Evaluating a Speaker's Argument: Soundness, Relevance, and Sufficiency

Question 1

A speaker tells the school board: "After we hired two math tutors, our test scores rose. The tutors raised the scores." Which statement best names the weakness in that reasoning?

Accepted Answer

Two things happened in order, and the speaker treats the earlier one as the cause.

Answer

The reason offered only restates the claim in different words.

Answer

A rule about the whole school is drawn from one student's experience.

Answer

The evidence describes a group the claim never mentions.

Question 2

A speaker says: "My neighbor joined the debate club and her grades went up that year. Debate club raises every student's grades." Which statement best names the weakness in that reasoning?

Accepted Answer

One person's experience is used to support a claim about all students.

Answer

The reason offered only repeats the claim in different words.

Answer

The evidence concerns adults rather than the students in the claim.

Answer

The speaker gives an opinion word in place of any evidence.

Question 3

A speaker says: "Our school day should start later, because a later start time is what this school needs." Which statement best explains why this reasoning does not hold?

Accepted Answer

The reason simply restates the claim instead of supporting it.

Answer

The reason names a cause the printed numbers do not show.

Answer

The reason applies to a group the claim never mentions.

Answer

The reason reports one day's result as a lasting pattern.

Question 4

A speaker argues: "Seventh graders here need longer lunch periods. A study of office workers found that longer breaks improved their afternoon focus." Which statement best describes the gap in this reasoning?

Accepted Answer

The evidence is about adults at work, not about the students in the claim.

Answer

The evidence restates the claim using different wording.

Answer

The evidence rests on one student's single experience.

Answer

The evidence treats two events in order as cause and effect.

Question 5

A speaker claims: "The Pine Street crosswalk needs a signal because it is unsafe for students walking to school." Which piece of evidence bears on that claim as stated?

Accepted Answer

Drivers on Pine Street failed to stop for people in the crosswalk 40 times in one week.

Answer

Pine Street was repaved last summer and its surface is smooth.

Answer

The city traffic office says each new crosswalk signal costs $80,000.

Answer

Three nearby towns installed new crosswalk signals last spring.

Question 6

A speaker says: "Our cafeteria recycling program works. In March, the trash we sent out weighed less than usual." Which additional evidence would make this enough to support the claim?

Accepted Answer

Trash weights from several months before and after the program began.

Answer

A second weight taken during that same week in March.

Answer

A count of how many recycling bins the cafeteria owns.

Answer

A list of the students who volunteered to sort the recycling.

Question 7

A speaker says: "Our club should meet twice a week. Members want more meetings, and a second meeting would raise our science fair scores. A survey shows 80 percent of members want another meeting." Which point does the survey NOT support?

Accepted Answer

That a second meeting each week would raise the club's science fair scores.

Answer

That most members want another meeting each week.

Answer

That members were asked about adding a meeting.

Answer

That members largely agree with one another on this question.

Question 8

A speaker states: "Our garden club is growing. Membership went from 12 students to 31 this year. The club is also the most useful club in the school." Which point is supported by the evidence the speaker gave?

Accepted Answer

That the club's membership grew this year.

Answer

That the club is the most useful one in the school.

Answer

That the club will keep growing next year.

Answer

That the club now needs a larger plot of land.

Question 9

A speaker says: "Buses arrive late twice a week. Students miss part of first period. The district should change the bus schedule. Drivers report heavy traffic on Route 9." Which sentence states the speaker's claim?

Accepted Answer

The district should change the bus schedule.

Answer

Buses arrive late twice a week.

Answer

Students miss part of first period.

Answer

Drivers report heavy traffic on Route 9.

Question 10

A speaker claims: "The after-school program keeps students safer between three and six o'clock." Which piece of evidence bears on that claim as stated?

Accepted Answer

Reports of student injuries during those hours fell after the program opened.

Answer

Students enrolled in the program raised their reading scores this year.

Answer

The program stays open until six, an hour later than the town library.

Answer

Enrollment in the program doubled after it moved into the gym.

Question 11

A speaker says: "The new hallway rule cut tardiness for good. Last Monday only four students arrived late." Which evidence would the speaker still need for that claim?

Accepted Answer

Tardiness counts across many weeks before and after the rule started.

Answer

Another single day's tardiness count from that same week.

Answer

The exact minute each of the four late students arrived.

Answer

A survey asking students how they feel about the new rule.

