Question 1

We do not choose to be born. We do not choose our parents. We do not choose our historical epoch, the country of our birth, or the immediate circumstances of our upbringing. We do not, most of us, choose to die, nor do we choose the time or conditions of our death. But within all this realm of choicelessness, we do choose how we shall live: courageously or in cowardice, honorably or dishonorably, with purpose or in drift. (Joseph Epstein, Ambition: The Secret Passion) Aargument; conclusion: Within all this realm of choicelessness, we do choose how we shall live: courageously or in cowardice, honorably or dishonorably, with purpose or in drift.
A)argument; conclusion: Within all this realm of choicelessness, we do choose how we shall live: courageously or in cowardice, honorably or dishonorably, with purpose or in drift.
B) nonargument; explanation
C)nonargument; unsupported assertion
D) nonargument; conditional statement

Accepted Answer

The answer of We do not choose to be born....

Question 2

I would like to voice my opinion on what pet shops should sell. Cats, dogs, birds, fish are OK, but rodents, reptiles should not be caged and should remain in their own environment. I think that they should do something to stop them from profiting on these creatures. (From a newspaper call-in column)
A) nonargument; explanation
B) argument; conclusion: They should do something to stop them from profiting on these creatures.
C) nonargument; unsupported assertion
D ) argument; conclusion: Cats, dogs, birds, fish are OK, but rodents, reptiles should not be caged and should remain in their own environment.

Accepted Answer

The answer of I would like to voice my opinion...

Question 3

The heavily cratered lunar highlands speak to us of an early epoch in the history of the solar system when cratering was much more common than it is today; the present population of interplanetary debris fails by a large factor to account for the abundance of the highland craters. (Carl Sagan, Broca's Brain: Reflections on the Romance of Science)
A) argument; conclusion: The heavily cratered lunar highlands speak to us of an early epoch in the history of the solar system when cratering was much more common than it is today.
B) argument; conclusion: The present population of interplanetary debris fails by a large factor to account for the abundance of the highland craters.
C) nonargument; report
D) nonargument; explanation

Accepted Answer

The first sentence provides an argument, while the second sentence provides a conclusion.

Question 4

Let's get this straight now. Guns, evil. Abortion, good. Restrictions on gun ownership. Federal protection of abortion clinics and abortionists. Register your guns, but you don't have to tell your parents or the father you're having an abortion. A relative handful of kids tragically get killed because a few people went beserk or played with their daddy's gun; but thousands of kids are killed every year by abortion. Guns evil? Abortion good? There is something really, really wrong going on here. (From a newspaper call-in column)
A) nonargument; unsupported assertion
B) nonargument; conditional statement
C) argument; conclusion: Guns are good and abortion is evil.
D) argument; conclusion; There is something really, really wrong here.

Accepted Answer

The passage presents a series of statements and contrasts to lead to the conclusion that there is a moral inconsistency or problem with how society views guns and abortion, indicating an argument is being made.

Question 5

It is very easy for Pope John Paul II to urge Catholics to attend Sunday mass, especially in Rome, where one can be surrounded by hundreds of priests. Out here in the real world there is a serious shortage of male priests; those who remain increasingly preside over lackluster liturgies. This situation could be alleviated by allowing married priests into active ministry and by the Catholic Church's recognition of female priests. (Mary Louise Hartman, Letter to the Editor, New York Times)
A) nonargument; report
B) argument; conclusion: The Catholic Church should recognize female priests and allow married priests into active ministry.
C) nonargument; explanation
D) nonargument; unsupported assertion

Accepted Answer

The passage presents a problem (shortage of male priests and lackluster liturgies) and proposes a solution (allowing married priests and recognizing female priests), making it an argument with a clear conclusion.

Question 6

I worry that to promote science as all fun and larky and easy is to store up trouble for the future. Real science can be hard (well, challenging to give it a more positive spin) but, like classical literature or playing the violin, worth the struggle. If children are lured into science, or any other worthwhile occupation, by the promise of easy fun, what are they going to do when they finally have to confront the reality? (Richard Dawkins, Unweaving the Rainbow: Science, Delusion, and the Appetite for Wonder)
A) argument; conclusion: Real science can be hard, but is worth the struggle.
B) nonargument; explanation
C) argument; conclusion: By promoting science as all fun and larky and easy we may be storing up trouble for the future.
D) nonargument; report

Accepted Answer

The passage presents an argument with the conclusion that promoting science as solely fun and easy may lead to future problems, as it contrasts this with the reality that science, while challenging, is rewarding.

Question 7

We can acquire a more profound understanding of events by recognizing their significance in Christ; thus the crossing of the Red Sea is a sign or type of Christ's victory and also of Christian baptism. (The Catechism of the Catholic Church)
A) argument; conclusion: We can acquire a more profound understanding of events by recognizing their significance in Christ.
B) argument; conclusion: The crossing of the Red Sea is a sign or type of Christ's victory and also of Christian baptism.
C) nonargument; illustration
D) nonargument; explanation

Accepted Answer

The answer of We can acquire a more profound understanding...

Question 8

Cells are the smallest independent units of life, and all life as we know it depends on the many chemical activities of cells. Some of the basic functions of cells are growth, metabolism, irritability, and reproduction. Cells vary in size from a sperm, which is about 5 micrometers (five-millionths of a meter) long, to a nerve cell with thin fibers that may be more than a meter long. (Robert Carola, John P. Harley, and Charles R. Noback, Human Anatomy and Physiology, 2^nd ed.) A) unsupported assertion B) argument C) report D) illustration E) explanation

Accepted Answer

The passage provides factual information about cells, their functions, and sizes, which is characteristic of a report.

