Point at Issue stimuli almost always contain two separate arguments. Because you must
assess more than one argument, these questions are generally difficult.
Finding the correct answer in most Point at Issue questions requires you to
examine the conclusion of each speaker. But, because Point at Issue questions
require you to select a specific type of statement, several unique forms of
incorrect answers tend to appear in these problems.
1. Ethical versus Factual Situations
When a stimulus addresses an issue that is ethical in nature, answer
choices that are factual in nature cannot be true. For example, imagine
that two speakers are having a disagreement about whether doctors
should inform their patients of a terminal illness. An answer such as the
following would clearly be incorrect:
Every medical school includes ethics training in their curriculum.
This answer, factual in nature, cannot address the underlying judgment
issues that form an ethical or moral debate.
The reverse is also true: when a stimulus addresses an issue that is
factual in nature, answer choices that are ethical in nature cannot be true.
However, disagreements over facts occur infrequently because they are
generally easy for students to spot. For example, consider the following
abbreviated example:
Damon: World War I began in 1910.
Tania: No, World War I began in 1914.
The gist of a disagreement is clear: did the war begin in 1910 or 1914?
(1914 is correct). In a factual disagreement issue like this example, an
answer choice that addresses an ethical issue (such as “should nations
go to war?”) would be incorrect.
2. Dual Agreement or Dual Disagreement
Often, incorrect answer choices will supply statements that both
speakers will agree with, or that both speakers will disagree with. These
answer choices are typically quite attractive because they raise issues
that are addressed in the stimulus and therefore they require some
analysis. Remember, just because both speakers discuss the issue does
not mean that it is an issue about which the two would disagree.
3. The View of One Speaker is Unknown
Another crafty trick used by the test makers is to create an answer where
the view of only one of the speakers is known. In these instances the
view of the speaker is unknown because the speaker’s comments did not
address the issue in the answer choice. Since the correct answer must
contain a point of disagreement, these “one unknown” answers are
always incorrect since there is no way to determine that the other
speaker disagrees.
assess more than one argument, these questions are generally difficult.
Finding the correct answer in most Point at Issue questions requires you to
examine the conclusion of each speaker. But, because Point at Issue questions
require you to select a specific type of statement, several unique forms of
incorrect answers tend to appear in these problems.
1. Ethical versus Factual Situations
When a stimulus addresses an issue that is ethical in nature, answer
choices that are factual in nature cannot be true. For example, imagine
that two speakers are having a disagreement about whether doctors
should inform their patients of a terminal illness. An answer such as the
following would clearly be incorrect:
Every medical school includes ethics training in their curriculum.
This answer, factual in nature, cannot address the underlying judgment
issues that form an ethical or moral debate.
The reverse is also true: when a stimulus addresses an issue that is
factual in nature, answer choices that are ethical in nature cannot be true.
However, disagreements over facts occur infrequently because they are
generally easy for students to spot. For example, consider the following
abbreviated example:
Damon: World War I began in 1910.
Tania: No, World War I began in 1914.
The gist of a disagreement is clear: did the war begin in 1910 or 1914?
(1914 is correct). In a factual disagreement issue like this example, an
answer choice that addresses an ethical issue (such as “should nations
go to war?”) would be incorrect.
2. Dual Agreement or Dual Disagreement
Often, incorrect answer choices will supply statements that both
speakers will agree with, or that both speakers will disagree with. These
answer choices are typically quite attractive because they raise issues
that are addressed in the stimulus and therefore they require some
analysis. Remember, just because both speakers discuss the issue does
not mean that it is an issue about which the two would disagree.
3. The View of One Speaker is Unknown
Another crafty trick used by the test makers is to create an answer where
the view of only one of the speakers is known. In these instances the
view of the speaker is unknown because the speaker’s comments did not
address the issue in the answer choice. Since the correct answer must
contain a point of disagreement, these “one unknown” answers are
always incorrect since there is no way to determine that the other
speaker disagrees.
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