Evaluate the Argument Question Problem Set & Answer

Evaluate the Argument Question Problem Set
1. Columnist: George Orwell’s book 1984 has
exercised much influence on a great number of
this newspaper’s readers. One thousand readers
were surveyed and asked to name the one book
that had the most influence on their lives. The
book chosen most often was the Bible; 1984
was second.
The answer to which one of the following questions
would most help in evaluating the columnist’s
argument?
(A) How many books had each person surveyed
read?
(B) How many people chose books other than
1984?
(C) How many people read the columnist’s
newspaper?
(D) How many books by George Orwell other than
1984 were chosen?
(E) How many of those surveyed had actually read
the books they chose?
2. Anders: The physical structure of the brain plays an
important role in thinking. So researchers
developing “thinking machines”—computers
that can make decisions based on both common
sense and factual knowledge—should closely
model those machines on the structure of the
brain.
Yang: Important does not mean essential. After all,
no flying machine closely modeled on birds
has worked; workable aircraft are structurally
very different from birds. So thinking machines
closely modeled on the brain are also likely to
fail. In developing a workable thinking
machine, researchers would therefore increase
their chances of success if they focus on the
brain’s function and simply ignore its physical
structure.
In evaluating Yang’s argument it would be most
helpful to know whether
(A) studies of the physical structure of birds
provided information crucial to the
development of workable aircraft
(B) researchers currently working on thinking
machines take all thinking to involve both
common sense and factual knowledge
(C) as much time has been spent trying to develop
a workable thinking machine as had been
spent in developing the first workable aircraft
(D) researchers who specialize in the structure of
the brain are among those who are trying to
develop thinking machines
(E) some flying machines that were not closely
modeled on birds failed to work
Answer Key

Evaluate the Argument Question Type Review

Evaluate the Argument questions ask you to consider the question, statistic, or
piece of information that would best help determine the logical validity of the
argument presented in the stimulus.
Evaluate the Argument questions are a combination of the Second and Third
Families, and as such you should keep the following considerations in mind:
1. In all Second and Third Family questions the information in the stimulus
is suspect, so you should search for the reasoning error present.
2. The answer choices are accepted as given, even if they include
“new” information.
Evaluate the Argument question stems almost always use the word “evaluate”
or a synonym such as “judge” or “assess.”
To determine the correct answer choice on a Evaluate the Argument question,
apply the Variance TestTM by supplying two opposite responses to the question
posed in the answer choice and then analyze how the varying responses affect
the conclusion in the stimulus. If different responses produce different effects on
the conclusion, the answer choice is correct. If different responses do not
produce different effects, the answer choice is incorrect.
The Variance Test should only be applied to Contenders (to determine which
one is correct) or to the answer choice you believe is correct (to confirm your
selection).