Question

Question

1
A)
A student is writing an argument that pursuing a college degree after high school is a bad ideabecause earning a degree does not prepare students for employment nor guarantees one willeven find employment. Which of the following are examples of evidence that the student shouldinclude when developing their claim? Select the two correct answers.
(1 point)
According to a recent study, almost all job growth between 2010 and 2016 went to workers with
associate degrees, bachelor’s degrees, or graduate degrees.
According to one analyst, the recent high unemployment rates shift the supply and demand in the
employers’ favor and have made master’s degrees the new bachelor’s degrees.
Thirty percent of college graduates felt college did not prepare them well for employment, specifically
regarding technical and quantitative reasoning skills.
According to a leading analyst, college degrees don’t give you real skills to be successful; only life
does. Having real-life work experiences can be even more valuable than a college degree.
According to a recent poll, college graduates have an unemployment rate of 4.0%, and the
underemployment rate was 34% for all college graduates.
Question
2
A)
A student wants to develop a claim stating that natural talent is a more important predictor ofsuccess than hard work. Which of the following statements is fair, focused, and complex?
(1 point)
People who have real, demonstrable talent have got it made in this world! Everyone knows that a
person with real capability doesn’t have to work a day for what the rest of us have to slave all our
lives for!
A research psychologist recently published a case study showing that natural talent combined with
consistent effort produces measurably higher success rates.
Recently, entrepreneurs were evaluated by their talents and abilities concerning the success or
failure of their business ventures after one year.
People with natural abilities don’t have to practice to succeed. This reminds me of my friend Franky;
he could play guitar just like Eddie Van Halen, and he never practiced!
Question
3
A)
Use the passage to answer the question.
Bottled water is the number one packaged product in the United States, outselling evenbottled soda. Only about 30 percent of water bottles are recycled, and most of the rest endup in the ocean, where they break down into microplastics and poison sea life. The onlysolution to this problem is to ban plastic water bottles.
A student is developing a counterclaim to this argument. Which counterclaim is the fairest andmost effective?
(1 point)
There are places where tap water is not drinkable, and in these places, bottled water is distributed in
emergency situations and is a lifesaver.
Bottled water, soda, and juice all contain the chemical dihydrogen oxide, and their bottles are all
made with polyethylene terephthalate.
Soda and juice bottles are actually more harmful to the environment if they are not recycled and
banning these as well would not be practical.
If people want bottled water, they should be able to get all they want of it, and not allowing
businesses to sell it will hurt them greatly.
Question
4
A)
Use the passage to answer the question.
Claim: By lowering the voting age from 18 to 16 in the United States, young people willdevelop lifelong voting habits that will make them more concerned citizens.
Counterclaim: Americans in the 18 to 29 age group have the lowest rates of voter turnout, solowering the voting age to 16 is not likely to have any effect on voting habits.
The student who wrote the claim is developing a revised claim as a rebuttal to the counterclaim.Which is the best revision?
(1 point)
Only one out of eight 18-year-olds voted in the most recent national election and lowering the voting
age would be a great way to increase those numbers.
Austria lowered its voting age to 16 in 2007, and this has led to Scotland, Wales, and three British
crown dependencies also allowing 16-year-olds the vote.
People of all ages deserve to have a voice, but especially those who are old enough to work and pay
taxes, which includes 16- and 17-year-olds.
Students usually study government and civics during the last two years of high school, so 16- and
17-years-olds find voting to be a way to engage with what they learn.
Question
5
A)
Use the passage to answer the question.
The residents of Washington, DC are pay the highest per capita federal taxes in the entireUnited States. Yet, they are not allowed voting representation in the U.S. Congress. Taxationwithout representation is wrong—in fact, it was the main issue that led the Americancolonies to fight for their independence. Washington, DC should receive statehood and thesame representation as any other state.
A student is developing a counterclaim to this argument. Which evidence would be most helpful indeveloping a fair and effective counterclaim?
(1 point)
In a recent national poll, nearly 80 percent of one major party's voters said that they would not
support making Washington, DC a state.
As the capital of the United States, Washington, DC was never meant to be a state because the
founding fathers feared its people would have too much influence.
Residents of Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, and other U.S. territories are not allowed voting
representation in the U.S. Congress either.
The Twenty-Third Amendment to the U.S. Constitution granted Washington, DC residents the right to
vote in all presidential elections and the electoral college.

Answer 1

Question 1 A) The two correct answers that the student should include as evidence when developing their claim are:

1. "According to one analyst, the recent high unemployment rates shift the supply and demand in the employers’ favor and have made master’s degrees the new bachelor’s degrees."
2. "Thirty percent of college graduates felt college did not prepare them well for employment, specifically regarding technical and quantitative reasoning skills."

Question 2 A) The fair, focused, and complex statement is: "A research psychologist recently published a case study showing that natural talent combined with consistent effort produces measurably higher success rates."

Question 3 A) The fairest and most effective counterclaim is: "There are places where tap water is not drinkable, and in these places, bottled water is distributed in emergency situations and is a lifesaver."

Question 4 A) The best revision for the rebuttal to the counterclaim is: "Austria lowered its voting age to 16 in 2007, and this has led to Scotland, Wales, and three British crown dependencies also allowing 16-year-olds the vote."

Question 5 A) The most helpful evidence for developing a fair and effective counterclaim is: "As the capital of the United States, Washington, DC was never meant to be a state because the founding fathers feared its people would have too much influence."