Complete the 12 sentences below. Choose the best answer for each one.
1It ............... that market confidence returns once the legal framework is clarified.
Wrong!
Use the agentless passive when the argument reports a claim without naming who makes it: "is often claimed".
2Although the data are extensive, the premise on which the forecast rests remains ...............
Wrong!
A proposition that receives disagreement is described with the passive participle "contested".
3In several independent datasets, delayed disclosure ............... to correlate with higher litigation risk.
Wrong!
When the evidence, not an unnamed researcher, is foregrounded, use the passive perfect "has been shown".
4Read in context, the clause ............... as a safeguard rather than a concession.
Wrong!
To present an interpretation without naming the interpreter, use the passive "is best understood".
5Since no explicit promise was made, the intention ............... from the parties' subsequent conduct.
Wrong!
Because the conclusion is drawn from evidence and the reasoner is not named, the correct form is "must be inferred".
6If the supporting evidence cannot be audited, the proposal ............... to proceed.
Wrong!
The proposal is what may or may not receive permission, so the passive "should not be allowed" is required.
7For the purposes of the calculation, this assumption is ............... without argument.
Wrong!
An assumption adopted without proof is a passive recipient of acceptance, so use "accepted".
8The methodology ............... for relying on self-reported income, but that objection overstates the risk of bias.
Wrong!
The methodology receives criticism, so the agentless passive "has been criticised" fits the argumentative context.
9On the available evidence, the conclusion ............... only if the outliers are treated as measurement errors.
Wrong!
A conclusion is supported by reasons; it does not itself support an object here, so use "can be justified".
10Before it can support the wider thesis, the claim ............... in two respects.
Wrong!
The claim is the thing that must receive a limitation, so the passive infinitive "needs to be qualified" is correct.
11This kind of circular defence ............... as a bootstrap argument.
Wrong!
When naming a concept without saying who uses the name, use the passive "is commonly referred to".
12If the alternative ............... on procedural grounds, the comparison no longer tests the policy's merits.
Wrong!
The alternative is removed from the argument rather than doing the removing, so use "is excluded".
Answers
- It is often claimed that market confidence returns once the legal framework is clarified.
- Although the data are extensive, the premise on which the forecast rests remains contested.
- In several independent datasets, delayed disclosure has been shown to correlate with higher litigation risk.
- Read in context, the clause is best understood as a safeguard rather than a concession.
- Since no explicit promise was made, the intention must be inferred from the parties’ subsequent conduct.
- If the supporting evidence cannot be audited, the proposal should not be allowed to proceed.
- For the purposes of the calculation, this assumption is accepted without argument.
- The methodology has been criticised for relying on self-reported income, but that objection overstates the risk of bias.
- On the available evidence, the conclusion can be justified only if the outliers are treated as measurement errors.
- Before it can support the wider thesis, the claim needs to be qualified in two respects.
- This kind of circular defence is commonly referred to as a bootstrap argument.
- If the alternative is excluded on procedural grounds, the comparison no longer tests the policy’s merits.
