A strong reading answer connects a claim to a specific observation. It respects limits on who was studied, what was measured and how certain the result is. The best inference is supported by the passage without requiring an extra assumption.
A reliable method
State the claim precisely
Underline the population, time period and outcome. To support a claim about activity after a closure, evidence from before the closure is insufficient.
Find the relevant comparison
When data are involved, decide whether the claim concerns counts, changes or proportions. Compare imports as a fraction of all objects when the totals differ.
Identify a missing assumption
A causal explanation can be weakened by an alternative cause. A general claim can be weakened by biased sampling or a changed measurement process.
Keep the conclusion bounded
Use the narrowest answer that follows. Evidence of some imported goods in modest households does not show that every import was equally available to everyone.
Worked examples
Site A has 18 imported objects out of 60; Site B has 16 out of 40. Which has the greater imported proportion?
- Site A: 18/60 = 0.30 = 30%.
- Site B: 16/40 = 0.40 = 40%.
- B has fewer imported objects but a larger proportion. The correct comparison depends on the denominator.
Answer: Site B, at 40%
A team records more birds after creating a basin and attributes all of the increase to the basin. What finding would weaken that causal conclusion?
- The observed increase itself may be real.
- Ask what else changed between the two observation periods.
- A seasonal migration during the second period could raise sightings independently of the basin.
Answer: A seasonal migration occurred during the second observation period.
Now use the method yourself.
Mark this guide as read, then use the method in topic practice before the checkpoint.