GED Language Arts Practice Test: Analyzing Arguments and Evidence
- Analyzing Arguments and Evidence
- 10 questions
- 15 minutes
Read two short letters about the same city plan, then answer questions about claims, evidence and reasoning. Separate what each writer proves from what the writer only states.
Tap an option to mark your answer. You can change your mind, or tap the same option again to leave the question blank. The correct answers and explanations appear when you finish the test.Tap an option to answer; tap it again to leave the question blank.
Your result
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Question 1
Letter 1
Our city council should approve protected bike lanes on Main Street. In the two years since Elm Avenue received protected lanes, the city's own traffic reports show that bicycle crashes there fell from 14 to 5, while the number of riders grew. Some shop owners worry that losing parking spaces will hurt business, but a survey of Elm Avenue merchants found that most saw no drop in sales. Riders who feel safe also shop locally, since they can stop at a store without searching for a parking space. Main Street deserves the same improvement.
Which sentence states the main claim of Letter 1?
Correct answer: C
Every other sentence in the letter supports the call to approve lanes on Main Street, so that is the claim. The crash numbers are evidence for the claim, not the claim itself.
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Question 2
Letter 1
Our city council should approve protected bike lanes on Main Street. In the two years since Elm Avenue received protected lanes, the city's own traffic reports show that bicycle crashes there fell from 14 to 5, while the number of riders grew. Some shop owners worry that losing parking spaces will hurt business, but a survey of Elm Avenue merchants found that most saw no drop in sales. Riders who feel safe also shop locally, since they can stop at a store without searching for a parking space. Main Street deserves the same improvement.
Which evidence in Letter 1 most directly supports the idea that protected lanes make cycling safer?
Correct answer: A
Only the crash figures measure safety. The merchant survey answers the business worry, which is a different point.
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Question 3
Letter 1
Our city council should approve protected bike lanes on Main Street. In the two years since Elm Avenue received protected lanes, the city's own traffic reports show that bicycle crashes there fell from 14 to 5, while the number of riders grew. Some shop owners worry that losing parking spaces will hurt business, but a survey of Elm Avenue merchants found that most saw no drop in sales. Riders who feel safe also shop locally, since they can stop at a store without searching for a parking space. Main Street deserves the same improvement.
How does the writer of Letter 1 respond to the concern of shop owners?
Correct answer: D
The writer names the counterargument and answers it with the merchant survey. The letter never says parking is unnecessary everywhere or that the city will pay anyone.
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Question 4
Letter 1
Our city council should approve protected bike lanes on Main Street. In the two years since Elm Avenue received protected lanes, the city's own traffic reports show that bicycle crashes there fell from 14 to 5, while the number of riders grew. Some shop owners worry that losing parking spaces will hurt business, but a survey of Elm Avenue merchants found that most saw no drop in sales. Riders who feel safe also shop locally, since they can stop at a store without searching for a parking space. Main Street deserves the same improvement.
Which sentence from Letter 1 is an opinion rather than a fact that could be checked?
Correct answer: B
Whether a street "deserves" something is a judgment, not something a record can prove. Crash counts, rider counts and the date the lanes were built can all be checked in city records.
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Question 5
Letter 1
Our city council should approve protected bike lanes on Main Street. In the two years since Elm Avenue received protected lanes, the city's own traffic reports show that bicycle crashes there fell from 14 to 5, while the number of riders grew. Some shop owners worry that losing parking spaces will hurt business, but a survey of Elm Avenue merchants found that most saw no drop in sales. Riders who feel safe also shop locally, since they can stop at a store without searching for a parking space. Main Street deserves the same improvement.
Which additional information would most strengthen the argument in Letter 1?
Correct answer: C
Injury records for Main Street would show that the problem the lanes solve exists where the writer wants them built. National bike sales and opinions about appearance do not show any safety need on Main Street.
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Question 6
Letter 1
Our city council should approve protected bike lanes on Main Street. In the two years since Elm Avenue received protected lanes, the city's own traffic reports show that bicycle crashes there fell from 14 to 5, while the number of riders grew. Some shop owners worry that losing parking spaces will hurt business, but a survey of Elm Avenue merchants found that most saw no drop in sales. Riders who feel safe also shop locally, since they can stop at a store without searching for a parking space. Main Street deserves the same improvement.
Letter 2
Before copying Elm Avenue, the council should look closely at the numbers. Elm Avenue was repaved and given new streetlights in the same year the lanes opened, so the drop in crashes may not be due to the lanes alone. Main Street also carries about four times as many delivery trucks as Elm. A plan that works on a quiet street may not fit a busy one. The council should first test protected lanes on one block of Main Street for six months and study the results.
