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Every day you read and hear hundreds of statements in class, in group chats and in videos. Thinking well starts with a simple question: what kind of statement is this?
| fact | A statement that can be checked and shown to be true or false using evidence, like measuring, counting or looking at records. |
| opinion | A statement of what someone believes, feels or prefers. It cannot be proven true or false. |
| claim | A statement that someone says is true. A claim might be a fact, might be false, or might be an opinion dressed up as a fact. |
| evidence | Information that helps show whether a claim is true, such as data, records, photos or reports from people who were there. |
To sort a statement, ask: could a careful person check this? “Our school has 640 students” can be checked by looking at enrollment records. “Our school has the best lunch in the state” cannot be checked, because “best” depends on taste. Watch for opinion words such as best, worst, boring and should.
A statement can be checkable and still be false. “The library closes at 9 p.m.” is a factual claim. If the library actually closes at 6 p.m., the statement is false, but it is still the kind of statement you can test. That is why it is safer to call it a claim until you check it.
| Statement | Type | Why |
|---|---|---|
| The bridge on Pine Street is 120 meters long. | Factual claim | It can be measured. |
| The bridge on Pine Street is ugly. | Opinion | “Ugly” is a personal judgment. |
| The city should paint the bridge blue. | Opinion | “Should” shows a preference. |
Many real statements mix the two. “The new park, which opened in May, is the best place to skate” combines a checkable part (when it opened) with an opinion (best place to skate). Good thinkers split mixed statements into pieces and judge each piece on its own.
Your brain makes thousands of quick judgments every day. Most of the time that is helpful. You do not stop to reason through whether a red light means stop. But the same speed that keeps you moving can also lead you to wrong conclusions without your noticing.
| heuristic | A mental shortcut, a quick rule of thumb the brain uses to make a judgment without careful reasoning. |
| cognitive bias | A predictable pattern of error in thinking that happens because of how our minds take shortcuts. |
| metacognition | Thinking about your own thinking: noticing how you reached a conclusion and checking whether that process was fair. |
Psychologists often describe two modes of thought. Fast thinking is automatic, effortless and driven by first impressions. Slow thinking is deliberate: you weigh evidence, do the math and question your first answer. Neither mode is bad. The trouble comes when a question needs slow thinking and you answer it with fast thinking instead.
| Bias | What it means | School example |
|---|---|---|
| Availability bias | Judging how common something is by how easily examples come to mind. | After seeing two videos about a cafeteria fire, a student decides cafeteria fires happen all the time. |
| Anchoring | Leaning too heavily on the first number or idea you hear. | A club treasurer hears a first guess of $900 for a trip and every later estimate stays near that number, even though no one checked prices. |
| In-group bias | Trusting or favoring people who belong to your own group. | Fans assume a referee's call against their team must be wrong, but a call against the rival team must be right. |
| Confirmation bias | Noticing and believing information that fits what you already think. | A student who thinks a teacher is unfair remembers every strict moment and forgets the kind ones. |
Biases are not a sign that someone is unintelligent. Smart, educated people show them too, and sometimes are better at defending conclusions they reached for biased reasons. The goal is not to become bias-free, which no one can do, but to catch yourself in the moments that matter.
An argument is a set of reasons offered to support a conclusion. Real arguments almost never spell out every step. The missing pieces, the ideas that must be true for the reasons to lead to the conclusion, are called hidden assumptions. A weak assumption can sink an argument that sounds convincing.
| Argument | one or more reasons (premises) given to support a conclusion |
| Conclusion | the main point the speaker wants you to accept |
| Premise | a stated reason offered in support of the conclusion |
| Hidden assumption | an unstated idea the argument depends on |
| Necessary assumption | an assumption that must be true, or the argument collapses |
Consider: "The library should stay open until 9 p.m. because students need a quiet place to study." The stated reason is that students need a quiet place. Hidden assumptions include: many students lack a quiet place at home, students would actually come in the evening, and the benefit is worth the cost of paying staff for extra hours. None of these is stated, yet the argument leans on all of them.
Assumptions are not automatically bad; every argument has them. The question is whether each one is reasonable and supported. Arguments often fail quietly here: the stated facts are true, but the link to the conclusion is shaky.
Some assumptions are about facts (teens would use the park). Others are about values (keeping teens busy is more important than other uses of the money). Fact assumptions can be checked with evidence. Value assumptions are debated by weighing priorities. Naming which kind you are looking at keeps a discussion from going in circles.
The Caveat Family Guide to High School is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Each college decides admission, aid and how credit counts, and requirements change; check each college's own pages. Examples are examples, not promises. Caveat Academic Services is an independent college preparation company. Students do all of their own work.