Lesson
Fact, Inference, and Opinion
How to tell an observation from an interpretation from a value judgment, and why mixing them is the most common reasoning error in public argument.
Learn
Start Here
Five steps, about 36 minutes in total. Do them in order the first time. After that, use whichever piece you need.
What this path is for
The material on this site can be read in any order, which is useful once you know what you are looking for and unhelpful when you do not. This page puts five pieces in a sequence that builds.
The order matters more than it looks. The first step gives you a vocabulary for the rest: once you can separate an observation from an inference, the later material has something to attach to. Starting instead with a list of verification techniques tends to produce people who can name the techniques and do not apply them.
What you will be able to do at the end
- State what a claim actually asserts, precisely enough that it could be wrong.
- Tell the difference between what a story establishes and what it implies.
- Work out what kind of source you are dealing with in about two minutes.
- Run a consistent check before you forward something.
What you will not be able to do is settle contested factual questions on your own. That is not a shortcoming of the path; it is the honest position, and knowing where your method runs out is part of using it well.
The five steps
Fact, Inference, and Opinion
How to tell an observation from an interpretation from a value judgment, and why mixing them is the most common reasoning error in public argument.
About 8 minutes.
How to Read a News Story Critically
A repeatable six-pass method for reading a news story: claim, sourcing, evidence, framing, omissions, and confidence.
About 9 minutes.
Analyze a Headline
Practice reading three headlines for what they establish, what they imply, and what they leave for the article to prove.
About 8 minutes.
How to Evaluate an Online Source
Lateral reading in practice: how to judge an unfamiliar website or account in about two minutes by leaving the page rather than studying it.
About 8 minutes.
Seven Questions Before You Share: Printable Checklist
A one-page checklist of seven questions to run before forwarding content, sized for printing, pinning, or saving to a phone.
About 3 minutes.
After the path
Three reasonable directions, depending on what you want next.
- More practice. The remaining fiveThink Lab exercises take about eight minutes each.
- More depth on one subject. Pick a hub:media literacy,digital literacy,critical thinking,AI literacy, orinformation manipulation.
- Running this with other people. TheFor Communities section has session plans and workshop outlines that assume no expertise on the facilitator's part.
If you want a single process to follow rather than a set of skills, theDigital Navigator is a seven-step sequence you can run on one specific thing you are unsure about.
The five steps as cards
Lesson
How to Read a News Story Critically
A repeatable six-pass method for reading a news story: claim, sourcing, evidence, framing, omissions, and confidence.
Think Lab
Analyze a Headline
Practice reading three headlines for what they establish, what they imply, and what they leave for the article to prove.
Lesson
How to Evaluate an Online Source
Lateral reading in practice: how to judge an unfamiliar website or account in about two minutes by leaving the page rather than studying it.
Toolkit resource
Seven Questions Before You Share: Printable Checklist
A one-page checklist of seven questions to run before forwarding content, sized for printing, pinning, or saving to a phone.