Principle: Only if a professor

Answer choices

1. A

   Too Weak14% picked this

   Professor Serfin does not have completely compelling evidence to conclude that Walters presented someone else's ideas as if they were his own in

   We want to know as strongly as possible that Prof S didn't think that Walters had knowingly presented other people's ideas. This says that Prof S doesn't have completely compelling evidence for that, but she still may believe it. I don't have completely compelling evidence that there's life on other planets, but I still believe there is.

   14%
2. B

   Unrelated to Goal4% picked this

   If Walters had realized that the main thesis of his term paper is identical to the main thesis of a book he had read,

   All we care about is whether or not Prof S believed that Walters knowingly presented someone else's ideas as though they were his. This doesn't tell us anything about what Prof S believes.

   4%
3. C

   Correct80% picked this

   Although the main thesis of Walters's term paper is identical to that of a book that he did not cite, Professor Serfin is convinced

   Why this is right

   This firmly establishes that "Prof S did not believe that Walters knowingly presented someone else's ideas as his own." The although part of this answer is a meaningless stall / distraction, hoping to hide from us the main clause, where we get the one fact we're seeking.

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

   80%
4. D

   Unrelated to Goal1% picked this

   Walters does not believe that Professor Serfin should make an official determination

   All we care about is what Prof S believes about Walters. This answer is about what Walters believes.

   1%
5. E

   Unrelated to Goal / Too Weak1% picked this

   Professor Serfin has no intention of making an official determination that Walters plagiarized

   In order to apply the principle, we need to know whether Prof S believes that Walters did / didn't try to knowingly pass off someone else's ideas as his. This answer doesn't give us any information about whether Prof S believes that. If we were to speculate that "since Prof S isn't planning to make an official determination, that probably means that Prof S doesn't think Walters knowingly plagiarized", we would have no way to say that this speculative inference is stronger than (C) flat out telling us that Prof S doesn't think W knowingly plagiarized.

   1%