Four Broken Bridges
Four bridges failing in four different ways — one per adjective.
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Evidence on one bank, conclusion on the other. Name where the crossing fails.
Judge an argument in precise terms rather than calling it good or bad, and know which adjectives collocate with argument, evidence and claim.
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An argument can be wrong in four different places. These adjectives say which one.
An argument has parts, and it can break at any of them:
EVIDENCE ──▶ REASONING ──▶ CONCLUSION
is it does it follow is it too
sound? from the big a leap?
evidence?
Saying bad covers all three. Naming which part failed is precision — and precision is the whole Band 7 descriptor.
Four bridges failing in four different ways — one per adjective.
Evidence on one bank, conclusion on the other. Name where the crossing fails.
Sort twelve adjectives by which part of an argument each one targets.
Sort each item into the correct category
Three arguments, three different failure points. Say which part broke.
One
The problem: the evidence is real and reliable, but the conclusion goes far beyond what it can support.
Candidates: flawed / unwarranted
The expert chooses:
Because:
Two
The problem: the statistic quoted is accurate, but it has been presented so that readers draw the wrong inference.
Candidates: misleading / questionable
The expert chooses:
Because:
Three
The situation: the argument follows perfectly from its starting assumptions, though those assumptions may themselves be wrong.
Candidates: plausible / valid
The expert chooses:
Because:
Five arguments, each broken in a specific place. Name the fault.
Read what has gone wrong, then pick the adjective that names that specific fault. More than one option will feel broadly negative — only one is precise.
A survey of 40 people in one town concludes that the country has changed its mind about immigration. What is the fault?
Judge a real argument in two sentences and find out whether your adjective named the actual fault.
Here is a counter-argument you might meet in Task 2:
"Working from home should be discouraged. A study of one technology company found that employees working remotely sent 20% fewer internal messages, which shows that remote work damages collaboration across all industries."
Do not write that it is bad or wrong. Say which part fails.
Two sentences. Use at least two adjectives from this sprint.
Name the part, not just the adjective.