A six-month public health

Answer choices

1. A

   Correct78% picked this

   The incidence of food-borne illnesses, which can be effectively controlled by frequent hand washing, was markedly lower than

   Why this is right

   This adds plausibility to the story that people were washing their hands / staying home when sick more than usual. If they were washing their hands more than usual, then we would expect to see other things connected to hand-washing (such as food-borne illnesses) affected. This answer corroborates that rates of food-borne illnesses were very different during this six-months. Another correct answer performing the same function could have said, "Sales of hand moisturizers, which are usually used when people are frequently washing their hands, was markedly higher than usual during the six-month period".

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

   78%
2. B

   Weakens, if anything3% picked this

   During the six-month period, the incidence of the common cold, which has many of the same symptoms as influenza, was

   If people were really heeding this campaign's advice, they would stay home when they thought they might have the flu. But since the cold has many of the same symptoms, there would be a lot people staying home with a cold (thinking they are staying home with the flu). If people were increasingly staying home when they had a cold, then transmission of colds should be lower than usual. But this answer is saying transmission of colds was just as high as ever. So that somewhat weakens the plausibility of the story that people heeded this campaign and stayed home when they experienced cold/flu symptoms.

   3%
3. C

   Weakens12% picked this

   There were fewer large public gatherings than usual during the

   This provides an Alternate Explanation for why the rate of flu was lower than usual. It wasn't because people heeded the advice of this public health campaign. There just weren't as many super-spreader events as there typically would be during a flu season.

   12%
4. D

   Weakens4% picked this

   Independently of the public health campaign, the news media spread the message that one's risk of contracting influenza can be

   This provides an Alternate Explanation for why the rate of flu was lower than usual. It wasn't because people heeded the advice of this public health campaign. It was because they heeded the advice of their preferred news media (cable news / newspapers / twitter / etc.).

   4%
5. E

   Weaker than Correct Answer3% picked this

   In a survey completed before the campaign began, many people admitted that they should do more to limit

   This somewhat strengthens the plausibility of the author's story, because it demonstrates that there were many people who were potentially willing to do more to limit the spread of the flu. We don't know specifically whether they were willing to wash their hands more or to more often stay home when feeling sick. So, the connection to the campaign's specific actions is very weak. And the quantifier many is not impressive. If there were even 10 people on this survey who said they should do more, we can say "many people said they'd do more".

   3%