| Evidence Questions Support the Author |
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| Here's another form of an evidence question: Which of the following, if true, supports the conclusion drawn in the passage? We usually think of the conclusion as being the end. It's the same in this sense of the word; the conclusion here is the end result of the author's thought on a subject.. The conclusion is the idea upon which an author bases an argument. This type of question asks you to choose the best reason for the author to believe what s/he has written. How else could this question be written? Here are a couple of thoughts; maybe you'd prefer to come up with one of your own? Why might the author believe this? Which of the answer choices is the best reason to make this statement? Ready? Let's try a few. 1) It's so hard to get through this intersection lately; I often wait through two green lights before I can get across the street. There aren't more people in the neighborhood, but there are many new people and the vehicles they drive are slowing the rest of us down. Why might the author believe this? A) The people who have moved into the neighborhood all drive smaller cars than the people who moved out of the neighborhood. B) The people who have moved into the neighborhood all drive large SUV's. C) The people who have moved into the neighborhood are bad drivers. The author states that the vehicles the new neighbors drive are slowing down traffic at the light, not the neighbors themselves. Whether these people are good drivers (choice C) is not an issue. If the vehicles being driven were smaller than the previous neighbors' (choice A), traffic could move more quickly through the intersection, not more slowly. The only choice that would support the author's conclusion is choice B: the new neighbors all drive large vehicles. 2) President Gerald Ford granted Richard Nixon a pardon for breaking the laws of the USA in 1974. In 1976 Ford ran for re-election against Jimmy Carter; Ford lost that election because the voters didn't trust the government that was in power at the time. Which of the answer choices is the best reason to make this statement about Ford's lost re-election? A) Ford tried harder than Carter. B) Carter tried harder than Ford. C) The voters thought Nixon should have paid for his crime. D) The voters thought Ford or his people might also break the law. According to the passage, Ford lost the election because the voters didn't trust the current government, of which he was a part. Choice D is the evidence that best supports this statement. Choice C could definitely be inferred from the statement, but this is not an inference question, so C is incorrect. There is no mention of how the two elections were run, so choices A and B are also incorrect because that information is not in the passage.. 3) The entire neighborhood supported rebuilding the old drawbridge. The old bridge was so low that it had to be opened between three to five times a day to allow ships and small boats through, stopping traffic for up to a half hour at a time; the new bridge was to have a wider opening span and be so high that the bridge would have to be opened less often. However, since the new bridge has been in place it still is opened at least four times a day. This must have something to do with the oil company on the other side of the bridge. Which of the following, if true, supports the conclusion drawn in the passage? A) The bridge has to open often to allow cruise ships through. B) The bridge has to open often to allow small boats through. C) The oil company now uses larger ships that can now fit through the bridge. D) The bridge malfunctions (breaks down) often. E) The bridge is more attractive than the old bridge. The passage does not mention either the aesthetics of the new bridge - in other words, what it looks like - or cruise ships; therefore, choices A and E can be eliminated. There is also no mention of problems with opening or closing the drawbridge, so choice D is also incorrect. The new bridge is much higher than the old one, so small boats should be able to pass under it easily (choice B). Choice C states that the oil company on the other side of the bridge now uses larger ships; this supports the conclusion that that company has something to do with the frequent bridge-openings. |
| What's a conclusion? A conclusion is an idea based on reasoning. |
| Prof. Pasquale supports the conclusion that the larger the vehicle, the longer it takes to go through an intersection. |
| Remember! Use only information from the passage to choose an answer. |
| Prof. Pasquale always checks the answer choices against what is written in the passage. |
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