What you'll learn
Every day, someone is trying to convince you of something: a flyer, a news column, a memo from your boss. This lesson teaches you to judge an argument like a fair referee. You will learn to:
- find the author's claim (the main point being argued),
- separate the reasons and evidence from the claim,
- decide whether evidence is relevant (on topic) and sufficient (enough to prove the point),
- uncover assumptions, both stated and unstated,
- recognize common types of faulty reasoning (fallacies), and
- tell a fact from an opinion.
How it shows up on the GED: Arguments (op-eds, letters, speeches, workplace proposals) are among the most common RLA passages. Typical questions:
- "Which evidence best supports the claim that…?"
- "The argument depends on which unstated assumption?"
- "Why is the reasoning in paragraph 4 flawed?"
This skill also powers the Extended Response essay, where you decide which of two arguments is better supported.
Key terms
- claim — the position the author wants you to accept ("The city should add a bus line.").
- reason — why the claim is true ("because it would cut commutes").
- evidence — specific support: statistics, research, examples, records ("Commutes average 52 minutes").
- relevant — actually about the claim (ridership data for a bus argument).
- sufficient — enough, and good enough, to prove the claim (2,000 riders surveyed, not 2 friends).
- credible source — knowledgeable, with no strong reason to mislead (a safety agency, not the seller).
- bias — an interest that may tilt the information (a study paid for by the seller).
- anecdote — a short personal story ("My cousin loved it.").
- stated / unstated assumption — a belief the author says outright / one the argument needs but never says (a gym ad assumes you want to lose weight).
- counterclaim / rebuttal — the other side's view / the author's answer to it.
- fact — can be checked and proven true or false ("The bridge opened in 1998.").
- opinion — a judgment people could reasonably disagree with ("The bridge is ugly.").
- fallacy — an error in reasoning (attacking the speaker instead of the idea).
1. The parts of an argument: claim, reasons, evidence
Think of an argument as a table: the claim is the top, the reasons are the legs, and the evidence is what each leg stands on.
| Part | Question it answers | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Claim | What does the author want me to believe or do? | The town should add a crosswalk on Oak Street. |
| Reason | Why? | The intersection is dangerous for children. |
| Evidence | How do we know? | Police recorded 9 accidents there last year, 4 involving pedestrians. |
| Counterclaim | What might the other side say? | Some say a crosswalk will slow traffic. |
| Rebuttal | How does the author answer? | A traffic study found delays of under 20 seconds. |
Where to find the claim: usually the first or last paragraph. Signals: should, must, I urge, I propose, I recommend.
Claim vs. topic: The topic is the subject (crosswalks). The claim takes a position (the town should add one). An answer that only names the topic is too general.
2. Judging evidence: relevant, sufficient, credible
Ask three questions about every piece of support.
1. Relevant? An argument that a park will reduce crime is not helped by evidence that it will have pretty flowers. That is true but irrelevant.
2. Sufficient? One story about one person rarely proves something works for everyone. Ask how many, how long, how similar.
3. Credible? A diet-pill study paid for by the seller deserves more doubt than an independent one. Volunteers may differ from typical people, because people who sign up are often already motivated.
| Type of evidence | Strength | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Statistics from a named, neutral source | Usually strong | Cherry-picked months, missing comparisons |
| Research study | Strong if large and independent | Small samples, seller-funded studies, volunteers only |
| Example from a similar situation | Moderate | Situations that differ in important ways |
| Personal anecdote | Weak alone | Generalizing from one case |
| Popular opinion ("everyone says") | Very weak | Popularity does not prove truth |
Remember: Relevant is not the same as sufficient.
3. Assumptions: what the author takes for granted
An assumption is a belief the author treats as true without proving it.
- A stated assumption appears in the text: "Since everyone agrees that safety comes first, we must…"
- An unstated assumption is hidden in the gap between the evidence and the claim.
How to find an unstated assumption: the bridge test. Write the evidence on one side and the claim on the other, then ask, What must be true to get from here to there?
Evidence: Our new manager has a business degree. Claim: So our sales will improve. Bridge (unstated assumption): Having a business degree makes someone better at increasing sales.
Check it with the negation test. Make the assumption false: A business degree does not make someone better at increasing sales. If the argument collapses, you have found a necessary assumption.
