STAT - Special Tertiary Admissions Evaluating Written Arguments Questions and Answers

Question 1

An advertisement for a new sports drink features a famous and well-respected musician.
The musician claims the drink is the most effective for post-workout recovery.
What is the most significant flaw in this argument for the drink's effectiveness?

Accepted Answer

The musician's expertise is in music, not in sports science or nutrition.

Answer

The musician may have been paid for the endorsement.

Answer

The effectiveness of a sports drink is a matter of personal opinion.

Answer

The advertisement does not mention the price of the sports drink.

Question 2

A community group is arguing against the construction of a new factory. Their spokesperson states: 'Our opponent claims this factory will bring a few jobs. What they really want is to pave over all our green spaces, pollute our air, and leave a toxic legacy for our children.' Which argumentative fallacy is most clearly demonstrated in this statement?

Accepted Answer

Straw Man

Answer

Appeal to Emotion

Answer

Hasty Generalization

Answer

Ad Hominem

Question 3

A university research paper studied the dietary habits of 200 undergraduate students at a single city campus and found that 75% consumed unhealthy levels of processed food. The paper's conclusion states: 'The modern Australian diet is overwhelmingly unhealthy and dominated by processed foods.' What is the primary weakness of this conclusion?

Accepted Answer

The conclusion over-generalizes from a specific, non-representative sample to a much larger population.

Answer

The conclusion is based on correlation, not causation.

Answer

The term 'unhealthy levels' is not clearly defined.

Answer

The study should have included at least 1,000 participants to be valid.

Question 4

Read the following passage: 'Employee burnout is a significant issue. Companies that have introduced mental health days report lower staff turnover. These companies also note that productivity remains stable, or even improves. Therefore, to enhance employee retention and maintain productivity, companies should consider implementing a policy of offering dedicated mental health days.' Which of the following best expresses the main conclusion of the passage?

Accepted Answer

Companies ought to adopt a policy of providing mental health days.

Answer

Employee burnout is a serious problem in the modern workplace.

Answer

Companies with mental health days have lower staff turnover.

Answer

Productivity does not necessarily drop when staff take time off.

Question 5

An argument is presented: 'The new traffic calming measures on Main Street have successfully reduced accidents. Therefore, the city should implement the same measures on all major roads to improve city-wide road safety.' Which of the following is an unstated assumption upon which this conclusion depends?

Accepted Answer

The traffic conditions and driver behaviours on all major roads are similar to those on Main Street.

Answer

The traffic calming measures were expensive to install.

Answer

There were a significant number of accidents on Main Street before the measures were introduced.

Answer

Residents living on Main Street have complained about the new measures.

Question 6

In a debate about a proposed sugar tax, one speaker argues: 'We must implement this tax to combat the obesity crisis. My opponent, who argues against the tax, owns a chain of bakeries.' In evaluating the argument, the comment about the opponent owning bakeries is:

Accepted Answer

A logical fallacy, because it attacks the person rather than their argument.

Answer

A valid point, as it proves the opponent's argument is wrong.

Answer

Strong evidence that a sugar tax would be effective.

Answer

Irrelevant, because the obesity crisis is not a real problem.

An advertisement for a new sports drink features a famous and well-respected musician.The musician claims the drink is the most effective for post-workout recovery.What is the most significant flaw in this argument for the drink's effectiveness?

An advertisement for a new sports drink features a famous and well-respected musician.
The musician claims the drink is the most effective for post-workout recovery.
What is the most significant flaw in this argument for the drink's effectiveness?