Evaluating
Arguments and Evidence
Connections
Suppose you are reading an argument that advises consumers to
shop for local and organic produce. What might convince you?
• Reasons why local and organic produce is healthier.
• A cost comparison and reasons why organic food is worth
the cost.
• An explanation of how to find affordable organic produce.
• Stories about people whose health has improved by
eating organic.
Evaluating evidence is essential when reading argumentative
texts. You evaluate arguments to decide whether to buy a product
or service, follow a piece of advice, or take a particular position on
an issue. What makes an argument convincing and valid?
When you evaluate an argument, consider:
How much evidence is there? Does the argument cover many
points of view and give multiple pieces of evidence? Does it
only make one point?
What kind of evidence is there? Is there logic as well as emotion?
Is the author credible? Are there fallacies in the argument?
What conclusions are drawn from the evidence? Does the argument make assumptions? Do the conclusions follow logically
from the evidence?
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Essential Reading Skills
Learn
It!
Evaluating an Argument
To evaluate an argument, put together what you know about:
• Claims and evidence
• Fallacies
• Logos, pathos, and ethos
Use the passage for the exercises that follow.
I’m not anti-government or anti-law enforcement, but the huge amount of overtime pay being handed out at the Sheriff’s Office infuriates me. The situation supports the anti-government argument that government employees think they have
a blank check signed by the public. Government workers live in a bubble protected
from the realities of supply and demand that affect the rest of the world.
There is no way this over-spending would happen in the private sector. If a manager spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on overtime pay instead of simply
hiring more employees to avoid time-and-a-half wages, that manager would be replaced. But in government, nothing changes.
In the private sector, the owners are financially responsible for the
company. They realize that overtime pay comes directly out of their
pockets. In the public sector, we all pay the costs, but we’re not running the organization. I’m not suggesting that everything be privatized, but we have to build some accountability into government.
Determine the Claim and Evidence
Identify the claim, the point that the author is arguing, and the evidence that supports it.
?
1 . What is the claim in this passage?
The author’s claim is that there needs to be accountability for spending in government.
?
2 . Identify evidence that the author presents.
One piece of evidence the author gives is overspending on overtime in the Sheriff’s Office.
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Evaluating Arguments and Evidence
Check for Fallacies
Fallacies are errors in reasoning. Ask yourself, is the evidence PALE? Look for personal
attacks, assumptions, logic errors, and emotion.
?
3 . Does the argument contain logical fallacies?
One example of a logical fallacy is “government employees think they have a blank check.”
This is a personal attack. The author also writes “in government nothing changes.” This is a
generalization without support. The idea that government doesn’t change is an assumption.
Examine the Use of Persuasive Appeals
How does the author use logos, pathos, and ethos? Are the appeals to logic, emotion, and
values effective and appropriate?
?
4 . How does the author use persuasive appeals in this argument?
The author claims not to be anti-government or anti-law enforcement, which is an appeal to
ethos. Appeals to the common value of saving money and to anti-government sentiments
are pathos. The author uses a logical argument to connect wasting money with the lack of
accountability in the government.
Evaluate the Argument
After examining the claim and evidence, fallacies, and persuasive appeals, how does the
argument hold up? Is there enough strong, valid evidence to support the claim?
?
5 . Is the argument effective? Why or why not?
The argument relies on only one example of government spending. Multiple examples
would be more convincing. The argument would also benefit from a more specific explanation of the accountability the author wants.
The mix of emotional and logical appeals might be convincing, but the author makes some
generalizations that show bias. The statements that all government employees are careless
with the public’s money and that government never changes weaken the argument.
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Essential Reading Skills
e
ic
Pract
It!
Read the passage and answer the questions that follow.
I know I’m overweight. I know I need to be healthier. But I’m not going on
a diet; that’s the worst thing I could do. Many of my friends, coworkers,
and acquaintances have gone on diets. They lose weight and then fall back into
poor eating habits. They gain back all the weight they lost and more. Although
diets have short-term benefits, they are harmful to our bodies in the long run. Do
you want to struggle and starve to lose weight, only to gain more weight and be
less healthy in the long run? Of course not!
