Recognize the distinction
A poll can report its respondents accurately yet misrepresent the target population. Identify whom the conclusion concerns, who could be sampled, who actually responded, and whether the response mechanism selects people with a relevant preference. A large sample can reduce random variation without removing systematic selection bias. Counting more of the wrong group does not repair the mismatch.
Choose a method
State the target population in plain language. Compare it with the selection procedure, then ask how a nonrespondent could differ on the issue being measured. A self-selected newsletter survey is not equivalent to a random town survey. A comparison of successful firms also needs information about firms that failed before it can support a claim about the causes of survival.
Worked contrast
The library survey establishes a preference among respondents, not automatically among residents. A representative town survey with the opposite finding would directly weaken the generalization. A second newsletter poll might reproduce the original selection process and therefore provide much less help. The exact number of respondents is not the decisive issue.
Transfer and check
For transfer, design a survey of transport preferences that includes residents who do not currently use transit. Explain why surveying only bus passengers answers a narrower question. When reviewing answer choices, reject objections about an unrelated characteristic unless that characteristic could affect selection or the measured preference.
A library emailed its newsletter subscribers about Sunday opening. Of the 120 subscribers who replied, 92 favored Sunday opening. An advocate concludes: Most town residents favor Sunday opening. Which statement is the advocate's main conclusion?
- The advocate offers these observations: A library emailed its newsletter subscribers about Sunday opening. Of the 120 subscribers who replied, 92 favored Sunday opening.
- The target claim is introduced as what the advocate concludes: Most town residents favor Sunday opening.
- Identifying a conclusion does not require accepting it; the task concerns its argumentative role.
Compare the other answer choices
This is a stated premise, offered as evidence rather than the target conclusion.
This is background or supporting information, not the claim the advocate infers.
This adds a stronger claim than the advocate actually states.
This is a possible counterfinding, not the claim the advocate aims to establish.
Try it, then explain it.
Complete a short set without looking at the example. After each answer, explain which evidence or rule supports your decision and why the alternatives do not fit.
Sources & authorship
Original Slope explanations and examples. References support the concepts; they are not the source of copied questions. Independent educator review is pending.
Logical Reasoning skills