Fatuma: Newspaper writing is hampered by conventions that do not add to readers’ understanding of the news. It is not the fault of technology that newspapers are losing their audience to the Internet. Newspaper articles are just too long. On the Internet, news articles get to the point.
Speaker 1 Summary
Mark concludes that advances in technology have caused the decline of newspaper sales. As support, Mark asserts that news can be reported in online articles as it happens and at any time of the day. This isn’t something a print newspaper can do.
Speaker 2 Summary
Fatuma concludes that technology is not the reason that newspapers are losing their audience to the Internet. As support, Fatuma asserts that writing in print news articles is too long, whereas online news articles are not. The lengthy print news articles are a convention of print news. They aren’t a product of technology.
Objective
We’re looking for a point of disagreement. The speakers disagree about whether technology is the cause of the decline in newspaper sales.
A
Readers are abandoning newspapers in favor of news articles on the Internet because of the speed with which they appear on the Internet.
This is a point of disagreement. Mark cites the fact news can appear instantly online as a reason that technology has caused the decline in newspaper sales. Fatuma does not blame timing. She instead blames the length of newspaper articles.
B
Newspaper articles are too long.
Mark does not express an opinion about this. He doesn’t discuss the length of newspaper articles. Although we can infer he doesn’t think length is the reason newspaper sales are declining, that doesn’t mean he thinks newspaper articles are of an appropriate length.
C
News articles on the Internet get to the point.
Mark does not express an opinion about this. He doesn’t discuss the length of online articles. Although we can infer he doesn’t think length is the reason newspaper sales are declining, that doesn’t mean he thinks online articles do or do not get to the point.
D
Newspaper writing is hampered by conventions that do not add to the reader’s understanding of the news.
Mark doesn’t express an opinion about this. Although he does not believe newspaper conventions are the cause of declining newspaper sales, he might still agree that these bad conventions exist. He can think these conventions, while bad for readers, don’t cause lower sales.
E
No print newspaper can possibly publish news as fast as it can be published on the Internet.
Fatuma doesn’t express an opinion about this. Although she thinks the timing afforded by technology is not the cause of declining newspaper sales, she can still agree that newspapers cannot publish as fast as online publications can.
"Surprising" Phenomenon
Why did restaurants see an increase in sales when the city raised the rate on downtown parking?
Objective
The correct answer will be a hypothesis that explains why an increased short-term parking rate would help downtown restaurants, despite their customers needing short-term parking rate. The explanation must provide some rationale for why people are more likely to go to the restaurant despite higher parking costs.
A
Customers of the district’s businesses can also use private parking lots, which are generally more expensive than on-street parking.
We need to know why restaurants did better after the rate increase than before. These other lots are simply a constant that don’t factor into the apparent paradox.
B
Owners of the district’s businesses, for the most part, initially opposed the raising of the on-street parking rates.
It doesn’t matter what owners think of the new parking rate. We need to know why that rate had the effect it did.
C
Even before the change in parking rates, the staffs of the businesses in the district used only off-street parking.
If anything, this eliminates a possible explanation that the new rate freed up more parking for customers. We need something that explains why the new rate helped restaurants.
D
More expensive parking leads to greater turnover in cars parked in front of the businesses in the district.
Since the new rate leads to higher turnover, more people are parking in front of the restaurant than before. The restaurants thus have more potential customers throughout the day, hence why their profits have increased.
E
The business district is in competition with malls that offer free parking to their customers.
If anything, the new rate would seem to hurt the restaurants even more if customers had a free alternative elsewhere. This doesn’t explain how the new rate helped restaurants.
Bettina: Student evaluations of teachers are usually conducted at the end of a class. However, students generally fail to appreciate the impact of a teacher until many years later. So, peer evaluations of teachers might be a good supplement or a better alternative.
Speaker 1 Summary
Student evaluations are the best assessment of teacher performance. Why? Because students are in a better position to judge a teacher.
Speaker 2 Summary
Peer evaluations may be a better alternative to assess teacher performance. Why? Because students generally fail to appreciate the impact of a teacher until years later, and student evaluations are conducted at the end of a class
Objective
We need a statement Oscar and Bettina disagree on. They disagree whether student evaluations are the best way to evaluate teachers. Oscar thinks that student evaluations are the best way to evaluate teachers. Bettina thinks peer evaluations could be a better alternative because students don’t appreciate the impact of a teacher until many years after a class.
A
students are ever capable of adequately judging a teacher’s performance
Bettina does not express an opinion on this statement. Bettina thinks that peer evaluations may be better for judging a teacher’s performance, but that does not mean Bettina thinks students are capable or incapable of the same.
B
students’ opinions may change over a period of many years
Oscar does not express an opinion on this statement. Oscar only concludes that students are the best group to judge a teacher’s performance, he does not express an opinion about what students’ opinions are.
C
student evaluations furnish the optimal assessment of teacher performance
Oscar and Bettina disagree on this statement. Oscar would agree that student evaluations are optimal. Bettina would disagree because students don’t appreciate the impact of a teacher until years later.
D
teacher performance should be assessed without conducting any student evaluations
Bettina does not express an opinion on this statement. Bettina thinks peer evaluations may be a better alternative to student evaluations, but she does not express that student evaluations should never be used.
