it shows the writers approval that they aren't really so bad after all and then he gives reasons they can replenish depleted topsoil and some knee some weeds contain vitamins and are edible right now let us look at now you will see an exercise on your screen and decide read those statements and decide whether they are facts or opinions number one Edgar Allen Poe is the greatest writer of horror stories in the world is this statement a fact or opinion number two Poe had to leave the university of Virginia because he couldn't pay his debts fact or opinion you decide for yourself number three Edgar Allen Poe should not have drunk so much Edgar Allen Poe should not have drunk so much fact or opinion Lovecraft has often been compared to Edgar Allen Poe fact or opinion when Lovecraft died he was practically unknown Lovecraft died in conditions of shameful neglect number seven Lovecraft stories are far more horrible than those of Edgar Allen Poe fact or opinion Edgar Allen Poe stories reflect his powerful imagination and his love for analysis Baudelaire wrote that Edgar Poe's Edgar Allen Poe pursued imagination and subjected it to the most stringent analysis it is because of Baudelaire that Edgar Allen Poe became famous in France now you will see three passages on your screen and they all deal with the sun as you and read them and decide for yourself what kind of passages they are whether they are based on facts opinion they show approval disapproval number one you might like to ask why the sun is able to supply its own light heat and energy whereas the earth and the other planets only shine feebly with the aid of borrowed light strange as it may seem it is best to start this problem by considering the interior of the earth the morrow brought a very sober looking morning the sun making only a few efforts to appear and Catherine augured from it everything most favorable to her wishes a bright morning so early in the year she allowed would generally turn to rain but a cloudy one foretold improvement as the day advanced your mother and I were so happy then it seemed as though we had everything we could ever want I think the last day the sun shone was when that dirty little train steamed out of that crowded suffocating Indian station and the battalion band playing for all it was worth I knew in my heart it was all over then everything that was the first half of your lesson in which we looked at facts and opinions how to differentiate facts from opinions now the second half of the lesson we will look at markers that are used for enumerating the order in which things are to be said when you make lists or give instructions on the website it doesn't mention those markers which outline the time sequences in which events occur now it is equally important to recognize the sequence of events especially in such activities as scheduling recounting historical facts doing routine activities and conducting and describing experiments now as we know events do not simply occur they occur either before during or after other events this time sequence this is known as time sequence this time sequence may be chronological logical or causal once a time reference has been established certain adjectives and adverbials may order subsequent information in relation to it you will see a few tables which are examples of time relators now these are adjectives which will tell you about time the adjective earlier former preceding previous they are known as time relators when you come across such words you will know at once that there is some reference being made to things that have taken place before what you are in what you are reading the occurrence of words like earlier preceding former previous will give you the signal that it is referring to events that took place before the event that you are reading about and there are adverbs adverbials such as already prior before that before then first formally up to now until now or you may have the word until then and up to now so far yet in the beginning long ago now these were time relators example look at these sentences the memory storage capacity of earlier computers was not as large as those today and here it is the word earlier that tells you that there were computers before the computers that you see today earlier computers and their memory storage was not as large as the ones that you have today number two when the first digital computer was developed the first analog computer had already been in use for some time here the word already tells you that something took place before that and that is that the first analog computer was there before the first digital computer it is the word already that gives you the sequence of computers the sequence of their invention number three up to now computers have not created too much unemployment up to now it is this phrase up to now meaning sometime in the past to the present computers have not created too much unemployment now look at the next table and here you will find that words are given you which show simultaneous simultaneousness how things take place at the same time they are words which denote that things are taking place at the same time for instance you have words like adjectives like contemporary simultaneous adverbials like at present at this point now today for the time being at the moment meanwhile in the mean time when at the same time these are all words phrases which relate time computers might be used in the future as simultaneous machines and it is the word simultaneous which is referring to time meaning at the same time at the same period two things happening at the same time number two at present computers are used for printing newspapers at present meaning it is a phrase which refers to time that is contemporary time time related now related to now at present computers are used for printing newspapers number three in the future computers will probably replace most of our daily activities but in the mean time scientists are still trying to develop computers to their full potential and the phrase in the mean time again it relates to a time period in the time it is related to the future and now between now and the future means in the mean time while this thing is happening in the mean time this is also taking place now we have got we have also got words in English that refer to the time period that took place long after a certain event we have got time references subsequent time references such as the word after and again these are adjectives and adverbials you have got adjectives like following later next and adverbials like afterwards after that eventually since then by the time by the end soon next we will look at some examples number one since the development of the chip computers have become cheaper and more compact since the development of the chip computers have become cheaper and more compact and it is the word since it is referring to something that took place after since the development of the chip something took place after the development of the chip and that was computers have become cheaper and more compact number two you should have a good basic understanding of computers by the time you finish this reading course you should have a good basic understanding of computers by the time you finish this reading course now the phrase by the time is related to a definite time period and that is after after you finish this reading course you should have a good basic understanding of computers and number three after the development of transistors the later computers were much faster after the development of transistors the later computers were much faster and it is the word after now time sequence is also shown by different verb tenses you use adjectives adverbials to show time sequence after in the meantime or before events that took before events that take took place after and events that are taking place now but we also can show time sequence by different bars by using different verb tenses examples Vannevar Bush had built the first analog computer long before Professor Aiken and some men at IBM invented the first digital computer and here we have the verb had built the verb phrase had built this is also marking time for you it is a time marker had built the second sentence at the rate computer technology is growing computers as we know them today will soon become obsolete will soon become obsolete and we have the verb is growing the verb phrase is growing and will become is growing refers to contemporary period now at the rate it is growing and will become the phrase the verb phrase will become refers to the future so you notice that we have time markers in the shape of adverbs adverb adverbials adverbial phrases adjectives and even verb tenses now look at the sample paragraph on your screen and notice all the time markers that are there computers as we know them today have not been around for a long time it was not until the mid 1940s that the first working digital computer was completed but since then computers have evolved tremendously vacuum tubes were used in the first generation computers at the beginning of the 1960s by the end of the 1960s transistors were replaced by tiny integrated circuit boards and consequently a new generation of computers was on the market fourth generation computers are now produced with circuits that are much smaller than before and fit on a single chip soon fifth generation computers will be produced and these will no doubt be better than their predecessors now I hope you were able to pick out all the time markers in that sample paragraph it should not be difficult now read the for another paragraph and as you read underline the time relators there are some who say that computers have a very short history but because they are machines that manipulate numbers others disagree more than 5000 years ago a need to count was recognized and somebody had the idea of using first his fingers then pebbles to keep track of the count now is there any time a relator are there any words or a phrase that is related to time and it is the phrase more than 5000 years ago history is not clear as to whether the need was recognized before or after the idea occurred since that time the abacus was invented and some form of it was used well into the 16th century during the 17th and 18th centuries many easy ways of calculating were devised logarithm tables calculus and the basis for the modern slide rule were born out of that period of time it was not until the early 1800s that the first calculating machine appeared and not too long after Charles Babbage designed a machine which became the basis for building today's computers now with that we end today's lesson I hope you will continue to read and improve your skill Allah Hafiz see you next time.