Critical Analysis and Sourcing Flashcards
7 cards from real Rise Placement Test practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Critical Analysis and Sourcing flashcards as text
Which technique best helps a reader identify the author's bias in an opinion piece?
Answer: Noting which evidence is included and which is omitted
Bias is often revealed not only by what an author says but by what evidence they choose to leave out.
A company publishes a study showing its own product is superior to competitors. Which sourcing concern does this raise?
Answer: The publisher has a financial conflict of interest
When the funder stands to profit from a favorable result, the study has a conflict of interest that may bias its design or reporting.
What does it mean to 'triangulate' information when researching a topic?
Answer: Confirming a claim with multiple independent sources
Triangulation means checking a claim against at least two or three independent sources to confirm its accuracy before accepting it.
An author uses the phrase 'everyone knows that…' without providing evidence. This is an example of which rhetorical weakness?
Answer: Unsupported appeal to common knowledge
Claiming 'everyone knows' substitutes assumed consensus for actual evidence and discourages readers from questioning the claim.
Which of the following best describes 'primary source' material?
Answer: The original data, document, or firsthand account being analyzed
A primary source is the original material—such as raw data, a historical document, or an eyewitness account—rather than a secondary interpretation of it.
A statistic claims '90% of dentists recommend this toothpaste.' What critical question should you ask first?
Answer: How large was the sample, and who selected the dentists surveyed?
Percentages are meaningless without knowing the sample size and whether the sample was representative and unbiased.
Which reading strategy helps you evaluate whether an argument's conclusion logically follows from its premises?
Answer: Tracing the logical structure of the argument step by step
Mapping an argument's premises to its conclusion reveals whether the reasoning is valid or contains gaps and non-sequiturs.