Name the faulty reasoning
Grade 9 Reading Worksheet
Circle the best answer.
Read this first
The Traffic Circle at Grant and Fourth (hearing transcript)
Mr. Theo Barros, town traffic engineer: [1] The town proposes replacing the four-way stop at Grant Avenue and Fourth Street with a small traffic circle, which drivers would enter after yielding to cars already inside it. [2] County crash reports show eleven collisions at this corner in the past three years, most of them involving drivers turning left across traffic. [3] A circle removes those left turns, and the county's study of four circles built since 2015 found that crashes with injuries fell at three of them.
Ms. June Whitlock, a resident: [4] Mr. Barros wants to turn every corner in Yarrow into a spinning maze that nobody can drive through. [5] More than three hundred people have already signed a petition against the circle, so it must be a bad plan. [6] And frankly, the town should be asking why the library closes at six on weeknights.
Mr. Barros: [7] The plan covers this one corner, and any other corner would need its own study and its own public hearing. [8] A petition shows how many people oppose the plan, which the town should weigh, but it does not show whether the circle would reduce crashes.
Ms. Whitlock: [9] Delivery trucks need room to turn, and I would like to know whether a large truck can fit through a circle this small.
Mr. Barros: [10] The design includes a low center ring that trucks may drive over, which is how many small circles handle large vehicles.
Ms. Whitlock: [11] Mr. Barros does not even live in Yarrow, so his crash numbers mean nothing to me.
Mr. Barros: [12] The crash reports come from the county, and we will bring a full drawing of the truck ring to the June hearing.
Ari has written ad hominem in the flaw column for sentence 11. Why does the step in sentence 11 fail?
- It fails because the traffic circle would cut the number of crashes at the corner.
- It leaves the traffic circle behind and turns the hearing to a new subject entirely.
- It speaks about a town worker in a rude way that does not suit a public hearing.
- Where Mr. Barros lives does not change the county's crash records, so it gives no reason to doubt them.
Bo sorts sentence 4 in the matrix. Which label fits sentence 4, and why?
- Ad hominem: it attacks Mr. Barros as a person instead of answering his plan.
- Reasonable: it states a resident's real fear about how hard circles are to drive.
- Red herring: it moves the hearing away from the traffic circle to a new topic.
- Straw man: it answers a plan for every corner, but the plan in the first sentence covers one.
Esme fills the flaw column for sentence 6. Which name belongs there?
- Straw man
- False choice
- Red herring
- Reasonable point
Service Hours at Bellmont High (two student columns)
Text A, a column by Ren: [1] Bellmont High should ask each student to complete twenty hours of community service before graduation, spread across four years. [2] The school's own survey last spring found that 61 percent of seniors had done no volunteer work at all, and many said that they did not know where to start. [3] A requirement would come with a list of approved places, such as the food pantry, the animal shelter and the library's reading program, so students would know where to begin. [4] Either Bellmont makes service required, or our students will graduate without ever helping anyone in town. [5] Twenty hours over four years comes to about five hours a year, which is less time than one weekend of rehearsals for a school play.
Text B, a column by Kira: [6] If the school requires twenty hours now, it will require fifty next year, then a hundred, and soon students will have no free time left at all. [7] Requiring service is like requiring every student to run a marathon, and plenty of students could never finish a marathon. [8] My cousin, who finished college last year, spent most of a high school service requirement sorting paper clips, so required service is always a waste of time. [9] Nearly the whole senior class has joined an online group against the plan, so the plan must be a mistake. [10] Students who work after school or care for younger family members may have little time to spare, and the plan should say how they could earn their hours. [11] I would support the plan if it counted work that students already do, such as coaching a younger team. [12] The school board will discuss the plan in March, and both of us will speak at that meeting.
Luz has written false choice in the flaw column for sentence 4. Why does the step in sentence 4 fail?
- It fails because service should stay a free choice that each student at Bellmont makes alone each year.
- It uses strong words that may upset students who already disagree with the plan.
- It offers two outcomes, but sentence 2 shows that some seniors already volunteer with no rule.
- It says that one new rule will set off a chain of bigger and bigger rules.
Milo fills the flaw column for sentence 8. Which name belongs there?