Question 9

Large-scale reductions in class size will likely lower the average quality of teachers: first, because to hire additional teachers school districts must reach into the lower-quality segment of the teacher pool; and, second, because a given budget will be spread among a higher number of teachers, thereby limiting potential increases in teacher salaries. (Jane Hannaway and Robert I. Lerman, Letter to the Editor, The New Republic)
A) unsupported assertion
B) report
C) conditional statement
D) argument
E) explanation

Accepted Answer

The passage presents a claim about the consequences of reducing class sizes and supports it with reasons, which is characteristic of an argument.

Question 10

All organisms that have ever lived-every animal and plant, every bacteria and all fungi, every creeping thing, and all readers of this book-can look back at their ancestors and make the following proud claim: not a single one of our ancestors died in infancy. They all reached adulthood, and every single one was capable of finding at least one heterosexual partner and of successfully copulating. (Richard Dawkins, River Out of Eden)
A) conditional statement
B) report or unsupported assertion
C) argument
D) explanation
E) illustration

Accepted Answer

The passage presents a statement without providing evidence or reasoning to support it, making it a report or unsupported assertion.

Question 11

Banning sweets from your household doesn't necessarily mean your child will grow up shunning sugary treats. Just the opposite is true, in fact: In a recent study, children who had just eaten a full meal were put in a room with a table piled with sweets. Even though they weren't hungry, children who were not usually allowed to have such treats gorged on the cakes and cookies, says researcher Leann Birch, Ph.D., professor of human development at Pennsylvania State University of Health and Human Development. Meanwhile, those kids whose parents regularly permitted such sweets in moderation hardly touched them. (Laura Flynn McCarthy, "Six Nutrition Rules Even Smart Moms Don't Know")
A) report
B) explanation
C) argument
D) unsupported assertion
E) conditional statement

Accepted Answer

The passage presents an argument that banning sweets can lead to children overindulging when given the opportunity, supported by a study's findings.

Question 12

For six months after Pearl Harbor, nearly everything in the Pacific went Japan's way. Britain's supposedly impregnable colony at Singapore fell easily. American naval garrisons in the Philippines and on Guam and Wake Islands were overwhelmed, and American and Filipino armies were forced to surrender at Bataan and Corregidor in the Philippines. Other Japanese forces steamed southward to menace Australia. Then the tide turned. (John M. Murrin, et. al., Liberty, Equality, Power: A History of the American People, 2^nd ed.) A) conditional statement B) report C) argument D) unsupported assertion E) explanation

Accepted Answer

This passage provides a factual recounting of events during World War II, detailing the successes of Japanese forces in the Pacific following the attack on Pearl Harbor, which classifies it as a report.

Question 13

Medieval painting had presented life as an allegory; the Renaissance preferred realism. The Medieval painters posed their figures frontally, impersonally; the Renaissance developed psychological characterization and the art of portraiture. Medieval painting dealt in stereotypes; the Renaissance concerned itself with individuals. Space in medieval painting was organized in a succession of planes over which the eye traveled as over a series of episodes. The Renaissance created unified space and the simultaneous seeing of the whole. It discovered landscape, created the illusion of distance, and opened up endless vistas upon the physical loveliness of the world. (Joseph Machlis and Kristine Forney, The Enjoyment of Music: An Introduction to Perceptive Listening) A) illustration B) argument C) unsupported assertion D) conditional statement E) report

Accepted Answer

The passage provides a report on the differences between Medieval and Renaissance painting styles, describing characteristics and developments in art during these periods.

Question 14

If it be true Christianity to dive with a passionate charity into the darkest recesses of misery and vice, to irrigate every quarter of the earth with the fertilizing stream of an almost boundless benevolence, And to include all the sections of humanity in the circle of an intense and efficacious sympathy; if it Be true Christianity to destroy or weaken the barriers which had separated class from class and nation from nation, to free war from its harshest elements, and to make a consciousness of essential equality and of genuine fraternity dominate over all accidental differences; if it be, above all, true Christianity to cultivate a love of truth for its own sake, a spirit of candour and of tolerance towards those with whom we differ-if these be the marks of a true and healthy Christianity, then never since the days of the Apostles has it been so vigorous as at present. (W. E. H. Lecky, History of the Rise and Influence of the Spirit of Rationalism in Europe) A) report B) conditional statement C) argument D) explanation E) unsupported assertion

Accepted Answer

The passage uses conditional clauses ("if it be true...") to describe characteristics of true Christianity, suggesting hypothetical scenarios rather than making direct claims or arguments, which is indicative of a conditional statement.

Question 15

The California Psychological Inventory (CPI) was initially developed and first published by Harrison Gough in 1957. Thirty years later Gough revised his inventory by adding several new scales and revamping or eliminating a number of dated, sexist, or difficult to read items. The current version of the CPI contains 462 true-false items designed to measure various facets of the normal personality. It is intended to be used with both adolescents and adults to predict how individuals will behave and react in a variety of interpersonal situations. (Kevin R. Murphy and Charles O. Davidshofer, Psychological Testing: Principles and Applications, 4^th ed.) A) illustration B) report C) argument D) explanation E) unsupported assertion

Accepted Answer

The passage provides a factual account of the development and characteristics of the California Psychological Inventory, which aligns with the definition of a report.

Quiz 2: Recognizing Arguments

We can acquire a more profound understanding of events by recognizing their significance in Christ; thus the crossing of the Red Sea is a sign or type of Christ's victory and also of Christian baptism. (The Catechism of the Catholic Church)