To compare two accounts, name what they share, say how they differ, and label each point as a fact or an opinion. This skill appears in reading questions that ask what two writers think, and in writing tasks that ask you to respond to a message or article.
It follows describing a fictional visit and belongs to the wider module on culture and international experiences.
How can you separate a fact from an opinion?
Ask one question: could someone check this? “Le marché ouvre à huit heures” can be checked. “Le marché est trop bruyant” cannot, because “trop” depends on the person.
Clue words for opinion: trop, très, j’adore, je déteste, je trouve que, à mon avis, magnifique, ennuyeux, fatigant. Clue words for fact: times, numbers, names, “il y a”, “il ouvre”, “nous sommes arrivés”.
Which French phrases help you compare?
- Les deux textes parlent de …
- Selon Hugo, … / D’après Fatou, …
- Hugo trouve que … alors que Fatou pense que …
- Par contre, … / En revanche, …
- Ils sont d’accord sur … mais pas sur …
Worked example
Text A, Hugo: Je suis allé à Dakar en juillet. Le trajet de l’aéroport au centre a duré quarante minutes. Le marché de mon quartier est trop bruyant et les vendeurs sont fatigants.
Text B, Fatou: Le marché de mon quartier ouvre à huit heures. J’adore l’ambiance : on peut discuter avec les vendeurs et goûter des fruits. Le samedi, il y a beaucoup de monde.
Task: say what the writers share and where they differ, labelling facts and opinions.
Step 1, find the shared topic. Both write about a local market.
Step 2, label each sentence. Hugo: fact (went in July), fact (forty minutes), opinion (trop bruyant), opinion (fatigants). Fatou: fact (opens at eight), opinion (j’adore l’ambiance), fact (on peut goûter des fruits), fact-like (beaucoup de monde on Saturdays, though “beaucoup” is a rough estimate).
Step 3, build the comparison. Contrast the two opinions about the same thing: noise and sellers.
Model answer: Les deux textes parlent d’un marché de quartier. Selon Hugo, le marché est trop bruyant et les vendeurs sont fatigants, mais ce sont ses opinions. Fatou, au contraire, adore l’ambiance et elle aime discuter avec les vendeurs. Un fait que nous apprenons dans le texte de Fatou : le marché ouvre à huit heures.
The mistake to watch for
Mistaken answer: Le marché est trop bruyant et les vendeurs sont fatigants.
The student copied Hugo’s opinion as though it were a fact about the market. The reader cannot tell whose view this is.
Correction: Hugo trouve que le marché est trop bruyant. The reporting phrase “Hugo trouve que” gives the opinion back to its owner. It also shows the examiner you understood the difference.
Check yourself
1. Fact or opinion? (a) Le train part à neuf heures. (b) Le train est vraiment lent.
Show answer
(a) fact, because it can be checked on a timetable. (b) opinion, because “vraiment lent” depends on what the speaker expects.
2. Combine in one French sentence: Clara says the museum is boring. Karim says the museum is fascinating.
Show answer
Clara trouve le musée ennuyeux, alors que Karim le trouve passionnant. “Alors que” connects the contrast, and each opinion has an owner.
3. A writer says: Nous avons visité le château pendant deux heures. C’était magnifique. Which part is a fact and which part is an opinion?
Show answer
Fact: they visited the château for two hours. Opinion: it was “magnifique”.
Where this leads next
Next, apply the same careful reporting to a personal story in writing about an intercultural misunderstanding respectfully. Mixed questions are in the integrated practice set.
If you can label facts and opinions but find it hard to build a clear comparison paragraph, a teacher can work through your drafts in online one-to-one French tuition.