James: Many people claim that

Answer choices

1. A

   Unclear Impact / Too Weak20% picked this

   Reade’s opponents are discussing some of the same issues

   This would potentially be a good answer if it assured us that Reade's opponents are also discussing complex issues. But this only says that they're discussing "some" of the same issue (some = at least one), and so we don't know if any of those mutually-discussed issues are one of the complex ones.

   20%
2. B

   Weak Impact4% picked this

   Reade’s opponents charge that Reade oversimplifies complex

   One of our goals was to argue "Reade isn't popular because she discusses complex issues". Can we say, "After all, her critics accuse her of oversimplifying those complex issues"? Not really. If the opponents are accusing Reade of oversimplifying, then we can tell that Reade is doing at least some simplifying of these complex issues. But if you're simplifying complex issues as you're discussing them, that would potentially be appealing to voters. So this answer might actually help the plausibility that Reade's discussion of complex issues is a big part of her popularity.

   4%
3. C

   No Impact0% picked this

   Polling data show that Reade’s present popularity will probably diminish

   A decline in popularity doesn't tell us why the popularity existed in the first place. This doesn't help us assess whether popularity came more from discussing complex issues or appearing competent / trustworthy.

   0%
4. D

   Correct67% picked this

   Polling data show that most voters cannot identify Reade’s positions on

   Why this is right

   This hurts James's hypothesis that the reason for Reade's popularity is her discussion of complex issues. If people found her compelling because of those discussions, then they would presumably know her positions on those issues. Instead, if she's the most popular even though most people don't know what she specifically stands for, then it sounds like her appeal is more likely coming from personal characteristics (like charisma, competence, trustworthiness).

   Skill tested: Strengthen · how this choice captures the argument's function is the move to repeat next time.

   67%
5. E

   Too Weak: Some9% picked this

   Polling data show that some voters consider Reade competent

   The word Some (or any other word that only represents at least one data point) is almost never correct on Strengthen, Weaken, Paradox, and Sufficient Assumption. This does support the plausibility of Maria's hypothesis, but it only provides one data point, whereas the correct answer addresses most voters, which is a much bigger data set.

   9%