Question

"The number of souls in Ireland being usually reckoned one million and a half, of these I calculate there may be about two hundred thousand couples whose wives are breeders, from which number I subtract thirty thousand couples, who are able to maintain their own children..." Why does Swift include these sorts of "facts and statistics" in his essay?
a. to make his use of verbal irony more effective.
b. to reinforce his stated arguments.
c. to head off opposition to his stated arguments.
d. to demonstrate that he is well-educated.

My answer is b.

Answer 1

Yes.