City dog licensing records

Answer choices

1. A

   No Impact: other breeds2% picked this

   whether cocker spaniels are more likely than dogs of other breeds to stray

   We don't care about any other breeds, for what we're assessing here. We know that if someone finds a registered cocker spaniel, it's likely to belong to someone in Flynn Heights, but we don't know that if someone finds a stray cocker spaniel whether it will be registered or where it comes from. All we care about is registered vs. unregistered cocker spaniels, as well as cocker spaniels belonging to someone in this neighborhood or another neighborhood. We don't have any interest in comparing cocker spaniels to any other breed of dog.

   2%
2. B

   No Impact: other breeds13% picked this

   whether there are more cocker spaniels registered to addresses in Flynn Heights than any other

   We don't care about any other breeds, for what we're assessing here. All we care about is registered vs. unregistered cocker spaniels, as well as cocker spaniels belonging to someone in this neighborhood vs. belonging to someone in another neighborhood. We don't have any interest in comparing cocker spaniels to any other breed of dog.

   13%
3. C

   No Impact5% picked this

   whether the city's animal control officers find more stray dogs in and around Flynn Heights than in any

   No Impact: other parts of the city We don't care about any other parts of the city, for what we're assessing here. We just need more information about the strays found in Flynn Heights. Are they registered / unregistered? If they belong to someone, is that someone more likely to live in Flynn or elsewhere? Finding dogs in other parts of the city is immaterial to this conversation.

   5%
4. D

   No Impact: other pets6% picked this

   whether the number of pets owned, per capita, is greater for residents of Flynn Heights than for residents

   We don't care about any other pets, for what we're assessing here. We only care about cocker spaniels, whether they're registered, whether they're stray, whether they belong to someone who lives in Flynn or elsewhere. This answer would only be providing some info about pets per person, which is beyond the scope of the conclusion we're analyzing.

   6%
5. E

   Correct75% picked this

   whether residents of Flynn Heights are more likely to license their dogs than residents of

   Why this is right

   This answer is a big dud, but it's the only one that's been on topic so far. The author is assuming that Flynn Heights has more cocker spaniels than all other neighborhoods combined. If that's true, then we can say that "most cocker spaniels live in FH". And if we can say that, then the author's conclusion is solid -- if we find a cocker spaniel, it's likely from FH. But the author hasn't said that FH has more cocker spaniels than all other neighborhoods combined, just that FH has more registered cocker spaniels than all other neighborhoods combined. If we say, "Yes, residents of FH are way more likely to license their dogs than are residents of other neighborhoods", then it attacks that assumption. We could say, "Author, if residents of other neighborhoods just don't bother to register their dogs, then it may be that the actual number of cocker spaniels in FH does not outnumber the actual number of cocker spaniels in all the other neighborhoods combined." If it turns out that "most cocker spaniels do not live in FH", then we are badly weakening the argument, and the positive version of this answer takes us closer to that objection.

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

   75%