Key Terms
It is the main point or idea that the author is trying to convince the audience to believe.
What is an argument?
In the excerpt about school uniforms, what is one claim proponents make?
Uniforms create a sense of community.
Is the following evidence relevant or irrelevant? "A study showed that 75% of parents spent less on school clothing when uniforms were mandatory."
Relevant.
What is one way to assess whether evidence is relevant?
Check if it directly supports the claim.
What is one question you should ask when evaluating an argument?
Is the evidence relevant and sufficient?
A statement or assertion that supports the argument.
What is claim?
In the school uniforms excerpt, what is one claim opponents make?
Uniforms suppress individuality.
Is the following evidence relevant or irrelevant?
"The school uniform policy has been debated for years in online forums."
Irrelevant.
In the social media excerpt, why is the 2019 study about depression relevant?
It shows a correlation between social media use and mental health issues, supporting the argument.
Rewrite this irrelevant evidence to make it relevant: "Social media allows users to share cat videos."
"Social media allows users to build connections and share support networks."
Evidence that directly supports a claim and relates to the topic.
What is relevant evidence?
True or False: A claim must always be supported by evidence to be valid.
True
True or False: Irrelevant evidence can strengthen an argument.
False.
What does sufficient evidence mean?
There is enough evidence to convincingly support the claim.
Name one way irrelevant evidence can be introduced into an argument.
By including unrelated statistics or anecdotes.
When evidence does not relate to the argument or claim.
What is irrelevant evidence?
In the social media excerpt, what claim do advocates for limiting social media make?
Social media usage increases loneliness and anxiety.
Why is irrelevant evidence harmful to an argument?
It distracts from the main argument and weakens its credibility.
In the school uniforms excerpt, does the claim "schools with uniforms report fewer disciplinary issues" have sufficient evidence? Why or why not?
No, because no specific data or study is provided to support it.
Create a claim about electric cars that could be supported with evidence.
Electric cars reduce long-term transportation costs for consumers.
The process of determining if an argument’s reasoning is logical and supported by strong evidence.
Evaluating reasoning
In the electric cars excerpt, what is one claim critics make?
The production of electric car batteries harms the environment.
In the electric cars excerpt, why is the point about electricity sources potentially irrelevant?
It does not directly address the environmental benefits of electric cars as an alternative to fossil fuels.
How can you identify if reasoning is flawed?
Look for gaps in logic, unsupported claims, or reliance on irrelevant evidence.
Explain how you would strengthen an argument with weak evidence.
Add more reliable and specific evidence from credible sources to support the claims.