LNAT Distinguishing Fact and Opinion 4

Question 1

A passage states: 'It is a fact that capital punishment is immoral.' What is wrong with calling this a fact?

Accepted Answer

Morality is a value judgment, so this is an opinion regardless of how it is framed

Answer

Moral claims are inherently evaluative and cannot be empirically verified, so framing a moral position as a 'fact' is a misclassification.

Question 2

Which of the following pairs correctly matches each statement to its type?

Accepted Answer

'The law is unjust' = Opinion; 'The jury acquitted the defendant' = Fact

Answer

A jury verdict is a recorded legal event (fact), while a judgment that the law is unjust is an evaluative position (opinion).

Question 3

A political science paper says: 'Democracies with proportional representation tend to have stronger civil liberties protections.' This is:

Accepted Answer

Fact, if the claim reflects documented research findings

Answer

A claim based on documented comparative research is a factual statement; the existence of a trend in data can be empirically verified.

Question 4

In an LNAT passage, an author uses the phrase 'needless to say' before a claim. This phrasing suggests the following claim is likely:

Accepted Answer

An opinion being presented as if it were self-evident

Answer

'Needless to say' is a rhetorical device that presupposes agreement, often used to slip opinions past the reader as though they were obvious truths.

Question 5

A judge writes in a ruling: 'In the court's view, the evidence is insufficient to establish guilt beyond reasonable doubt.' This statement is:

Accepted Answer

An opinion of the court, explicitly framed as such

Answer

The phrase 'in the court's view' signals that this is an institutional judgment — a form of opinion — even though it has binding legal force.

LNAT - Law National Aptitude Test Practice Test