GED traps: a choice that is stated in the passage (then it is not unstated), and a choice that is too strong (the argument may need only "some," not "all").
4. Facts vs. opinions
A fact can be checked with records, measurements, or documents. An opinion expresses a judgment that reasonable people could disagree with.
| Fact | Opinion |
|---|---|
| The program cost $40,000 last year. | The program was a waste of money. |
| Ridership rose from 8,300 to 9,900. | The bus program is a runaway success. |
| The store opens at 7 a.m. | The store opens too early. |
Signal words for opinions: best, worst, should, must, beautiful, terrible, unfair, mistake, little, too much, I believe, clearly, obviously.
Tricky cases:
- A sentence can mix both. In "The $40,000 program, a total waste, ended in May," the cost and the end date are facts, and "a total waste" is opinion.
- Confident wording does not make something a fact. "Obviously, this is the best plan" is still an opinion.
5. Faulty reasoning (fallacies) to recognize
The GED usually describes a fallacy in plain words, so learn what each one does.
| Fallacy | What it does | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Ad hominem (personal attack) | Attacks the person instead of the argument | "Don't trust her budget plan; she's never even owned a home." |
| Bandwagon | Says something is right because many people believe it | "Everyone in town is switching to this phone plan." |
| Hasty generalization | Draws a big conclusion from too few examples | "My two neighbors got sick after eating there, so the restaurant is unsafe." |
| False dilemma (either/or) | Offers only two choices when more exist | "Either we close the pool or we raise taxes." |
| Slippery slope | Claims one step will lead to an extreme chain of events, without evidence | "If we allow food trucks, soon there will be no restaurants left." |
| False cause | Assumes that because B followed A, A caused B | "Crime fell after the new mayor took office, so her policies worked." |
| Appeal to tradition | Says something is right because it has always been done | "We've always printed paper paychecks, so we should keep doing it." |
| Emotional appeal without evidence | Relies on feelings instead of facts | "A city that closes its library has stopped caring about families." |
Emotion is a problem only when it replaces evidence.
Worked example 1: Finding the claim
(1) Each week, Fairview households throw away about 40 tons of food scraps. (2) Those scraps fill our landfill and cost the town $3,000 a week in hauling fees. (3) A curbside composting program would turn that waste into garden soil residents could use for free. (4) The town council should start a composting pilot this spring.
Question: Which sentence states the author's main claim? A. Sentence 1 B. Sentence 2 C. Sentence 3 D. Sentence 4
Think-aloud:
- What does the author want readers to do or believe? Start a composting program.
- Sentence 4 says that directly, with the signal word should.
- Sentences 1 and 2 are evidence; sentence 3 is a reason. Eliminate A, B, and C.
Answer: D. The other sentences answer "Why?"
Worked example 2: Relevant and sufficient evidence
FitNow Gym: Get Results Fast! Our members love us. Last month, member Jake R. lost 15 pounds in four weeks! FitNow has the newest treadmills in the county, and our parking lot is free. Join today and you'll lose weight too.
Question: Which statement best evaluates the evidence for the claim "you'll lose weight too"? A. It is strong, because it gives a specific number of pounds. B. It is weak, because one member's results do not show what will happen to most members. C. It is irrelevant, because weight loss has nothing to do with gyms. D. It is strong, because the gym has the newest treadmills.
Think-aloud:
- Restate the claim: If you join, you will lose weight.
- Jake's story is relevant but not sufficient: one hand-picked person.
- Treadmills prove nothing about weight loss (D). A precise number (A) does not fix a sample of one. C is far too broad.
Answer: B.
Worked example 3: Unstated assumption
Students at Pine Hill Middle School should wear uniforms. When students all dress the same, they will focus on their schoolwork instead of their clothes, and grades will go up.
Question: The argument depends on which unstated assumption? A. Students at Pine Hill currently wear clothes. B. Students' attention to clothing is a major reason their grades are not higher. C. All parents can afford new uniforms. D. Uniforms should be blue.
Think-aloud:
- Evidence/reason: uniforms mean students stop focusing on clothes. Claim: grades will go up.
- Bridge: for grades to rise because students stop thinking about clothes, thinking about clothes must be a real cause of lower grades. That is B.
