Argument & Rhetoric — Chapter Practice, Grade 12

Recommend a response to the issue in the source packet. Use at least two sources, answer a serious counterclaim, and state a practical condition or limitation.

Problem 1

In advanced rhetorical analysis, the 'exigence' of a text is…
  1. the pressing problem or occasion that calls the text into being and demands a response
  2. the number of rhetorical devices the text contains
  3. the emotional intensity of the text's language
  4. the credibility a speaker brings from a title or position
Answer and explanation

the pressing problem or occasion that calls the text into being and demands a response

Exigence is the gap, problem, or occasion that a text is written to address; reconstructing it explains why the writer's choices were made.

Problem 2

Explain the difference between the author of a text and the 'persona' the text projects, and give a brief example of a persona a writer might construct.
Answer and explanation

The author is the real person who wrote the text; the persona is the constructed role the text projects — a version of the self chosen for the occasion. For example, a wealthy candidate might adopt the persona of a plain-spoken outsider, using simple diction and 'us versus them' framing so the audience trusts them as one of their own, regardless of the author's actual background.

Problem 3

A student writes, 'The author uses antithesis.' Why does an advanced analyst say this is not yet analysis?
  1. Because a summary should always replace device-spotting
  2. Because identifying a device only labels a choice; analysis must explain the effect it produces and weigh whether that effect is earned
  3. Because devices never actually affect readers
  4. Because only emotional appeals count as rhetoric
Answer and explanation

Because identifying a device only labels a choice; analysis must explain the effect it produces and weigh whether that effect is earned

Naming a device is inventory. Analysis requires explaining what the device does to the reader and evaluating whether the effect is legitimate or manipulative.

Problem 4

A writer follows three long, accumulating sentences with a single three-word sentence: 'It cannot hold.' What is the best analysis of this syntactic choice?
  1. Short sentences are always a sign of weak evidence
  2. It shows only that the writer had run out of things to say
  3. The clipped final sentence, set against the long ones before it, lands like a verdict — the syntax itself enacts the finality the writer wants the point to carry
  4. Sentence length has no bearing on how meaning lands
Answer and explanation

The clipped final sentence, set against the long ones before it, lands like a verdict — the syntax itself enacts the finality the writer wants the point to carry

The contrast between long build-up and an abrupt short sentence makes the final claim feel decisive; this is style and content working together, exactly what the standard asks you to analyze.

Problem 5

The standard asks how style and content work TOGETHER to create an effect. Choose one device (antithesis, anaphora, or the rhetorical question) and explain how it can make a point 'land' more powerfully than a plain statement — then explain how a rigorous reader would test whether the effect is earned.
Answer and explanation

Answers vary. For example, antithesis ('certain, or right?') sets two ideas in balanced grammar so the contrast feels sharp and quotable, making a claim stick where a flat sentence would slide past. But a rigorous reader tests the effect against the essential question: does the elegant balance clarify a real distinction, or just make agreement feel inevitable while the evidence stays thin? Style that makes a true point clearer is rigorous; style that makes a dubious point feel settled is merely persuasive.

Problem 6

Explain the emotional and logical appeals. Give a detail and explain its relevance.
Answer and explanation

The image invites concern for access; the count supplies a reason to investigate demand. The voluntary sample limits generalization, so the writer should not treat the emotional image as proof of prevalence.

Use the criteria to compare your reasoning, not to copy the model’s wording. A supported alternative interpretation may earn full credit.

Response criteria

  • Make an accurate, focused claim or revision.
  • Use a relevant detail or a clearly explained language choice.
  • Explain the relationship and recognize a relevant limit.

Problem 7

A learner writes: “Numbers always make an argument logical.” Explain the problem and produce a better response.
Answer and explanation

Ask what the numbers measure and how they were gathered. An appeal to logos can be present even when its reasoning is weak.

Use the criteria to compare your reasoning, not to copy the model’s wording. A supported alternative interpretation may earn full credit.

Response criteria

  • Make an accurate, focused claim or revision.
  • Use a relevant detail or a clearly explained language choice.
  • Explain the relationship and recognize a relevant limit.

Problem 8

Compare what you must inspect in these two cases. What can transfer, and what must be checked again?
Answer and explanation

Ethos concerns credibility, logos concerns reasons and evidence, and pathos concerns emotions or values. Appeals often work together in the same passage. The method transfers, but the particular detail, scope, and context must be read again. The image invites concern for access; the count supplies a reason to investigate demand. The voluntary sample limits generalization, so the writer should not treat the emotional image as proof of prevalence.

