Secondary school students

Answer choices

1. A

   Correct50% picked this

   As long as secondary school students are taught with methods appropriate to their learning styles, they will devote

   Why this is right

   "As long as" = "Provided that" = sufficient trigger, so this answer would be diagrammed like this: Approp Methods → Devote Signif Effort Contrapositive would be ~Devote Signif Effort → ~Approp Methods To formally show how this answer proves the conclusion, we have to think through an "Either Way You Slice It" binary lens. The students either did or didn't devote significant effort (that's a binary). If they didn't devote significant effort, then there weren't appropriate methods used, which agrees with the author's conclusion. If they did devote significant efforts, then the failure to achieve broad mastery can only be blamed on inappropriate methods, so again we're agreeing with the author's conclusion. Either route you take leads you to the author's conclusion, that there were inappropriate methods. To put it another way, our only room for objection with the author was that maybe the students were taught with appropriate methods but didn't devote enough effort. This answer choice rules out the possibility of making such an objection, because it's saying that appropriate methods guarantee that students will devote enough effort. A lack of effort couldn't be the sole cause, because there's no such thing as a student who's taught with appropriate methods but doesn't devote significant effort. This answer allows for three types of students: 1. devoted enough effort, appropriate teaching methods 2. devoted enough effort, inappropriate teaching methods 3. not enough effort, inappropriate teaching methods It will not allow this type of student to exist: 4. not enough effort, appropriate teaching methods Student #1 would achieve broad mastery. So if a student is not achieving broad mastery, they have to be type 2 or type 3, both of which involve inappropriate teaching methods.

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

   50%
2. B

   Reversal / Out of Scope17% picked this

   Even if secondary school students are taught with methods appropriate to their learning styles, they will not achieve broad mastery of the curriculum if

   We're trying to prove that "these hypothetical students were not taught with appropriate methods". An answer that begins "even if they were taught with appropriate methods" is automatically irrelevant to our goal. This answer is weirdly taking the rule we were given in the premise and making a Necessary vs. Sufficient error in interpreting it. It ends up saying ~Devote Signif Effort → ~Broad mastery The original rule is more like this ~Broad Mastery → ~Devote Signif Effort It's not wrong because it's a reversal, it's just wrong because reversing the logic does nothing to help us prove the conclusion. The author presented this argument: A and B → C Thus, ~C → ~A And this answer is saying ~B → ~C Joining this answer with the premise does nothing to help us derive ~C → ~A.

   17%
3. C

   Reversal of Conclusion21% picked this

   Secondary school students do not achieve broad mastery of the curriculum if they are not taught with methods

   This, like (B), gives us a reversed version of something we heard. It says, ~Approp Meth → ~Broad Mastery but the conclusion said ~Broad Mastery → ~Approp Meth It's not wrong because it's a reversal, but reversed logic doesn't help us prove the conclusion (that's why it's wrong). The author presented this argument: A and B → C Thus, ~C → ~A And this answer is saying ~A → ~C Joining this answer with the premise does nothing to help us derive ~C → ~A.

   21%
4. D

   Too Weak / Nothing New2% picked this

   Teaching secondary school students with methods appropriate to their learning styles does not always result in broad mastery of

   "does not always" will almost never work to 100% prove something, so it's almost always going to be wrong on Sufficient Assumption. We already knew what this answer choice is telling us. Teaching with appropriate methods doesn't guarantee broad mastery; it's the combo of Appropriate Methods + Devoting Lots of Effort that guarantees broad mastery.

   2%
5. E

   Too Weak / Nothing New10% picked this

   Secondary school students who devote significant effort to their studies do not always achieve broad

   "does not always" will almost never work to 100% prove something, so it's almost always going to be wrong on Sufficient Assumption. We already knew what this answer choice is telling us. Devoting significant effort doesn't guarantee broad mastery; it's the combo of Appropriate Methods + Devoting Lots of Effort that guarantees broad mastery.

   10%