What is the main concern of the writer of Letter 2?
Correct answer: B
Letter 2 questions whether Elm Avenue is a fair model for Main Street, pointing to other changes on Elm and heavier truck traffic on Main. It never mentions cost or banning trucks.
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Question 7
Letter 1
Our city council should approve protected bike lanes on Main Street. In the two years since Elm Avenue received protected lanes, the city's own traffic reports show that bicycle crashes there fell from 14 to 5, while the number of riders grew. Some shop owners worry that losing parking spaces will hurt business, but a survey of Elm Avenue merchants found that most saw no drop in sales. Riders who feel safe also shop locally, since they can stop at a store without searching for a parking space. Main Street deserves the same improvement.
Letter 2
Before copying Elm Avenue, the council should look closely at the numbers. Elm Avenue was repaved and given new streetlights in the same year the lanes opened, so the drop in crashes may not be due to the lanes alone. Main Street also carries about four times as many delivery trucks as Elm. A plan that works on a quiet street may not fit a busy one. The council should first test protected lanes on one block of Main Street for six months and study the results.
Why does the writer of Letter 2 mention that Elm Avenue was repaved and given new streetlights?
Correct answer: D
If several changes happened in the same year, the lanes alone cannot be credited with fewer crashes. The writer does not call the numbers false, only incomplete as proof.
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Question 8
Letter 1
Our city council should approve protected bike lanes on Main Street. In the two years since Elm Avenue received protected lanes, the city's own traffic reports show that bicycle crashes there fell from 14 to 5, while the number of riders grew. Some shop owners worry that losing parking spaces will hurt business, but a survey of Elm Avenue merchants found that most saw no drop in sales. Riders who feel safe also shop locally, since they can stop at a store without searching for a parking space. Main Street deserves the same improvement.
Letter 2
Before copying Elm Avenue, the council should look closely at the numbers. Elm Avenue was repaved and given new streetlights in the same year the lanes opened, so the drop in crashes may not be due to the lanes alone. Main Street also carries about four times as many delivery trucks as Elm. A plan that works on a quiet street may not fit a busy one. The council should first test protected lanes on one block of Main Street for six months and study the results.
On which point do the two writers agree?
Correct answer: A
Letter 2 accepts that crashes dropped and only asks what caused the drop. Approving lanes right away is the position of Letter 1 alone, and Letter 2 says a busy street "may not" fit the plan, not that it is impossible.
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Question 9
Letter 1
Our city council should approve protected bike lanes on Main Street. In the two years since Elm Avenue received protected lanes, the city's own traffic reports show that bicycle crashes there fell from 14 to 5, while the number of riders grew. Some shop owners worry that losing parking spaces will hurt business, but a survey of Elm Avenue merchants found that most saw no drop in sales. Riders who feel safe also shop locally, since they can stop at a store without searching for a parking space. Main Street deserves the same improvement.
Letter 2
Before copying Elm Avenue, the council should look closely at the numbers. Elm Avenue was repaved and given new streetlights in the same year the lanes opened, so the drop in crashes may not be due to the lanes alone. Main Street also carries about four times as many delivery trucks as Elm. A plan that works on a quiet street may not fit a busy one. The council should first test protected lanes on one block of Main Street for six months and study the results.
Which weakness in the reasoning of Letter 1 does Letter 2 point out?
Correct answer: C
Letter 2 notes that other changes happened at the same time, so one event following another does not prove cause. Letter 1 does give numbers and does not attack anyone, so the other options do not fit.
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Question 10
Letter 1
Our city council should approve protected bike lanes on Main Street. In the two years since Elm Avenue received protected lanes, the city's own traffic reports show that bicycle crashes there fell from 14 to 5, while the number of riders grew. Some shop owners worry that losing parking spaces will hurt business, but a survey of Elm Avenue merchants found that most saw no drop in sales. Riders who feel safe also shop locally, since they can stop at a store without searching for a parking space. Main Street deserves the same improvement.
Letter 2
Before copying Elm Avenue, the council should look closely at the numbers. Elm Avenue was repaved and given new streetlights in the same year the lanes opened, so the drop in crashes may not be due to the lanes alone. Main Street also carries about four times as many delivery trucks as Elm. A plan that works on a quiet street may not fit a busy one. The council should first test protected lanes on one block of Main Street for six months and study the results.
Which action does the writer of Letter 2 recommend?
Correct answer: D
The last sentence calls for a six-month trial on one block and a study of the results. Repaving is mentioned only as something that happened on Elm Avenue.
Questions you leave blank are not counted as wrong.
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