What is an efficient way of tackling problems of fact, inference and judgement?

A fact is a statement, a piece of information that can be independently verified. We need not take the author’s word for it - we can go and ascertain the truth of the statement ourselves. Irrespective of whether it is true or false, it is a statement that has a truth value. Examples of facts are :

Universal truths, observations, figures, statistics etc., opinions of other people

Inferences are conclusions reached on the basis of facts. If you see the following elements within a sentence, then it is undoubtedly an inference.

Judgements are personal opinions. At times they may be based on stated facts. However, there is an inherent bias for or against something in the conclusion reached. A truly impartial consideration of facts will lead you to an inference. A biased assessment of facts will lead you to a judgement.

For example, consider the situation where Anand has taken 2 days off this week.

As Anand took 2 days off this week, his team members have had to work extra hard to cover for him.

Anand has a bad work ethic as can be seen from the fact that he took 2 days off this week.

The second statement clearly shows disapproval of Anand on the basis of a fact that does not necessarily imply that Anand is a bad worker. Hence, the first statement is an inference while the second is a judgement.