Diets give you rigid rules to follow about what you can and can’t eat, and they limit
you to miniscule amounts of calories per day. That makes diets hard to follow, and
worse, a low-calorie diet can slow your metabolism. Your body may interpret low
calorie intake as starvation. The body’s reaction is to conserve energy. When you
inevitably break your hard-to-stick-with diet, you flood your
slowed-down, energy conserving body with foods—usually
all the wrong ones. Of course you gain weight!
The key is not to diet, but instead to start eating more balanced, healthy foods, including fresh vegetables, whole
grains, and nuts. Alongside sensible nutrition changes, start
exercising. Make small changes, and soon you’ll start seeing
improvements. That’s what I plan to do.
1 . What is the author’s claim?
2 . What evidence does the author provide to support the claim?
3 . Does the author’s argument contain any fallacies? If so, explain them.
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Evaluating Arguments and Evidence
4 . Explain how the author uses pathos, logos, and ethos.
5 . Evaluate the argument’s effectiveness.
Read the passage and answer the questions that follow.
With the advent of new technology, jobs will be lost. Our economy will be out of
balance. It’s time to start taking action now to prevent a painful period of adjustment. We should begin shortening the work week and securing a living wage and
benefits for our workforce.
Think about the self-driving car—a car driven entirely by a computer program. This
new technology already exists and has proven to be reliable. Trucking and taxi
companies will switch to self-driving cars, and thousands of drivers will lose their
jobs. The whole shipping and transportation industry will be disrupted.
Think about 3D printing technology. Already there are home 3D printers that can
create small plastic objects from digital files. Someday, we won’t need to ship
items across the country or go to the store to pick up what we want. We’ll simply
download files over the Internet and print our own shoes, cups, or bird feeders.
Manufacturing employees will lose their jobs.
Humanity needs to recognize that we don’t have to work as hard
anymore to provide the same quality of life. Casting thousands
of workers into poverty won’t help anyone. The solution is to
change our idea of work. We don’t need 40-hour work weeks
and a minimum wage that won’t buy the basic necessities. We
need more free time and the money to take advantage of the selfdriving cars and 3D printers that are on the way.
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Essential Reading Skills
6 . What is the author’s claim?
7 . What evidence does the author provide to support the claim?
8 . Does the author’s argument contain any fallacies? If so, explain them.
9 . Explain how the author uses pathos, logos, and ethos.
10 . Evaluate the argument’s effectiveness.
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Evaluating Arguments and Evidence
Check Your Skills
On June 12, 1987, President Ronald Reagan made a speech in Berlin, near the wall that had
divided East Germany and West Germany since the early 1960s. This passage is an excerpt
from that speech, in which President Reagan called on General Secretary Gorbachev of the
USSR to tear down the Berlin Wall.
Read the passage and answer the questions that follow.
In the 1950s, Khrushchev predicted: “We will bury
you.” But in the West today, we see a free world
that has achieved a level of prosperity and wellbeing unprecedented in all human history. In the
Communist world, we see failure, technological
backwardness, declining standards of health, even
want of the most basic kind—too little food. Even
today, the Soviet Union still cannot feed itself. After
these four decades, then, there stands before the
entire world one great and inescapable conclusion:
Freedom leads to prosperity. Freedom replaces the
ancient hatreds among the nations with comity and
peace. Freedom is the victor.
The remains of the Berlin Wall in
Berlin, Germany
And now the Soviets themselves may, in a limited way, be coming to understand
the importance of freedom. We hear much from Moscow about a new policy of
reform and openness. Some political prisoners have been released. Certain foreign
news broadcasts are no longer being jammed. Some economic enterprises have
been permitted to operate with greater freedom from state control. Are these the
beginnings of profound changes in the Soviet state? Or are they token gestures,
intended to raise false hopes in the West, or to strengthen the Soviet system without changing it? We welcome change and openness; for we believe that freedom
and security go together, that the advance of human liberty can only strengthen
the cause of world peace.
There is one sign the Soviets can make that would be unmistakable, that would advance dramatically the cause of freedom and peace. General Secretary Gorbachev,
if you seek peace, if you seek prosperity for the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe,
if you seek liberalization: Come here to this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate!
Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!
