Sanchez: The sixteen new computers

Answer choices

1. A

   Out of Scope: need1% picked this

   needed sixteen new

   We can't support the Agree position or the Disagree position for this answer, because neither person spoke to whether or not the school needed sixteen new computers.

   1%
2. B

   Out of Scope: more computers2% picked this

   purchased more computers than it should

   We can't support the Agree position or the Disagree position for this answer, because neither person is talking about whether the school bought too many computers. They're arguing over whether the school spend too much money on new computers. The dispute is about the money spent, not about the quantity purchased.

   2%
3. C

   Correct88% picked this

   spent more in purchasing the sixteen computers than it

   Why this is right

   Sanchez pretty much states the Disagree position: it isn't true that too much was spent on computers. And Merrieweather supports the Agree position: it is true that too much was spent on computers. After all, the computers that were purchased were much more elaborate than they needed to be.

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

   88%
4. D

   Unsupported Agree Position6% picked this

   paid more for each computer than it

   We know that Merriweather supports the Disagree position, because she states that the school did not "pay more for each computer than it was worth". But we can't support the Agree position from Sanchez's statements. Nothing he says suggests that the school paid more for each computer than it was worth. If anything, he's insinuating that the school got a good price on the computers, because he says "they weren't as expensive as people assume".

   6%
5. E

   Out of Scope: harshly criticized3% picked this

   has been harshly criticized for purchasing the

   We can't support Agree or Disagree with this, because neither person talked about whether or not the school had been harshly criticized.

   3%