Use the criteria to compare your reasoning, not to copy the model’s wording. A supported alternative interpretation may earn full credit.

Response criteria

  • Make an accurate, focused claim or revision.
  • Use a relevant detail or a clearly explained language choice.
  • Explain the relationship and recognize a relevant limit.

Problem 9

Using an assigned reading or one exercise source, write a developed response applying advanced rhetorical analysis. Aim for 300–450 words; name the reading or reproduce the sentence you revise.
Answer and explanation

The supervisory role supports relevant ethos; the proposed attendance trial uses logos. The observed waiting illustrates a need but does not establish schoolwide demand. A complete response supplies context, a focused claim, a brief supporting detail, explanation, and a relevant qualification. Do not simply repeat this model.

Use the criteria to compare your reasoning, not to copy the model’s wording. A supported alternative interpretation may earn full credit.

Response criteria

  • Make an accurate, focused claim or revision.
  • Use a relevant detail or a clearly explained language choice.
  • Explain the relationship and recognize a relevant limit.

Problem 10

Write two specific feedback comments on a response to this unit: one on accuracy or meaning and one on evidence or language. Then state a revision priority.
Answer and explanation

Check whether the response explains ethos concerns credibility, logos concerns reasons and evidence, and pathos concerns emotions or values. appeals often work together in the same passage. Ask for a relevant detail and the reason it supports the conclusion. Prioritize the mistaken assumption shown here: “Numbers always make an argument logical.”

Use the criteria to compare your reasoning, not to copy the model’s wording. A supported alternative interpretation may earn full credit.

Response criteria

  • Make an accurate, focused claim or revision.
  • Use a relevant detail or a clearly explained language choice.
  • Explain the relationship and recognize a relevant limit.

Problem 11

Choose a fresh sentence or detail from the assigned selection. Explain how this unit’s method applies, and identify one uncertainty or limitation.
Answer and explanation

The contractor’s attractiveness rating does not establish faithful representation; the coalition identifies a possible distortion without measuring its frequency. The staffing memo supports a bounded review pilot with costs and limits clearly stated. The response must supply its own precise detail and explain it; copying the model without fresh evidence is insufficient.

Use the criteria to compare your reasoning, not to copy the model’s wording. A supported alternative interpretation may earn full credit.

Response criteria

  • Make an accurate, focused claim or revision.
  • Use a relevant detail or a clearly explained language choice.
  • Explain the relationship and recognize a relevant limit.

Problem 12

Which is the most nuanced, defensible claim for a demanding audience?
  1. Homework is an important part of education.
  2. Homework should be abolished completely because it never helps anyone.
  3. People have always disagreed about homework.
  4. High schools should cap graded homework at about an hour a night, because beyond that point the academic gains shrink sharply while the costs to sleep and well-being keep rising.
Answer and explanation

High schools should cap graded homework at about an hour a night, because beyond that point the academic gains shrink sharply while the costs to sleep and well-being keep rising.

Only this option takes a real, arguable side, adds a qualifier ('about an hour'), and acknowledges a trade-off — the marks of a nuanced claim. The others are a topic, an absolute, and a truism.

Problem 13

In a mature argument, a 'concession' is…
  1. an honest acknowledgment that part of the opposing view is fair or true, offered before the rebuttal
  2. the statistic offered as the argument's main proof
  3. the final call to action in the conclusion
  4. a transition word that signals a contrast
Answer and explanation

an honest acknowledgment that part of the opposing view is fair or true, offered before the rebuttal

A concession honestly grants what is reasonable in the opposing view; the rebuttal that follows then explains why the claim still stands.

Problem 14

An argument states: 'The new tutoring program raised scores at Lincoln High, so every school in the state should adopt it.' Identify the unstated premise (warrant) this argument relies on, and explain why a demanding audience will insist that it be defended.
Answer and explanation

The unstated warrant is that the results at Lincoln High would transfer to every other school in the state — that Lincoln is representative and the program's effect does not depend on conditions unique to that school. A demanding audience will insist this be defended because the evidence only supports the sweeping conclusion if the assumption holds; schools differ in resources, staffing, and student needs, so without a defense of why Lincoln's results would generalize, the argument is just a hopeful leap dressed as a proof.