- Negation test: "Attention to clothes is not a significant reason grades are low." Then uniforms would not raise grades, and the argument collapses. Confirmed.
- A is trivial, C is an objection rather than an assumption, and D is beside the point.
Answer: B.
Worked example 4: Faulty cause and effect
(1) Last year, our county installed 25 new streetlights along Route 4. (2) This year, nighttime car accidents on Route 4 dropped by 30 percent. (3) Clearly, the streetlights have made the road safer, and we should install them on every county road.
Question: Which new information, if true, would most weaken the author's reasoning? A. The streetlights use energy-saving LED bulbs. B. Route 4 is the busiest road in the county. C. This year, a new highway opened that cut nighttime traffic on Route 4 by half. D. Several residents say the new lights look attractive.
Think-aloud:
- The reasoning: lights went up, then accidents fell, so the lights caused the drop.
- To weaken cause and effect, look for another cause at the same time. C gives one: half the traffic disappeared.
- A and D are irrelevant to safety; B does not explain the drop.
Answer: C. After a change does not mean because of it.
Common traps and how to avoid them
- Choosing evidence as the claim. Wrong: "The claim is that Sunday visits average 410." Right: That number is proof; the claim is the position it supports.
- Confusing relevant with sufficient. Wrong: "The story is about the topic, so it proves the point." Right: Evidence must be on topic and enough. One example rarely proves a broad claim.
- Trusting numbers automatically. Wrong: "It has a percentage, so it's reliable." Right: Check who gathered the numbers and how many people were studied.
- Picking a stated idea as the unstated assumption. Wrong: choosing a sentence you can find in the text. Right: The unstated assumption is the hidden bridge, and you will not find it written in the passage.
- Calling confident statements facts. Wrong: "Clearly, this is the best option" sounds certain, so it is a fact. Right: Best is a judgment, so it is an opinion.
GED test-day strategy
- Read the question first so you know whether you are hunting for a claim, evidence, an assumption, or a flaw.
- Mark the claim and mentally tag each paragraph: reason, statistic, anecdote, counterclaim, rebuttal.
- Use the three-question test on evidence: relevant? sufficient? credible?
- For assumption questions, state the evidence and the claim, find the gap, and use the negation test. Eliminate choices that are stated in the text or too extreme.
- For strengthen/weaken questions, restate the exact claim first. The right answer speaks directly to that claim. "True but irrelevant" choices are the most common trap.
- Watch absolute words (all, always, never, proves); they are often too strong.
- Manage time. A careful 3-minute first read saves time on every question.
Check yourself
Sunday Hours Are Worth Every Penny
An opinion column by Denise Harlow, a fictional member of the Riverton Library Board
(1) Next month, the Riverton City Council will vote on a budget that cuts the public library's Sunday hours. That would be a mistake. Sunday is the only day many working families can visit the library together, and closing the doors that day would shut out the very people the library is meant to serve.
(2) Consider who actually uses the library on Sundays. Last year, the library counted an average of 410 visitors each Sunday, compared with 265 on a typical weekday. Sunday visitors checked out more children's books than visitors on any other day of the week. Staff also reported that Sunday is the busiest day for the public computers, which people use to apply for jobs, renew licenses, and complete online classes.
(3) Supporters of the cut say it will save money. It will, but not much. According to the city's own budget office, keeping the library open for five hours each Sunday costs about $38,000 a year. That is less than one-half of one percent of the city's total budget. For that price, the city serves more than 21,000 Sunday visits a year, which works out to less than two dollars per visit.
(4) Some council members argue that people can simply come on Saturday instead. But many Riverton residents work Saturday shifts at the distribution center and the hospital. Taking away Sunday would leave them with no weekend option at all.
(5) I know how much the library matters because I have seen it myself. My neighbor's son, who struggled with reading, now begs to go to the library every Sunday afternoon. Stories like his are happening all over town.
(6) A library is the heart of a community, and a city that closes its library on Sundays is a city that has stopped caring about its families. The council should keep Sunday hours and protect a service that costs little and gives back so much.
Which statement best expresses the author's main claim in "Sunday Hours Are Worth Every Penny"?
Hint
The claim is what the author wants readers to believe or do. Look at the first and last paragraphs.
