Exam 1: Accounting As a Tool for Management

Determine whether the following passage is (or contains) an argument. "Today, there is strong evidence-not only in theory but in practice-that families who try to protect dying children from knowing they're dying rarely serve the child's best interests. This conspiracy of silence, however well-meaning, often puts nurses, relatives, and others who spend the most time with the patient, especially in their lonely moments, on the spot." -Thomas Scully and Celia Scully, Playing God: The New World of Medical Choices

Identify each speaker that gives an argument for his or her position in the following passage. First Citizen: There has been a lot of talk in favor of having civilian police-review boards monitor law enforcement activities. That's better than letting internal-affairs units try to do that job. Second Citizen: Right. The ethics of law enforcers is as important as the ethics of lawmakers. Letting them police themselves is like having the foxes guard the henhouse.

Determine whether the following passage contains an argument and, if it does, identify that argument's final conclusion. "Should I go to class today? We're probably just going over the test; I can afford to miss that. Besides, I haven't cut a single class all semester. I guess it won't hurt to stay home this once."

The tendency to not appreciate that others' behavior is as much constrained by events and circumstances as our own would be if we were in their position is known as the

Identify for which claims, if any, support has been given in the following passage; and state in your own words the reasons that have been offered for these claims. "For about $200 a ticket you can take a breathtaking flight through the Grand Canyon by helicopter. Fine, unless you are one of the two million people who visit the canyon each year on the ground. For these millions, the pleasures of the canyon's solitude are destroyed by the almost uninterrupted noise from the air. That fact in itself demonstrates that air traffic in the canyon must now be banned-or at least heavily regulated. If the enjoyment of those on the canyon's floor is not enough reason for banning air traffic, then this is: the vibrations may destroy Indian ruins and the noise may drive the peregrine falcon and bighorn sheep out of their normal habitat in the canyon."

Some opinions are not subjective, because their truth or falsity is independent of what people think.

"The president's basic problem, in my opinion, is that she is too unemotional. She makes all her decisions on cold logic and seems to ignore the human dimension. If you don't believe me, I offer as proof the way she withdrew her support for her brother-in-law when he was charged with tax evasion. After that, he couldn't get elected dog catcher." Which of the following best states the primary issue discussed in the passage?

Determine whether the following passage contains an argument; if it does, identify the main issue. TV's coverage of the Olympics was not very exciting. The anchorman was cool and detached, and, except for basketball, they never zeroed in on a single event long enough for anyone to care. Plus, there was just too much coverage. Anytime you turned on TV, there was the Olympics. It was like air-always there. And what's so exciting about air?

The quality of a discussion often depends on how closely the parties attend to the same issue. For the passage below, determine whether the speakers are clearly disputing the same issue, or whether somebody is missing the point. A: The legislature should pass a bill banning agricultural burning-when they burn those fields the whole area is covered with a layer of smoke. B: Forget about agricultural burning-automobile emissions cause the greatest percentage of air pollution in this area.

The quality of a discussion often depends on how closely the parties attend to the same issue. For the passage below, determine whether the speakers are clearly disputing the same issue, or whether somebody is missing the point. A: Have you seen those advertisements for striptease dancers for private parties? That's exploitative and insulting, if you ask me. B: Oh, take it easy. They have male strippers for women's parties as well as female strippers for men's parties. So it's not as bad as you thought.

Determine whether the following passage contains an argument; if it does, identify the main issue. Because men admire muscle and physical force, they assume that women do too.

"I think there should be a speed limit for the 'spandex' bicycle racers that feel the need to run those of us that don't ride or walk as fast off the road and into the bushes in Bidwell Park. The park is for everyone's pleasure and enjoyment, and more often than not it is spoiled by those few who feel they are superior to the rest of us. Approximately eight out of ten times when my family and I have ridden our bikes through the park at least one of us has just about been plowed over by one of those egotistical speeders."-From a letter to the editor Which of the following best states the primary issue discussed in the passage?

Identify each speaker that gives an argument for his or her position in the following passage. Insurance Exec: Insurance costs so much because accident victims hire you lawyers to take us insurers to court and soak us for all we're worth. There should be limits on the amounts insurance companies may be required to pay out on claims. Attorney: Limits? Doesn't sound like a good idea to me. What if someone's medical expenses exceed those limits? Do we just say, "Sorry, Charlie?"

Identify each speaker that gives an argument for his position in the following passage. Father: The governor should reduce government spending before he starts increasing taxes. Taxes just reduce our incomes, and there is plenty of waste in government. For example, a fire department doesn't need a chief, an assistant chief, and a captain. All it needs is one administrator and however many firefighters. Son: Who takes charge if the administrator is sick or injured?

Identify the main point or issue in the following passage, and decide whether the rest of the passage offers reasons for the main point (such as, whether the passage contains an argument), whether it illustrates (provides examples for) the main point, whether it explains the point, is irrelevant to the point, and so on. "With little experience in homicide cases, the Greenwich Police Department made a number of critical mistakes. One was not insisting on a speedy autopsy: because the forensic examination of Martha's body was delayed for nearly a day, the time of death is unusually imprecise. Another was the failure to get a search warrant for the Skakel home." -Newsweek

Determine whether the following passage contains an argument; if it does, identify the main issue. That American schools have finally been integrated is a myth. The vast majority of African American students attend schools whose student bodies are almost entirely African American. And most whites attend schools where only a tiny minority are African American, Latino, or Asian.

Identify the main issue in the following passage. If two or more issues are present, indicate how they are related-that is, does the settlement of one depend upon the settlement of the other? We sometimes make the mistake of thinking that whatever qualifies someone as an expert in one field automatically qualifies that person in other areas. . . . Even if the intelligence and skill required to become an expert in one field could enable someone to become an expert in any field-which is doubtful-having the ability to become an expert is entirely different from actually being an expert. Claims put forth by experts about subjects outside their fields are not automatically more acceptable than claims put forth by nonexperts. -From Chapter 4 of the text

Identify for which claims, if any, support has been given in the following passage; and state in your own words the reasons that have been offered for these claims. "The evening's 'official' party, thrown by the Samuel Goldwyn Co. to celebrate the premiere of its film Golden Gate, was noisy and crowded and located in one of the area's poshest ski lodges. But as usual, the serious action didn't begin until later, at the unofficial afterparties. The hot ticket that night at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah (pop. 4,468), was a bash thrown in a rented condo by the William Morris talent agency and 20th Century Fox. Actually, invitations were hardly needed; anybody who could find a parking spot on the clogged, snow-packed streets and squeeze through the crowd spilling out of the jammed condo could venture into the belly of the Hollywood beast." -Richard Zoglin

Identify the main point or issue in the following passage, and decide whether the rest of the passage offers reasons for the main point (such as, whether the passage contains an argument), whether it illustrates (provides examples for) the main point, whether it explains the point, is irrelevant to the point, and so on. "No person can possess an employment either in England or Ireland unless he be ranked among the faithful, that is, professes himself a member of the Church of England. This reason, which carries mathematical evidence with it, has converted such numbers of Dissenters of all persuasions, that not a twentieth part of the nation is out of the pale of the Established Church. The English clergy have retained a great number of the Romish ceremonies, and especially that of receiving, with a most scrupulous attention, their tithes. They also have the pious ambition to aim at superiority." -Voltaire, On the Church of England

Determine whether the following passage contains an argument; if it does, identify the main issue. Obviously the commission should prepare regulations that are consistent with the law. We admit that isn't always easy. But there's no reason for the commission to substitute its judgment for that of the people.