Complete the 12 sentences below. Choose the best answer for each one.
1Since the conclusion follows necessarily from its premises, the editorial's inference is ...............
Wrong!
"Valid" is correct because the sentence says the conclusion follows necessarily, which evaluates the argument's logic rather than mere believability.
2By treating the disputed premise as already established, the defence begs the ...............
Wrong!
"Question" is correct because assuming what the argument should prove is the fallacy called begging the question.
3Because the study merely shows that screen time and anxiety rise together, not that one causes the other, the evidence establishes ............... rather than causation.
Wrong!
"Correlation" is correct because the study shows the two variables rise together but explicitly has not shown that one produces the other.
4A conclusion about national voting behaviour drawn from three hand-picked stories is ............... rather than representative.
Wrong!
"Anecdotal" is correct because the claim rests on three hand-picked stories rather than a sample that reflects the whole population.
5Given that the survey covered only one district, the claim that the policy should be imposed nationwide is ...............
Wrong!
"Overstated" is correct because the evidence is too limited to justify the broad policy conclusion.
6The discovery of one solvent-free process means the assertion that the method always requires solvents is ...............
Wrong!
"Refuted" is correct because a single genuine counterexample disproves an absolute claim using "always".
7By recasting the modest proposal as a demand to abolish all private transport, the objection attacks a ...............
Wrong!
"Straw man" is correct because the objection attacks a distorted version of the opponent's position.
8When asked whether the safety rule reduces accidents, the minister replied with a story about last year's budget surplus; the speaker introduced a ...............
Wrong!
"Red herring" is correct because the budget anecdote diverts attention from whether the safety rule works.
9By insisting that we must either ban the technology outright or accept it without regulation, while ignoring licensing and oversight, the argument sets up a ...............
Wrong!
"False dilemma" is correct because the argument presents only two choices while ignoring other possible options.
10If a regulator cannot earn public trust without transparency, but transparency alone will not secure it, transparency is a ............... condition for trust.
Wrong!
"Necessary but not sufficient" is correct because transparency must be present, yet by itself it does not guarantee trust.
11The new turnout figures ............... the forecast of a landslide, though they do not show that the incumbent will lose.
Wrong!
"Weakens" is correct because the new data undermine the certainty of the forecast without making the opposite forecast certain.
12The laboratory pattern is ............... rather than conclusive, because it points to contamination but is not enough to settle the issue.
Wrong!
"Suggestive" is correct because the evidence points in a direction but is explicitly not enough to settle the issue.
Exercise complete
0 out of 12
correct answers
Answers
- Since the conclusion follows necessarily from its premises, the editorial’s inference is valid.
- By treating the disputed premise as already established, the defence begs the question.
- Because the study merely shows that screen time and anxiety rise together, not that one causes the other, the evidence establishes correlation rather than causation.
- A conclusion about national voting behaviour drawn from three hand-picked stories is anecdotal rather than representative.
- Given that the survey covered only one district, the claim that the policy should be imposed nationwide is overstated.
- The discovery of one solvent-free process means the assertion that the method always requires solvents is refuted.
- By recasting the modest proposal as a demand to abolish all private transport, the objection attacks a straw man.
- When asked whether the safety rule reduces accidents, the minister replied with a story about last year’s budget surplus; the speaker introduced a red herring.
- By insisting that we must either ban the technology outright or accept it without regulation, while ignoring licensing and oversight, the argument sets up a false dilemma.
- If a regulator cannot earn public trust without transparency, but transparency alone will not secure it, transparency is a necessary but not sufficient condition for trust.
- The new turnout figures weakens the forecast of a landslide, though they do not show that the incumbent will lose.
- The laboratory pattern is suggestive rather than conclusive, because it points to contamination but is not enough to settle the issue.