Problem 15

Add a qualifier to this overstated claim and explain how your change makes it more defensible: 'Requiring community service turns students into engaged citizens.'
Answer and explanation

Answers vary. For example: 'Requiring a modest amount of well-designed community service can strengthen civic engagement for many students.' Replacing the absolute 'turns students into engaged citizens' with 'can strengthen… for many students' means a single unmoved student no longer disproves the claim; the qualifier limits the promise to what evidence can actually support, which is exactly what a skeptical reader will demand.

Problem 16

A writer names the strongest objection to their plan and then answers it only with the line, 'But progress always has its doubters.' What is the flaw in this counterargument?
  1. The writer should never have mentioned the objection at all
  2. The concession is genuine, but the 'rebuttal' is a slogan that reframes the objection emotionally instead of answering it with a reason or evidence
  3. The writer has committed a false dilemma
  4. There is no flaw; naming the objection is all a rebuttal requires
Answer and explanation

The concession is genuine, but the 'rebuttal' is a slogan that reframes the objection emotionally instead of answering it with a reason or evidence

A real rebuttal answers the objection with a reason, mechanism, or evidence. 'Progress always has its doubters' dismisses the objection with a flattering slogan rather than engaging it, so the counterargument is only half-built.

Problem 17

Construct an argument that addresses the concern. Give a detail and explain its relevance.
Answer and explanation

Add a labeled memory layer while preserving the original map. Contributor dates, permissions, and visible conflicts would make memories useful without silently turning them into the original record.

Use the criteria to compare your reasoning, not to copy the model’s wording. A supported alternative interpretation may earn full credit.

Response criteria

  • Make an accurate, focused claim or revision.
  • Use a relevant detail or a clearly explained language choice.
  • Explain the relationship and recognize a relevant limit.

Problem 18

A learner writes: “Anyone opposing our plan does not care about students.” Explain the problem and produce a better response.
Answer and explanation

Represent the staffing objection accurately. Respond with a feasible condition or evidence, not an attack on motives.

Use the criteria to compare your reasoning, not to copy the model’s wording. A supported alternative interpretation may earn full credit.

Response criteria

  • Make an accurate, focused claim or revision.
  • Use a relevant detail or a clearly explained language choice.
  • Explain the relationship and recognize a relevant limit.

Problem 19

Compare what you must inspect in these two cases. What can transfer, and what must be checked again?
Answer and explanation

An argumentative thesis answers a debatable question with a reasoned position. Qualify its scope so the evidence can support it. The method transfers, but the particular detail, scope, and context must be read again. Add a labeled memory layer while preserving the original map. Contributor dates, permissions, and visible conflicts would make memories useful without silently turning them into the original record.

Use the criteria to compare your reasoning, not to copy the model’s wording. A supported alternative interpretation may earn full credit.

Response criteria

  • Make an accurate, focused claim or revision.
  • Use a relevant detail or a clearly explained language choice.
  • Explain the relationship and recognize a relevant limit.

Problem 20

Using an assigned reading or one exercise source, write a developed response applying constructing sophisticated arguments. Aim for 300–450 words; name the reading or reproduce the sentence you revise.
Answer and explanation

A six-week, twice-weekly trial is worth testing if staffing is funded and attendance is recorded. The survey suggests interest but does not establish schoolwide demand; a trial can answer that limited question. A complete response supplies context, a focused claim, a brief supporting detail, explanation, and a relevant qualification. Do not simply repeat this model.

Use the criteria to compare your reasoning, not to copy the model’s wording. A supported alternative interpretation may earn full credit.

Response criteria

  • Make an accurate, focused claim or revision.
  • Use a relevant detail or a clearly explained language choice.
  • Explain the relationship and recognize a relevant limit.

Problem 21

Write two specific feedback comments on a response to this unit: one on accuracy or meaning and one on evidence or language. Then state a revision priority.
Answer and explanation

Check whether the response explains an argumentative thesis answers a debatable question with a reasoned position. qualify its scope so the evidence can support it. Ask for a relevant detail and the reason it supports the conclusion. Prioritize the mistaken assumption shown here: “Anyone opposing our plan does not care about students.”

Use the criteria to compare your reasoning, not to copy the model’s wording. A supported alternative interpretation may earn full credit.

Response criteria

  • Make an accurate, focused claim or revision.
  • Use a relevant detail or a clearly explained language choice.
  • Explain the relationship and recognize a relevant limit.

Problem 22

Choose a fresh sentence or detail from the assigned selection. Explain how this unit’s method applies, and identify one uncertainty or limitation.
Answer and explanation

The contractor’s attractiveness rating does not establish faithful representation; the coalition identifies a possible distortion without measuring its frequency. The staffing memo supports a bounded review pilot with costs and limits clearly stated. The response must supply its own precise detail and explain it; copying the model without fresh evidence is insufficient.