- Bandwagon
- False analogy
- Slippery slope
- Hasty generalization
The Palace Theater on Front Street (forum transcript)
Ms. Lila Fontaine, director of the Carver Arts Council: [1] The arts council asks the town to buy the closed Palace Theater on Front Street and turn it into a community arts center. [2] An engineer's report from January found that the roof and walls are sound, although the heating system would need to be replaced. [3] The council has raised $310,000 in pledges, which would cover the purchase, and it plans to apply for a state grant to pay for the heating.
Mr. Martin Osei, a resident: [4] Since the building is falling apart, any money spent on it would be thrown away. [5] Buying an old theater is like buying an old car, because sooner or later it breaks down for good and has to be towed away. [6] Ms. Fontaine is a painter, not a builder, so her opinion about the building means nothing.
Ms. Fontaine: [7] The report was written by a licensed engineer, and anyone can read it on the town's website.
Mr. Osei: [8] What really worries me is that the town still has not fixed the fountain in Central Square.
Ms. Fontaine: [9] An arts center would bring classes, concerts and visitors to Front Street, where four shops have closed in the past two years.
Mr. Osei: [10] I agree that Front Street needs new life, and I would want a parking plan before the town agrees to buy anything.
Ms. Fontaine: [11] That is a fair request, and the council will bring a parking plan to the next forum.
Mr. Osei: [12] If the town buys the theater, it will have to buy the bowling alley next, then the old mill, and soon it will own every empty building in Carver.
Noah has written false analogy in the flaw column for sentence 5. Why does the step in sentence 5 fail?
- An old car wears out as a whole, but sentence 2 shows that the theater has one worn system.
- It fails because an arts center would bring new life to Front Street.
- It uses a homely example that some people at the forum might find funny.
- It attacks Ms. Fontaine's training as a painter instead of answering the plan she has offered.
Pia fills the flaw column for sentence 6. Which name belongs there?
- Red herring
- Straw man
- Ad hominem
- Reasonable point
Letters on Music After Dark (two letters)
Text A, a letter from Ms. Agnes Thorne: [1] I support the proposed rule that would end outdoor music on Main Street at nine o'clock on weeknights and at ten on weekends. [2] The town's noise log lists sixty-two complaints from Main Street residents since May, nearly all of them made after nine on weeknights. [3] Many of us who live above the shops start work early, and a quiet street at night is not much to ask. [4] Most towns along the lake already have a rule like this, so Sutton should join them. [5] Mr. Ruiz earns money from every late customer, so nothing he says about the rule can be trusted.
Text B, a letter from Mr. Paolo Ruiz: [6] Ms. Thorne wants to silence Main Street completely, so that no one can ever play a note downtown again. [7] Outdoor music brings diners to the street, and my café's receipts show that our busiest nights are the ones with a band on the patio. [8] If the town ends music at nine, diners will stop coming, the cafés will close, and Main Street will be empty by next winter. [9] I agree that sixty-two complaints is too many, and the cafés could turn their speakers toward the street and away from the windows above. [10] A rule that ends music at ten on weeknights would protect sleep while keeping the early evening busy. [11] One neighbor told me the music has never bothered her, which shows that the complaints are exaggerated. [12] I hope the board will hear from both residents and cafés before it votes in August.
Ren fills the flaw column for sentence 4. Which name belongs there?
- Hasty generalization
- False choice
- Bandwagon
- Ad hominem
Tala sorts sentence 11 in the matrix. Which label fits sentence 11, and why?
- Slippery slope: it says one neighbor's view will lead to a chain of new complaints.
- Bandwagon: it treats what most of the neighbors think as proof about the rule.
- False analogy: it compares the neighbor's street to Main Street as if they were alike.
- Hasty generalization: it judges sixty-two complaints by what one neighbor said.
Zee has written slippery slope in the flaw column for sentence 8. Why does the step in sentence 8 fail?
- It links an earlier end time to an empty street through steps it gives no evidence for.
- It comes from a café owner, so it is not a neutral view of the rule.
- It offers the town two choices: music late at night or no diners on the street each night.
- It fails because a nine o'clock rule is fair to the people who live upstairs.