AWA Evidence Evaluation & Support 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: 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?
- Academic studies are inherently biased
- The data may be outdated and no longer reflect present conditions (Correct answer)
- Ten-year studies are too short to be meaningful
- Consumer behavior cannot be studied scientifically
Correct answer: The data may be outdated and no longer reflect present conditions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.
Question 2: Which of the following qualifies as an 'appeal to authority' used improperly in an AWA argument?
- Citing a peer-reviewed nutritional study to support a health claim
- Quoting a celebrity chef to prove that a dietary supplement cures disease (Correct answer)
- Referencing an FDA report on food safety regulations
- Using a cardiologist's opinion to discuss heart disease risk factors
Correct 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.
Question 3: An argument states: 'Every time we lower prices, sales increase, so permanently lowering prices will maximize revenue.' What evidential flaw does this contain?
- Price and sales data are not comparable
- It assumes a short-term pattern will hold indefinitely without considering profit margins or market saturation (Correct answer)
- Lower prices always increase revenue in business
- The evidence is anecdotal
Correct 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.
Question 4: In AWA, what does it mean to 'address the burden of proof'?
- Listing all evidence mentioned in the argument
- Demonstrating that the side making a claim has provided sufficient evidence to support it (Correct answer)
- Proving that the argument is completely wrong
- Summarizing the counterargument only
Correct 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.
Question 5: 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?
- Noise complaints are not measurable data
- Self-reported perceptions lack objective verification and may reflect pre-existing biases (Correct answer)
- Only residents far from the highway should be surveyed
- Highways always increase noise levels, making the evidence redundant
Correct 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.
Question 6: Which question would best help an AWA writer evaluate whether statistical evidence is representative?
- Was the data collected by a government agency?
- Does the sample reflect the diversity of the population the argument claims to describe? (Correct answer)
- Is the statistic expressed as a percentage rather than a raw number?
- Was the data published in the last two years?
Correct 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.
Question 7: An AWA argument claims a policy worked in Country A and therefore will work in Country B. What critical evidential gap must be addressed?
- Both countries must share the same government type
- The argument must show that Country B's relevant conditions are similar enough to Country A's for the comparison to be valid (Correct answer)
- International evidence is always less reliable than domestic evidence
- The policy must have been in place for at least five years in Country A
Correct 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.
AWA Evidence Evaluation & Support 3
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?