Use the criteria to compare your reasoning, not to copy the model’s wording. A supported alternative interpretation may earn full credit.

Response criteria

  • Make an accurate, focused claim or revision.
  • Use a relevant detail or a clearly explained language choice.
  • Explain the relationship and recognize a relevant limit.

Problem 23

'Framing' in media analysis refers to…
  1. the total number of sources a reporter interviews
  2. any statement that is factually false
  3. the choice of angle, context, and emphasis that shapes how an audience understands an issue before any claim is stated
  4. the physical border around a printed photograph
Answer and explanation

the choice of angle, context, and emphasis that shapes how an audience understands an issue before any claim is stated

Framing is the selection of angle and emphasis — which facts lead, which are buried, whose voice is heard — and it shapes understanding even when every stated fact is true.

Problem 24

A news segment gives equal airtime to a lone scientist who rejects a finding and to a large body of researchers who support it, presenting the question as evenly split. This is an example of…
  1. a valid appeal to logos
  2. a precise, nuanced claim
  3. agenda-setting
  4. false balance
Answer and explanation

false balance

Treating two sides as equally supported when the evidence is not equal is false balance; the appearance of fairness misleads the audience about where the weight of evidence lies.

Problem 25

Explain the concept of 'agenda-setting,' and why a source can shape public opinion powerfully even if every individual story it runs is factually accurate.
Answer and explanation

Agenda-setting is the media's power to influence what the public thinks is important simply by choosing what to cover and what to ignore. A source can run only true stories and still shape opinion because the pattern of coverage — running ten stories about one kind of threat and none about another — tells the audience what to worry about and what to treat as the real issue. It rarely tells people what to think, but it strongly influences what they think about, which shapes conclusions before any argument is made.

Problem 26

Two accurate reports describe the same protest. One calls the participants 'demonstrators exercising their rights'; the other calls them 'agitators disrupting the city.' The clearest way to describe what separates these reports is…
  1. one is true and the other is a lie
  2. the difference is only in the number of people quoted
  3. there is no meaningful difference between the two
  4. both report the same event but use loaded word choice and selection to frame it — one sympathetically, one as a threat
Answer and explanation

both report the same event but use loaded word choice and selection to frame it — one sympathetically, one as a threat

Both can be factually accurate; the divergence comes from framing through loaded diction ('demonstrators… rights' versus 'agitators disrupting'), which steers the reader's judgment before any claim is argued.

Problem 27

A friend says, 'All news is biased, so there's no point trying to tell any of it apart.' Explain why this response is not actually rigorous, and describe a better approach a careful reader would take instead.
Answer and explanation

The 'it's all biased, so give up' response is really gullibility in disguise: by treating every source as equally worthless, it removes any way to prefer better-supported information over worse. A rigorous reader instead separates the facts a report contains from the frame around them, integrates several sources on the same event to see what each foregrounds and omits, weighs sides by the evidence behind them rather than by volume, and checks key claims against primary sources. That produces a defensible judgment, which blanket cynicism never can.

Problem 28

Evaluate image, caption, and verification needs. Give a detail and explain its relevance.
Answer and explanation

The image can support visible litter removal at that spot. “Restored” implies more extensive environmental recovery. Check locations, dates, testing, and what the report actually measured.

Use the criteria to compare your reasoning, not to copy the model’s wording. A supported alternative interpretation may earn full credit.

Response criteria

  • Make an accurate, focused claim or revision.
  • Use a relevant detail or a clearly explained language choice.
  • Explain the relationship and recognize a relevant limit.

Problem 29

A learner writes: “A photograph cannot lie, so its caption must be true.” Explain the problem and produce a better response.
Answer and explanation

A photograph records a selected view. Framing and captions can make claims beyond what the image establishes.

Use the criteria to compare your reasoning, not to copy the model’s wording. A supported alternative interpretation may earn full credit.

Response criteria

  • Make an accurate, focused claim or revision.
  • Use a relevant detail or a clearly explained language choice.
  • Explain the relationship and recognize a relevant limit.

Problem 30

Compare what you must inspect in these two cases. What can transfer, and what must be checked again?
Answer and explanation

Media literacy asks who created a message, which audience it targets, what it includes or omits, and how its form shapes interpretation. The method transfers, but the particular detail, scope, and context must be read again. The image can support visible litter removal at that spot. “Restored” implies more extensive environmental recovery. Check locations, dates, testing, and what the report actually measured.

