Forty to 60 percent of students

Answer choices

1. A

   Bad Evidence Match2% picked this

   The argument relies on the accuracy of reports by people, some of whom, in the nature of the case, cannot be relied

   The first sentence involves surveys of students who are self-reporting on whether they plagiarized as undergrads. We might doubt their willingness to provide truthful testimony, since they would be confessing to wrongdoing. However, the surveys were anonymous, so that pretty much eliminates that concern. Furthermore, the argument wasn't relying on the accuracy of those reports. It relies more on the correlation found by researchers (in the 2nd sentence).

   2%
2. B

   Bad Evidence Match1% picked this

   The argument introduces one subject for debate, but proceeds to give premises relevant to

   The conclusion is about academic plagiarism and professional misconduct, as are the two premises. So it's not true to say the premises are giving information that's relevant to a different subject.

   1%
3. C

   Not Assumed Too Strong: only17% picked this

   The argument presumes, without providing justification, that a certain phenomenon is the only factor contributing to the incidence

   Did the author really assume that plagiarizing is the only factor contributing to the incidence of professional misconduct? No. By saying "if we reduce plagiarism, we'll reduce professional misconduct", she's just assuming that plagiarism is a factor contributing to the incidence of professional misconduct. If she had promised that "by eliminating plagiarism, we'll eliminate professional misconduct", then she would be assuming that plagiarism is the only factor contributing. If I say, "by reducing online bullying, we can reduce suicide rates", I'm not assuming that "online bullying is the only factor contributing to the incidence of suicide".

   17%
4. D

   Not Assumed1% picked this

   The argument takes for granted that a certain behavior is more prevalent among members of one population than it

   Whenever a Flaw answer choice begins with takes for granted / presumes / fails to establish we can ask ourselves if the author needed to assume this idea. Was this author assuming that plagiarism is more prevalent among this population than among that population? No, there's no comparison of populations. The premise states (it doesn't assume) that professional misconduct is more prevalent among populations of people who plagiarized when they were students than it is among populations of people who didn't plagiarize when they were students. That's not an assumption, it's a premise. And there's nothing wrong with stating that premise. The flaw comes from the unwarranted conclusion the author draws on the basis of that premise.

   1%
5. E

   Correct79% picked this

   The argument infers the existence of a causal connection merely on the basis

   Why this is right

   This describes a version of the famous Causal flaw. The author's conclusion assumes a causal connection between academic plagiarizing and professional misconduct, because it says that "reducing the former will lead to a reduction of the latter". Meanwhile, the evidence was merely an association between the two, a correlation. People who plagiarize are associated with higher rates of subsequent professional misconduct. This answer says something descriptively true and it is something worth complaining about, because a correlation between two things does not prove that there is a causal connection between those things. For example: People who drive Tesla's are more likely than those who don't to stay at fancy hotels. We can't infer from that association that driving a Tesla makes someone stay at a fancy hotel, or that "if we reduced the amount of Tesla's they own, it would lead to a reduction of fancy hotels they stay at".

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

   79%