Evidence Evaluation & Support Flashcards

An AWA argument cites a ten-year-old study to support a claim about current consumer behavior. What is the most significant concern with this evidence?

Answer: The data may be outdated and no longer reflect present conditions

Consumer behavior can shift significantly over a decade due to technology, economy, and cultural changes, making dated evidence potentially irrelevant.

Which of the following qualifies as an 'appeal to authority' used improperly in an AWA argument?

Answer: Quoting a celebrity chef to prove that a dietary supplement cures disease

A celebrity chef lacks the relevant medical or scientific expertise to credibly support claims about disease treatment.

An argument states: 'Every time we lower prices, sales increase, so permanently lowering prices will maximize revenue.' What evidential flaw does this contain?

Answer: It assumes a short-term pattern will hold indefinitely without considering profit margins or market saturation

Extrapolating a short-term pricing pattern to a permanent strategy ignores diminishing returns, competitor responses, and the impact on profit margins.

In AWA, what does it mean to 'address the burden of proof'?

Answer: Demonstrating that the side making a claim has provided sufficient evidence to support it

Addressing the burden of proof means assessing whether the party advancing a claim has presented adequate evidence to make that claim credible.

An AWA argument relies on the following evidence: 'Residents near the new highway report more noise.' How does this evidence limit the argument's strength?

Answer: Self-reported perceptions lack objective verification and may reflect pre-existing biases

Subjective resident reports can be influenced by expectation bias or prior attitudes toward the highway project, reducing evidential reliability.

Which question would best help an AWA writer evaluate whether statistical evidence is representative?

Answer: Does the sample reflect the diversity of the population the argument claims to describe?

Representativeness is the key criterion for statistical validity; a sample must mirror the target population in relevant characteristics.

An AWA argument claims a policy worked in Country A and therefore will work in Country B. What critical evidential gap must be addressed?

Answer: The argument must show that Country B's relevant conditions are similar enough to Country A's for the comparison to be valid

Cross-national comparisons require demonstrating that the contextual factors driving the policy's success in one country also exist in the other.