Use the criteria to compare your reasoning, not to copy the model’s wording. A supported alternative interpretation may earn full credit.

Response criteria

  • Make an accurate, focused claim or revision.
  • Use a relevant detail or a clearly explained language choice.
  • Explain the relationship and recognize a relevant limit.

Problem 31

Using an assigned reading or one exercise source, write a developed response applying public discourse & media. Aim for 300–450 words; name the reading or reproduce the sentence you revise.
Answer and explanation

The cut preserves belonging but removes the condition about identity. The shorter caption can suggest uncomplicated assimilation, whereas the full sentence resists that reading. A complete response supplies context, a focused claim, a brief supporting detail, explanation, and a relevant qualification. Do not simply repeat this model.

Use the criteria to compare your reasoning, not to copy the model’s wording. A supported alternative interpretation may earn full credit.

Response criteria

  • Make an accurate, focused claim or revision.
  • Use a relevant detail or a clearly explained language choice.
  • Explain the relationship and recognize a relevant limit.

Problem 32

Write two specific feedback comments on a response to this unit: one on accuracy or meaning and one on evidence or language. Then state a revision priority.
Answer and explanation

Check whether the response explains media literacy asks who created a message, which audience it targets, what it includes or omits, and how its form shapes interpretation. Ask for a relevant detail and the reason it supports the conclusion. Prioritize the mistaken assumption shown here: “A photograph cannot lie, so its caption must be true.”

Use the criteria to compare your reasoning, not to copy the model’s wording. A supported alternative interpretation may earn full credit.

Response criteria

  • Make an accurate, focused claim or revision.
  • Use a relevant detail or a clearly explained language choice.
  • Explain the relationship and recognize a relevant limit.

Problem 33

Choose a fresh sentence or detail from the assigned selection. Explain how this unit’s method applies, and identify one uncertainty or limitation.
Answer and explanation

The contractor’s attractiveness rating does not establish faithful representation; the coalition identifies a possible distortion without measuring its frequency. The staffing memo supports a bounded review pilot with costs and limits clearly stated. The response must supply its own precise detail and explain it; copying the model without fresh evidence is insufficient.

Use the criteria to compare your reasoning, not to copy the model’s wording. A supported alternative interpretation may earn full credit.

Response criteria

  • Make an accurate, focused claim or revision.
  • Use a relevant detail or a clearly explained language choice.
  • Explain the relationship and recognize a relevant limit.

Problem 34

An argument is 'valid' but 'unsound' when…
  1. the conclusion follows logically from the premises, but at least one premise is false
  2. it relies too heavily on emotional language
  3. the conclusion is true and every premise is also true
  4. it contains no evidence of any kind
Answer and explanation

the conclusion follows logically from the premises, but at least one premise is false

Validity concerns the logical form; soundness also requires true premises. A valid argument built on a false premise is valid but unsound.

Problem 35

'We should trust the committee's judgment because the committee is trustworthy.' This is an example of…
  1. a false analogy
  2. sufficient inductive evidence
  3. circular reasoning (begging the question)
  4. a valid deductive syllogism
Answer and explanation

circular reasoning (begging the question)

The statement assumes the very thing it claims to prove — the committee's trustworthiness is both the premise and the conclusion — which is circular reasoning.

Problem 36

Explain the difference between deductive and inductive reasoning, and state the main question you should ask to evaluate an inductive argument.
Answer and explanation

Deductive reasoning claims its conclusion follows with necessity from its premises, so you evaluate it by asking whether it is valid and whether the premises are true. Inductive reasoning moves from specific cases toward a general conclusion and yields probability, not certainty, so you evaluate it by asking whether the sample is sufficient and representative — large enough, not cherry-picked, and drawn from genuinely independent sources — to make the general conclusion likely.

Problem 37

A columnist writes: 'A famous physicist says this diet is the healthiest one, so it must be.' The main flaw is…
  1. an appeal to emotion
  2. a misuse of authority — citing a real expert outside the field where their expertise applies
  3. a false dilemma between two options
  4. circular reasoning
Answer and explanation

a misuse of authority — citing a real expert outside the field where their expertise applies

Physics expertise does not transfer to nutrition; borrowing an authority's credibility outside their actual field is a misuse of authority, not genuine support.

