The following appeared as part of an article in the business section of a newspaper in the country of Freedonia: "Freedonia's commercial airline industry has experienced impressive growth over the past three years. This trend will surely continue in the years to come, since the airline industry will benefit from recent changes in Freedonian society. Incomes are rising, most employees now receive more vacation time, and interest in travel is rising as shown by an increase in media attention devoted to foreign cultures and tourist attractions."
Task: Make a list of the assumptions that connect evidence to conclusion.
On your scratch paper, make such a list for the Freedonian airline argument, and then click Continue.
If we think about the assumptions the author makes, you might very well come up with some or all of the following. The author must believe that:
- Past success inevitably, or probably, leads to future success. (Otherwise why would he mention the airlines' past success right up front?)
- Freedonians are willing to spend their newly increased income on travel.
- Leisure travel is, or can be, a big part of the country's airline industry.
- Media attention is a reliable sign of the public's interest.
- Freedonian employees like to travel on their vacations.
If any of these assumptions were to be challenged, the argument would be weakened, because these assumptions are what link the evidence to the conclusion.
Countinue
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Test Prep Lessons With Video Lessons and Explained MCQ
Large number of solved practice MCQ with explanations. Video Lessons and 10 Fully explained Grand/Full Tests.
A good rule of thumb is that your reader should be able to get the gist of your entire argument just by skimming the first sentence of each paragraph. Remember, your reader is probably going to devote no more than 3 to 5 minutes to your essay. Take a few minutes at the beginning of your AWA to outline the five sentences that will begin your paragraphs; this strategy can make your reader’s job far easier, and a happy reader is probably more apt to make those tricky 4/5 line calls in your favor. Similarly, the e-reader is programmed to assess organization, and well-written topic sentences that use transition words and clearly state the point of each paragraph are a big help in creating the kind of organizational structure that earns you points on test day.