Question 12

A speaker says: "Our tutoring program works. Of the students who attended, 70 percent passed the final exam." Which evidence is still needed before that claim holds?

Accepted Answer

The pass rate of similar students who did not attend the tutoring.

Answer

The number of hours each attending student spent in tutoring.

Answer

The number of tutors the program hired this year.

Answer

The share of attending students who said they liked the sessions.

Question 13

A speaker says: "Students want a longer lunch. We asked 50 students standing in the lunch line at 12:40, and 90 percent said yes." Which statement best names the problem with this evidence?

Accepted Answer

It asks only students already waiting in line, not the student body the claim names.

Answer

It restates the claim rather than offering support for it.

Answer

It names a cause that the printed numbers never show.

Answer

It asks too few people, since a survey must include half the school.

Question 14

A speaker says: "Everyone knows our field is the worst in the league. The field also flooded three times last month, and two games had to be moved." Which point rests on evidence rather than on confident wording?

Accepted Answer

That the field flooded three times last month.

Answer

That the field is the worst one in the league.

Answer

That everyone agrees about the field's condition.

Answer

That the field is certain to flood again next month.

Question 15

A speaker claims: "The school garden lowers the cafeteria's food costs." Which piece of evidence bears on that claim as stated?

Accepted Answer

The cafeteria spent about $400 less on vegetables in the months the garden produced.

Answer

The garden's seeds and tools cost the PTA $250 this year.

Answer

Students ate more vegetables at lunch after the garden opened.

Answer

The garden won a county award for its design last year.

Question 16

A speaker argues: "The town should light the path through the park." Which reason supports that claim by reasoning rather than by repeating it?

Accepted Answer

Walkers use the path after dark, and falls are reported on the unlit stretch.

Answer

The path should be lit because the path needs lighting at night.

Answer

The park's playground equipment was repainted last spring.

Answer

Drivers on the county highway say brighter lamps help them see.

Question 17

A speaker says: "A one-day food drive at a school of 200 students collected 300 cans. We have 900 students, so our one-day drive will collect 1,350 cans." Which statement best names the weak step here?

Accepted Answer

It assumes the smaller school's collection rate will hold exactly at a larger school.

Answer

Its math is wrong, since 900 students at 1.5 cans each give 1,200 cans.

Answer

It restates the goal of the drive instead of giving a reason.

Answer

It compares two schools when it should compare two years.

Question 18

A speaker says: "Our team's fundraiser beat every other club's this year. We raised $1,200." Which evidence does the speaker still need for that claim?

Accepted Answer

The amounts the other clubs raised this year.

Answer

A breakdown of how the team's $1,200 was raised.

Answer

The team's fundraising total from last year.

Answer

The number of families who donated to the team.

Question 19

A speaker says: "Phones distract students in every class. Last week our science teacher counted 14 phone alerts during one lab period." What is the widest point this evidence can actually support?

Accepted Answer

That 14 phone alerts occurred during one science lab last week.

Answer

That phones distract students in every class they attend.

Answer

That students check phones more in science than in other classes.

Answer

That phone alerts in class have increased since last year.

Question 20

A speaker says: "Route 4 is too long, and it is also unsafe. Riders on Route 4 sit on the bus for 65 minutes each morning." Which of the speaker's two points does that evidence reach?

Accepted Answer

The point about the length of the ride.

Answer

The point about safety, since the route crosses a highway.

Answer

The point about safety, because a long ride tires riders out.

Answer

Neither point, because riders were never asked their views.

Question 21

A speaker says: "Book checkouts rose after we added beanbag chairs in October. The chairs caused the rise." A classmate notes the reading contest also began in October. Why does the speaker's reasoning fail?

Accepted Answer

Two changes started at the same time, so the rise cannot be traced to the chairs.

Answer

The contest fact proves the chairs had no effect on checkouts at all.

Answer

The speaker offers a reason that only repeats the claim being argued.

Answer

The speaker's evidence describes a different group than the claim names.

Question 22

A speaker claims: "Noise from the band room makes it hard to study in the classroom next door." Which piece of evidence bears on that claim as stated?

Accepted Answer

A sound meter next door read 78 decibels during band and 41 decibels at other times.

Answer

The band has grown from 30 members to 55 members over the past two years.

Answer

The band room was built in 1994, the same year as the rest of that wing.