Problem 38

A report notes that neighborhoods with more coffee shops also have lower crime rates, and concludes that opening coffee shops reduces crime. What is the strongest critique?
  1. The evidence about coffee shops is entirely irrelevant to crime.
  2. It mistakes correlation for causation — a third factor such as rising neighborhood wealth could drive both more coffee shops and lower crime — and it offers no evidence that the shops themselves cause the drop.
  3. There is no actual claim being made in the passage.
  4. The reasoning is valid and sound, with no flaw to identify.
Answer and explanation

It mistakes correlation for causation — a third factor such as rising neighborhood wealth could drive both more coffee shops and lower crime — and it offers no evidence that the shops themselves cause the drop.

Two things moving together does not establish that one causes the other; a lurking third factor (such as gentrification or wealth) could explain both, and the report supplies no causal evidence.

Problem 39

Identify the reasoning gap and improve the conclusion. Give a detail and explain its relevance.
Answer and explanation

The sequence shows association, not established causation. Absence may change with season or illness. A qualified conclusion would report the change and call for comparison with other factors.

Use the criteria to compare your reasoning, not to copy the model’s wording. A supported alternative interpretation may earn full credit.

Response criteria

  • Make an accurate, focused claim or revision.
  • Use a relevant detail or a clearly explained language choice.
  • Explain the relationship and recognize a relevant limit.

Problem 40

A learner writes: “The author is wrong because I prefer shorter hours.” Explain the problem and produce a better response.
Answer and explanation

A preference does not test the evidence. Evaluate who was surveyed, how the count was collected, and whether the conclusion exceeds the finding.

Use the criteria to compare your reasoning, not to copy the model’s wording. A supported alternative interpretation may earn full credit.

Response criteria

  • Make an accurate, focused claim or revision.
  • Use a relevant detail or a clearly explained language choice.
  • Explain the relationship and recognize a relevant limit.

Problem 41

Compare what you must inspect in these two cases. What can transfer, and what must be checked again?
Answer and explanation

Separate a claim, reasons, evidence, and the assumption connecting them. A count can support a narrow observation without establishing a broad conclusion. The method transfers, but the particular detail, scope, and context must be read again. The sequence shows association, not established causation. Absence may change with season or illness. A qualified conclusion would report the change and call for comparison with other factors.

Use the criteria to compare your reasoning, not to copy the model’s wording. A supported alternative interpretation may earn full credit.

Response criteria

  • Make an accurate, focused claim or revision.
  • Use a relevant detail or a clearly explained language choice.
  • Explain the relationship and recognize a relevant limit.

Problem 42

Using an assigned reading or one exercise source, write a developed response applying evaluating complex reasoning. Aim for 300–450 words; name the reading or reproduce the sentence you revise.
Answer and explanation

The count supports demand among most responding club members. It cannot represent all students without broader sampling. A survey including nonusers and a staffed pilot could test general demand. A complete response supplies context, a focused claim, a brief supporting detail, explanation, and a relevant qualification. Do not simply repeat this model.

Use the criteria to compare your reasoning, not to copy the model’s wording. A supported alternative interpretation may earn full credit.

Response criteria

  • Make an accurate, focused claim or revision.
  • Use a relevant detail or a clearly explained language choice.
  • Explain the relationship and recognize a relevant limit.

Problem 43

Write two specific feedback comments on a response to this unit: one on accuracy or meaning and one on evidence or language. Then state a revision priority.
Answer and explanation

Check whether the response explains separate a claim, reasons, evidence, and the assumption connecting them. a count can support a narrow observation without establishing a broad conclusion. Ask for a relevant detail and the reason it supports the conclusion. Prioritize the mistaken assumption shown here: “The author is wrong because I prefer shorter hours.”

Use the criteria to compare your reasoning, not to copy the model’s wording. A supported alternative interpretation may earn full credit.

Response criteria

  • Make an accurate, focused claim or revision.
  • Use a relevant detail or a clearly explained language choice.
  • Explain the relationship and recognize a relevant limit.

Problem 44

Choose a fresh sentence or detail from the assigned selection. Explain how this unit’s method applies, and identify one uncertainty or limitation.
Answer and explanation

The contractor’s attractiveness rating does not establish faithful representation; the coalition identifies a possible distortion without measuring its frequency. The staffing memo supports a bounded review pilot with costs and limits clearly stated. The response must supply its own precise detail and explain it; copying the model without fresh evidence is insufficient.

Use the criteria to compare your reasoning, not to copy the model’s wording. A supported alternative interpretation may earn full credit.

Response criteria

  • Make an accurate, focused claim or revision.
  • Use a relevant detail or a clearly explained language choice.
  • Explain the relationship and recognize a relevant limit.

Browse all courses