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Command of Evidence
I worked these out from the practice questions. Each code says where to start reading, where to stop, what you can skip, and why it is safe.
1. Read the claim, then the options
- Start:
- Start with the sentence that states the claim or hypothesis.
- Stop:
- Stop after you can say what the proof must show.
- Skip:
- Skip the story or background sentences that do not state the claim.
- Why:
- All eight questions were solved by matching a single claim, so understanding it first saves time.
Used in questions 1, 3, 5, 7
2. Look for the claim's key words in the option
- Start:
- Start by underlining the topic words in the claim, such as attendance, equal growth, increase.
- Stop:
- Stop as soon as an option does not use that topic.
- Skip:
- Skip options that are about a nearby topic only.
- Why:
- In questions 1 and 7 the wrong options were about the well or planting, but not about attendance or enjoyment.
Used in questions 1, 7, 3
3. Watch for true but off target
- Start:
- Start by checking if the option is true in the table.
- Stop:
- Stop and ask: does it prove the claim?
- Skip:
- Skip any option that is only true.
- Why:
- Options B in question 4 and A in question 6 were true but did not prove the claim.
Used in questions 4, 6
4. Table first: title, labels, units
- Start:
- Start with the title and the column labels of the table.
- Stop:
- Stop when you know what each number counts.
- Skip:
- Skip rows that are not named in the claim.
- Why:
- A wrong reading of a row or unit ruins the answer, as in the banana and mango numbers of question 2.
Used in questions 2, 4, 6, 8
5. Growth means subtract, share means divide
- Start:
- Start by finding the words increase, grew or relatively in the claim.
- Stop:
- Stop after one short calculation.
- Skip:
- Skip options that only report a single number.
- Why:
- Question 4 and 6 needed differences, and question 8 needed percents.
Used in questions 4, 6, 8
6. Later moment for change
- Start:
- Start by finding the words grows, becomes, or increases in a claim about a story.
- Stop:
- Stop at the quotation that shows the new state.
- Skip:
- Skip quotations that show the old state.
- Why:
- In question 5 the starting point and the memories were distractions.
Used in questions 5, 7
7. Percent change, not raw change
- Start:
- Start by finding the words relatively, percent, more likely or larger rise in the claim.
- Stop:
- Stop after one division: change divided by the starting value, or part divided by total.
- Skip:
- Skip options that give only counts or only raw differences.
- Why:
- In questions 12, 15 and 16 the count or the raw difference pointed the wrong way, and the shares gave the proof.
Used in questions 12, 15, 16, 8
8. Weakening needs the effect without the cause
- Start:
- Start by naming the cause and the effect in the hypothesis.
- Stop:
- Stop at the option where the effect appears even without the cause.
- Skip:
- Skip options that show the cause and the effect happening together, since they support it.
- Why:
- In question 14 three options strengthened the idea, and only the one with no fungicide and the same decline weakened it.
Used in questions 14, 11
9. Read the graph axes before the options
- Start:
- Start with the axis labels, units and the title of the graph.
- Stop:
- Stop when you can say what one bar or one point means.
- Skip:
- Skip decorative parts and options about values the claim does not mention.
- Why:
- In questions 10, 13 and 16 every option was about the graph, but only reading the exact bars or points showed which was right.
Used in questions 10, 13, 16
10. A quotation must show the feeling itself
- Start:
- Start with the feeling in the claim, such as longing.
- Stop:
- Stop at the quotation where the speaker wants or says that feeling, not just describes a place.
- Skip:
- Skip quotations that only describe things.
- Why:
- In question 9 three options described the village, and one showed the wish.
Used in questions 9, 5