E
student evaluations are usually conducted at the end of a class
Oscar does not express an opinion on this statement. We can’t assume Oscar thinks or knows when student evaluations are conducted from his conclusion that student evaluations are the best in terms of judging teacher performance.
Summarize Argument
The funding of NEO research to protect Earth from asteroid collisions is not a waste of money because buying home insurance to protect your home makes good economic sense.
Identify Argument Part
This statement connects the analogy of home insurance making good fiscal sense to the conclusion that government funding of NEO research is not a waste of money.
A
It connects an analogy made in the argument to the argument’s conclusion.
The statement connects the analogy (buying home insurance) to the conclusion that funding NEO research makes good fiscal sense.
B
It is the overall conclusion of the argument.
The statement is not the overall conclusion of the argument. It does not receive any support.
C
It defines a key term used in a premise of the argument.
The statement does not define any key terms.
D
It provides a contrast to the situation that is the main focus of the argument.
The statement does not provide a contrast to the situation. It tries to make the situations more similar.
E
It is a general principle for which the argument attempts to provide support.
The statement is not a general principle, and the argument does not try to support it. The statement is used to support the argument’s main conclusion.
Summary
The author concludes that if there has been a true democracy, it must have been in ancient Athens. Why? Because in ancient Athens, the legislature consisted of all eligible voters, and this wasn’t true for any other political system in world history. This meant that in Athens, individual voters made all political decisions by direct vote.
Missing Connection
We’re trying to prove that if something was a true democracy, it must have been in ancient Athens. But none of the premises tell us what’s required to be a true democracy. So at a minimum, we know the correct answer should tell us what’s required for a true democracy.
We can go further to anticipate a more specific connection. What was the quality that was found only in ancient Athens? The legislature consisted of all eligible voters, who made all political decisions. If we can establish that in order to be a true democracy, a polical system must have the quality that was found only in ancient Athens — legislature consisting of all eligible voters, who made all political decisions — then we will prove that only ancient Athens could have been a true democracy.
We can go further to anticipate a more specific connection. What was the quality that was found only in ancient Athens? The legislature consisted of all eligible voters, who made all political decisions. If we can establish that in order to be a true democracy, a polical system must have the quality that was found only in ancient Athens — legislature consisting of all eligible voters, who made all political decisions — then we will prove that only ancient Athens could have been a true democracy.
A
Most political systems in world history have not been democracies.
(A) doesn’t tell me what’s required to be a true democracy. If neither this answer nor the premises establish what’s required to be a true democracy, (A) cannot make the argument valid.
B
Public debate is an essential part of any democratic decision-making process.
(B) doesn’t tell me what’s required to be a true democracy. If neither this answer nor the premises establish what’s required to be a true democracy, (B) cannot make the argument valid.
C
Athens was the only city in ancient Greece that had a democratic political system.
(C) doesn’t tell me what’s required to be a true democracy. Learning that Athens was the only ancient Greek city with a democratic political system does not establish that there were no “true” democracies elsewhere in the world either in ancient times or at any other time.
D
A political system is not a true democracy unless the eligible voters themselves vote directly on all political decisions.
(D) establishes that in order to be a true democracy, the eligible voters must vote directly on all political decisions. The premises establish that this happened only in ancient Athens.
E
Most Athenians who were eligible to vote attended the Assembly whenever it was debating important political decisions.
(E) doesn’t tell me what’s required to be a true democracy. If neither this answer nor the premises establish what’s required to be a true democracy, (E) cannot make the argument valid.
Barbara: By that flawed logic, you would be entitled to the warm air that heats the unused spare room of my house, if you could divert it to your house without increasing my expenses.
Speaker 1 Summary
Rhett concludes that he shouldn’t have to help pay for the fuel requires for Otto to give Rhett a ride to work. This is because Otto doesn’t have to use any extra fuel from providing Rhett a ride to work.
Speaker 2 Summary
Barbara’s implicit conclusion is that Rhett should have to help pay for the fuel used by Otto. Barbara compares Rhett’s argument to the flawed argument that one can use another’s unused warm air for free if one can divert it without causing expense to the owner of the warm air.
Objective
We’re looking for a point of disagreement. Rhett thinks he shouldn’t have to help pay for fuel. Barbara thinks he should.
A
Otto requires Rhett to help pay for fuel for the ride to work
Not a point of disagreement. Barbara doesn’t comment on what Otto requires of Rhett.
B
Rhett should have to help pay Otto’s fuel expenses
This is a point of disagreement. Rhett thinks he shouldn’t have to pay, because Otto doesn’t use any more fuel from picking up Rhett. Barbara’s implicit conclusion is that Rhett should have to help pay.
C
giving Rhett a ride to work increases Otto’s fuel expenses
Barbara doesn’t express an opinion about this. She responds to Rhett’s argument by comparing it to an analogous, flawed argument. But she doesn’t comment on the truth of Otto’s premises.
D
Rhett is entitled to the warm air that heats Barbara’s unused spare room
Rhett doesn’t express an opinion about this. He doesn’t say anything suggesting a view about the analogous argument brought up by Barbara.
E
Rhett could divert to his house the warm air that heats Barbara’s unused spare room without increasing her expenses
Rhett doesn’t express an opinion about this. He doesn’t say anything suggesting a view about the analogous argument brought up by Barbara.