LNAT Distinguishing Fact and Opinion 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: An author writes: 'Most legal scholars believe the ruling was poorly reasoned.' This statement is best categorized as:
- Fact, if most scholars truly hold that view (Correct answer)
- Opinion, because it attributes a judgment to scholars without citation
- Fact, because it describes scholarly consensus
- Opinion, because legal reasoning cannot be evaluated objectively
Correct answer: Fact, if most scholars truly hold that view
If the claim about what most scholars believe is empirically verifiable — e.g., through surveys or published works — it is a factual claim; however, unattributed 'most scholars' claims are often presented as opinions masquerading as fact.
Question 2: In an LNAT passage, a character says: 'Theft rates in the city rose by 8% last year.' A second character replies: 'That just shows the police are failing.' Which statement is the opinion?
- The first statement, because statistics can be manipulated
- The second statement, because it is an interpretive conclusion (Correct answer)
- Both, because crime statistics are disputed
- Neither, because both can be verified
Correct answer: The second statement, because it is an interpretive conclusion
The interpretation that rising theft rates demonstrate police failure is a value-laden inference — an opinion — while the percentage figure is a verifiable factual claim.
Question 3: Which feature most reliably identifies a statement as opinion rather than fact?
- It is written in the first person
- It contains an evaluative or normative judgment (Correct answer)
- It appears in a newspaper editorial
- It uses complex vocabulary
Correct answer: It contains an evaluative or normative judgment
Evaluative or normative judgments — statements about what is good, bad, right, or wrong — are the defining characteristic of opinions, as they cannot be objectively verified.
Question 4: A barrister's brief states: 'The witness testified that she saw the accused leave at midnight.' This is:
- Fact, because it accurately records what the witness said (Correct answer)
- Opinion, because witnesses can be mistaken
- Opinion, because the accused may not have left at midnight
- Fact only if corroborated by other evidence
Correct answer: Fact, because it accurately records what the witness said
The statement is a factual report of what the witness testified; it does not assert that the underlying claim about midnight is true.
Question 5: An op-ed reads: 'While crime fell by 3% nationally, our community remains the most dangerous in the state.' The second clause ('our community remains the most dangerous') is:
- Opinion, because 'most dangerous' is a subjective label
- Fact, if official crime rankings support it (Correct answer)
- Opinion, because the author is emotionally invested
- Fact, because it follows a factual statistic
Correct answer: Fact, if official crime rankings support it
If official crime data ranks the community highest in a measured category, the claim is factual; the key is whether 'most dangerous' refers to a verifiable metric.
Question 6: Which of the following best illustrates a hidden opinion dressed as a fact?
- Parliament passed the Human Rights Act in 1998
- The average sentence for fraud is four years
- Obviously, harsher penalties deter crime effectively (Correct answer)
- Studies report a correlation between poverty and crime rates
Correct answer: Obviously, harsher penalties deter crime effectively
'Obviously' signals assumed agreement and embeds the evaluative claim that harsher penalties are effective deterrents without providing evidence — it is an opinion framed as self-evident fact.
Question 7: A legal brief argues: 'The contract was signed on March 3rd, and the breach occurred on April 10th.' These two claims are:
- Opinions, because contract disputes are subjective
- Facts, because they describe verifiable events with specific dates (Correct answer)
- Opinions, because only a court can determine breach
- Facts only after a court confirms them
Correct answer: Facts, because they describe verifiable events with specific dates
Specific dated events are verifiable factual claims, even if the legal interpretation of those events — such as whether a breach occurred — may be disputed separately.
LNAT Distinguishing Fact and Opinion 3
An author writes: 'Most legal scholars believe the ruling was poorly reasoned.' This statement is best categorized as: