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This may sound like a really dumb question but how do I actually know when it is the author speaking and not the author saying a fact?

For example, in PT16 Passage 3 line 23...

"It has become increasingly apparent that many large complicated systems do not yield to traditional analysis."

To me, that doesn't sound like an author's OPINION. I don't know, what do you guys think?

WaltGrace83 wrote: "It has become increasingly apparent that many large complicated systems do not yield to traditional analysis."

Whos observing for it to be "apparent"?

It could be the author's opinion, but it's backed up well enough by examples in the passage that you can take it as true.

Looking through the questions, the only place I can see where it would make a difference would be if you were trying to rule out answer "B" in question 16. But "C" is a much better answer, so the distinction between fact and opinion for the line you quoted isn't really necessary.

I just provided an example but I have questioned this before. Is anything that doesn't explicitly say "X says..." the author's opinion?

WaltGrace83 wrote:I just provided an example but I have questioned this before. Is anything that doesn't explicitly say "X says..." the author's opinion?

I don't think there's a hard-and-fast rule, but in cases where it matters whether something is a statement of fact or an opinion, it will be clear within the context of the passage. In particular, if the passage describes an opposing point of view, then the statement in question is probably an opinion. For example, if the passage you were talking about had someone else saying that traditional analysis methods work just fine for large, complicated systems, then the line you quoted would have to be considered an opinion.

When the text is speaking in the first person, it is the author speaking his/her personal thoughts. For example, something like "It is important to consider..." would be the author expressing his/her opinion about whatever comes next.

Jeffort wrote:When the text is speaking in the first person, it is the author speaking his/her personal thoughts. For example, something like "It is important to consider..." would be the author expressing his/her opinion about whatever comes next.

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Straw_Mandible wrote:

Jeffort wrote:When the text is speaking in the first person, it is the author speaking his/her personal thoughts. For example, something like "It is important to consider..." would be the author expressing his/her opinion about whatever comes next.

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I'm using grammar terms and talking about the point of view/perspective the writer is speaking from with each statement. First person point of view vs. second or third person point of view in the wording of the sentences. It can be determined by paying attention to the types of pronouns used, the content/type of idea(s) expressed (subjective vs objective matters) and/or the context of surrounding statements.

Adjectives and adverbs that describe subjective rather than objective qualities are common clues to be on the lookout for in LSAT RC to figure out the authors tone/attitude and main point. 'ABC weakly asserts..., XYZ scholars rightfully say..., deserves applause, illuminating, informative, helpful, confusing, convoluted, strident, insightful, etc... the list goes on, hopefully those examples are good enough to get the general idea. There are a few RC passages where the author only expresses any tone/attitude/personal opinion towards the topics once in the whole thing by using exactly one single adjective in one sentence and the main point CR has the authors opinion of the topic as the centerpiece of what the answer says, leading most people to eliminate it since the passage seems devoid of tone/attitude if you miss the significance of that one adjective in a key sentence.

First person perspective statements in everyday writings frequently include personal pronouns to make it obvious that the author is speaking his own mind/thoughts, but LSAT writers intentionally omit using personal pronouns in order to test readers skills at differentiating first person from second or third person statements.

My example "It is important to consider..." is the author speaking his/her own mind from the first person, therefore it is the authors point of view/opinion since 'important' is a subjective/opinion/point of view/judgment based idea. It could be phrased more obviously using a personal pronoun such as "I believe it is important to consider...", but that would take the challenge out of reading and properly interpreting the material presented in passages and defeat the purpose of the section to test your reading comprehension skills and ability to identify different parts of speech.

http://grammar.about.com/od/fh/g/firstpersonterm.htm
http://grammar.about.com/od/pq/g/povterm.htm