Answer

Band members say they can hear hallway conversations through their own door.

Question 23

A speaker says: "Our new bike racks are used every day. On Tuesday all twelve spaces were full." Which evidence would the speaker still need before that claim holds?

Accepted Answer

Counts of the racks taken on many other days across the school year

Answer

A second count of the same racks later on that same Tuesday

Answer

A photograph showing the twelve spaces full on Tuesday morning

Answer

The number of students in the school who own a bicycle

Question 24

A speaker says: "Second-floor fountains run warm. Warm water discourages refilling. We should add a chilled station. Three of four fountains failed the nurse's temperature check." Which sentence gives evidence rather than a claim or a reason?

Accepted Answer

Three of four fountains failed the nurse's temperature check.

Answer

Second-floor fountains run warm.

Answer

Warm water discourages refilling.

Answer

We should add a chilled station.

Question 25

A speaker argues: "Nobody uses the courtyard at lunch, so it should become parking." A classmate shows a sign-in sheet listing 40 students in the courtyard every Friday. What should the speaker reasonably do?

Accepted Answer

Revise the claim, because the sheet contradicts the reason it rested on.

Answer

Keep the claim, because 40 students is a small share of the school.

Answer

Keep the claim, because the sheet never says what those students did.

Answer

Dismiss the sheet, because sign-in lists cannot count courtyard users.

Question 26

A speaker tells the council: "Students here can finish the reading in 20 minutes. I timed my own homework group last night, and all four of us finished in under 20 minutes." Which statement best names the weak step?

Accepted Answer

Four students in one group are treated as a measure for every student.

Answer

The conclusion simply repeats the reason that was given for it.

Answer

An earlier event is treated as the cause of a later one.

Answer

The evidence describes a different task than the claim names.

Question 27

A speaker claims: "Switching to reusable trays would save our cafeteria money within a year." Which piece of evidence bears on that claim as stated?

Accepted Answer

A same-sized school cut supply spending by $3,000 the year after switching.

Answer

Reusable trays keep about 20,000 paper trays out of the landfill yearly.

Answer

Students in a taste test said food looks better on the reusable trays.

Answer

The cafeteria replaced its commercial dishwasher two summers ago.

Question 28

A speaker says: "Our new study hall raises grades. Students who chose study hall averaged a B this quarter." Which evidence would the speaker still need for that claim?

Accepted Answer

The average grade of similar students who did not choose study hall

Answer

The average grade of the study hall students in the next quarter

Answer

A list of the subjects students worked on during study hall

Answer

The number of students who signed up for study hall this quarter

Question 29

A speaker says: "Most students say the science wing is the coldest part of the building, so it is the coldest part." Which statement best explains why this reasoning does not hold?

Accepted Answer

How many people believe something does not settle a question a thermometer answers.

Answer

An event that came first is treated as the cause of a later one.

Answer

The evidence describes a wing the speaker's claim never mentions.

Answer

One student's experience is used to stand for all students in the school.

Question 30

A speaker says: "Our lost-and-found system works well. Only six items were turned in all year." Which statement best names the problem with treating that number as support?

Accepted Answer

A low count could mean the system is used less, not that it works well.

Answer

Six items is too small a number to count as evidence at all.

Answer

A full year is too long a stretch to show how the system works now.

Answer

The speaker should have listed the six items that were turned in.

Question 31

A speaker says: "Our team never loses at home. We won our last three home games." Which statement best names the weak step in that reasoning?

Accepted Answer

Three games cannot establish a claim that covers every home game played.

Answer

The evidence describes away games rather than the home games claimed.

Answer

The reason offered is only the claim stated in different words.

Answer

An earlier win is treated as the cause of the later wins.

Question 32

A speaker claims: "The bus stop at Elm and Third is unsafe in winter because it has no sidewalk." Which piece of evidence bears on that claim as stated?

Accepted Answer

Students waiting there stand in the road when snow is piled at the curb.

Answer

Elm Street was repaved last summer and restriped in September.

Answer

That stop serves 22 riders, more than any other stop on the route.

Answer

Winter mornings at that corner average about 18 degrees Fahrenheit.

Question 33

A speaker says: "Adding a second gym door ended the crowding at dismissal. Yesterday nobody waited more than a minute." Which evidence would the speaker still need for that claim?