Source: From Speech at the Brandenburg Gate, West Berlin, Germany, by Ronald Reagan, June 12, 1987, available at
http://www.historyplace.com/speeches/reagan-tear-down.htm
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Essential Reading Skills
Remember
the Concept
1 . What value does Reagan most appeal to in this passage?
a . Openness
b . Prosperity
c . Competitiveness
d . Freedom
2 . Reagan quotes Khrushchev as saying “We will bury you.”
Why does Reagan refer to this quote?
a . To be fair and open-minded toward Soviet ideas
How much evidence
is there?
What kind of evidence
is there?
What conclusions
are drawn from the
evidence?
b . To emphasize how Khrushchev was wrong
c . To show how the Soviets are coming to understand
the importance of freedom
d . To contrast Khrushchev with Gorbachev
3 . Reagan asks if indications of change in Moscow are “token gestures.” Why?
a . To question the sincerity of the actions of the Soviet Union
b . To belittle the accomplishments of Gorbachev in the Soviet Union
c . To acknowledge the gestures the Soviet Union has made toward change
d . To show how little Gorbachev values the release of political prisoners
4 . “Even today, the Soviet Union still cannot feed itself.”
Which of the following best describes this quotation?
a . An emotional appeal to assist the Soviet Union in embracing freedom
b . A logical fallacy that plays on two meanings of the phrase “feed itself”
c . Part of a logical argument that Soviet Communism is inferior
d . A disparaging comment making a personal attack on Gorbachev
5 . Which of the following is a possible counterargument to the first paragraph of
the passage?
a . South Africa has the largest economy in Africa, despite high unemployment.
b . India has a growing economy under a parliamentary government.
c . Brazil has the sixth largest world economy, despite problems with poverty.
d . China has a growing economy under a Communist government.
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Answers and Explanations
Evaluating Arguments and Evidence
page 201
Evaluating an Argument
Practice It!
pages 204–206
1. The author’s claim is that diets are unhealthy and that to lose weight, you should make
sensible nutrition changes and start exercising.
2. The author gives the example of friends, coworkers, and acquaintances who have dieted
and then gained back all the weight and more. The author also reasons that because
diets have rigid rules, they are too hard to follow. Then, the author states that diets slow
your metabolism, but the author does not give details such as scientific studies to confirm this information.
3. The author generalizes about diets by saying that all diets give you too few calories and
too rigid rules. The author also mentions friends’ experiences and the idea that diets
slow your metabolism without backing up either idea with data or scientific studies.
4. The author uses pathos to appeal to the common goal of losing weight and not wanting
to struggle and starve in vain. The author uses logos to argue that rigid, stringent diets
cause people to break their diets. The author uses ethos by establishing himself or herself as an overweight person who is trying to avoid the pitfalls of dieting.
5. The author should qualify that the argument refers to overly stringent diets, since not
all diets are the same. The argument also needs additional support to prove that diets
do lower the dieter’s metabolism. If those changes were made, the argument would
be effective.
6. The author’s claim is that we should reduce the length of the work week while maintaining pay levels.
7. The author’s argument states that new technology is changing the amount of workers
needed in the economy. The author gives two examples: self-driving cars which
will disrupt the transportation industry and 3D printers which will disrupt the manufacturing industry.
8. The author sets up a false dilemma by claiming that, if nothing is done, thousands of
workers will be cast into poverty. This is not necessarily the case. The author seems to
ignore the possibility of new jobs arising in new industries and doesn’t give evidence
that the total number of jobs will be reduced.
9. The author uses pathos to evoke fear that thousands of people will become impoverished. The author uses logos to explain how self-driving cars and 3D printing will disrupt
shipping and manufacturing industries. The author does not use ethos.
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Essential Reading Skills
10. The argument is somewhat effective but has several flaws. It does not give enough
information on the total number of jobs that may be lost due to technology versus the
total number of jobs that might be gained in fields such as engineering, design, and
computer programming.
Check Your Skills
1. d. Freedom
2. b. To emphasize that Khrushchev was wrong
3. a. To question the sincerity of the actions of the Soviet Union
4. c. Part of a logical argument that Soviet Communism is inferior
5. d. China has a growing economy under a Communist government.
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pages 207–208