Step-by-step solution
Where the answer comes from: The author states her position twice. In paragraph 1 she writes about the planned cut: "That would be a mistake." In paragraph 6 she repeats it as a call to action: "The council should keep Sunday hours and protect a service that costs little and gives back so much."
Step by step:
- Ask: What does the author want the reader to believe or do? She wants the council to keep the library open on Sundays.
- Every other paragraph supports that position. Paragraph 2 gives visitor numbers, paragraph 3 gives the cost, paragraph 4 answers an objection, and paragraph 5 tells a story.
- Check each choice: B, C, and D are all true details from the passage, but each is a piece of support (evidence or a reason), not the position itself.
Correct answer: A. The city council should not cut the library's Sunday hours.
Tip: The claim is the "so what?" of the whole argument. Statistics and examples are almost never the main claim; they are the proof for it.
Check yourself
Sunday Hours Are Worth Every Penny
An opinion column by Denise Harlow, a fictional member of the Riverton Library Board
(1) Next month, the Riverton City Council will vote on a budget that cuts the public library's Sunday hours. That would be a mistake. Sunday is the only day many working families can visit the library together, and closing the doors that day would shut out the very people the library is meant to serve.
(2) Consider who actually uses the library on Sundays. Last year, the library counted an average of 410 visitors each Sunday, compared with 265 on a typical weekday. Sunday visitors checked out more children's books than visitors on any other day of the week. Staff also reported that Sunday is the busiest day for the public computers, which people use to apply for jobs, renew licenses, and complete online classes.
(3) Supporters of the cut say it will save money. It will, but not much. According to the city's own budget office, keeping the library open for five hours each Sunday costs about $38,000 a year. That is less than one-half of one percent of the city's total budget. For that price, the city serves more than 21,000 Sunday visits a year, which works out to less than two dollars per visit.
(4) Some council members argue that people can simply come on Saturday instead. But many Riverton residents work Saturday shifts at the distribution center and the hospital. Taking away Sunday would leave them with no weekend option at all.
(5) I know how much the library matters because I have seen it myself. My neighbor's son, who struggled with reading, now begs to go to the library every Sunday afternoon. Stories like his are happening all over town.
(6) A library is the heart of a community, and a city that closes its library on Sundays is a city that has stopped caring about its families. The council should keep Sunday hours and protect a service that costs little and gives back so much.
Drag each sentence from the column to the role it plays in the argument. One sentence will not be used.
| Main claim | Statistical evidence | Opposing view | Personal anecdote |
|---|---|---|---|
Tap a tile, then tap a box to place it.
Hint
An opposing view is something the author's critics say. An anecdote is a short personal story. Statistical evidence uses numbers.
Step-by-step solution
Where the answer comes from:
- Main claim (paragraph 6): "The council should keep Sunday hours and protect a service that costs little and gives back so much." This is what the whole column argues for.
- Statistical evidence (paragraph 2): "Last year, the library counted an average of 410 visitors each Sunday, compared with 265 on a typical weekday." It uses counted numbers.
- Opposing view (paragraph 4): "Some council members argue that people can simply come on Saturday instead." The phrase Some council members argue signals that the author is describing the other side before she answers it.
- Personal anecdote (paragraph 5): "My neighbor's son, who struggled with reading, now begs to go to the library every Sunday afternoon." This is a story about one person the author knows.
The unused sentence, "Sunday is the busiest day for the public computers," is a reason supported by staff reports. It has no numbers, it is not the claim, and it is not a story or an opposing view.
Tip: Signal phrases reveal roles. Some argue / critics say points to an opposing view. I have seen / my neighbor points to an anecdote. Numbers and sources point to evidence. should often marks the claim.
Summary
- The claim is the author's position; reasons explain why, and evidence proves the reasons.
- Good evidence is relevant (on topic), sufficient (enough), and credible (from a reliable, unbiased source).
- An unstated assumption is the hidden bridge between evidence and claim. Find it with the bridge test and confirm it with the negation test.
- Facts can be checked; opinions are judgments. Watch for opinion words like best, should, mistake.
- Know the common fallacies: personal attack, bandwagon, hasty generalization, either/or, slippery slope, false cause, and appeal to tradition.
- On the GED, restate the claim before judging any evidence, and beware of choices that are true but irrelevant.