Accepted Answer

Wait times measured across many dismissals instead of a single one

Answer

A count of the students who left through each door yesterday

Answer

The wait times at the original door on that same afternoon

Answer

A statement from the gym teacher that yesterday's dismissal felt calmer

Question 34

A speaker says: "We can either cancel the field trip or raise the ticket price for every student." Which statement best names the weakness in that reasoning?

Accepted Answer

Only two choices are offered, and other options were never ruled out.

Answer

A change that came first is treated as the cause of a later one.

Answer

The evidence given describes adults rather than the students named.

Answer

The speaker's reason restates the recommendation it should support.

Question 35

A speaker says: "Jordan's plan to move the assembly to Friday is wrong, because Jordan misses more school than anyone." Which statement best explains why this reasoning does not hold?

Accepted Answer

It argues against the person proposing the plan rather than against the plan.

Answer

It treats Friday assemblies as the cause of Jordan's missed school days.

Answer

It uses one week of attendance to describe an entire school year.

Answer

It restates the plan instead of giving any reason to reject it.

Question 36

A speaker says: "Our fall play cost less to run than the spring play. We spent $480 on fall costumes." Which evidence would the speaker still need for that claim?

Accepted Answer

The spring play's costs for the same items the fall figure covers

Answer

The amount the fall play spent on building and painting its set

Answer

The number of performances the fall play gave in the auditorium

Answer

The ticket price charged for each night of the fall play

Question 37

A speaker claims: "Passing period is too short for students whose lockers are on the third floor." Which piece of evidence bears on that claim as stated?

Accepted Answer

Timed walks from third-floor lockers to first-floor rooms took over 5 minutes.

Answer

The third-floor lockers are the narrowest lockers in the whole building.

Answer

More than 200 students were assigned lockers on the third floor.

Answer

The bell schedule has not been changed in the past six years.

Question 38

A speaker says: "The club should meet in Room 12. Room 12 has the outlets we need. Some members say Room 12 sits too far from the bus loop. Even so, no other room has outlets." Which sentence states the opposing view?

Accepted Answer

Some members say Room 12 sits too far from the bus loop.

Answer

The club should meet in Room 12.

Answer

Room 12 has the outlets we need.

Answer

Even so, no other room has outlets.

Question 39

A speaker says: "The hallway outside the cafeteria is crowded this year. A 2019 study of our building found that hallway over capacity." Which statement best names the weakness in that reasoning?

Accepted Answer

The study measures a different school year than the claim describes.

Answer

The study names a hallway the speaker's claim never mentions.

Answer

The evidence gives a cause the claim itself does not mention.

Answer

The conclusion restates the title of the study that supports it.

Question 40

A speaker says: "The gym floor needs refinishing. The gym is our busiest room. Two coaches and the principal agree with me. Four boards near the free-throw line are cracked." Which sentence gives the strongest evidence for the claim?

Accepted Answer

Four boards near the free-throw line are cracked.

Answer

The gym floor needs refinishing.

Answer

The gym is our busiest room.

Answer

Two coaches and the principal agree with me.

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Evaluating a Speaker's Argument: Soundness, Relevance, and Sufficiency

Ways to Play

Device Games: Students play on their phones

Blast Go

Board Games: Teacher-led, projected to the class

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Zombie Escape

Avalanche

Maze Blast

Cave Climb

Blast Out

Mystery Auction

Tour Guide

Food Truck Rush

Tug of War

Bug Blast

Alien Blast

Glacier Rush

BlastRace

BlastQuiz

BlastBoard

Seek & Destroy

Mystery Blast

Checkers

Texas Hold 'Em

Da Bomb

Castle Siege

Hot Potato

Market Mayhem

King of the Hill

Bank Heist

Top Corner

Evaluating a Speaker's Argument: Soundness, Relevance, and Sufficiency

Ways to Play

Device Games: Students play on their phones

Blast Go

Board Games: Teacher-led, projected to the class

Like what you see?

More like this

Zombie Escape

Avalanche

Maze Blast

Cave Climb

Blast Out

Mystery Auction

Tour Guide

Food Truck Rush

Tug of War

Bug Blast

Alien Blast

Glacier Rush

BlastRace

BlastQuiz

BlastBoard

Seek & Destroy

Mystery Blast

Checkers

Texas Hold 'Em

Da Bomb

Castle Siege

Hot Potato

Market Mayhem

King of the Hill

Bank Heist

Top Corner