Statement and Argument

About Statement and Argument

A statement and argument question puts a proposal and four arguments for or against it, and asks which is strong. The answer is the argument that is relevant to the question and gives a reason that can be weighed; the weak ones are personal, or assert a preference, or say something that would be equally true of any proposal of the same kind. One answer is recorded for each question and the explanation says why the others are weak.

What you need to understand

• A strong argument does two things: it bears on the question that was asked, and it gives a reason rather than an assertion. Both halves are needed.
• Weak arguments of four kinds recur. One is personal - what the speaker owns, wants, remembers or fears. One asserts a value or a preference, such as that cars are a nuisance or that reading is important. One is a general truth that would hold of any proposal of this kind, such as that roads cost money. One is beside the question, such as an objection that the proposal itself answers.
• An argument that merely restates the proposal is not an argument at all: it gives no ground for accepting it.
• A weak argument can be perfectly true. Sugar is bad for people and roads do cost money; neither decides anything about the proposal on the page.
• Test a general truth by asking whether it would be as true of a different proposal in the same field. If it would, it does not bear on this one.
• An argument about the speaker's own circumstances is weak however vivid it is. That a cousin would benefit from a scheme, or that a driver likes driving, is not a reason about the country.
• The strong argument usually engages the other side. Where the question is whether a charge should be introduced, the strong argument says what the charge would do about the problem the situation contains.
• An argument that names a condition - it works where the work can be done at home, it works if the town is compact - is often the strong one, because it is precise enough to be weighed.
• Length is not strength. An argument is strong or weak by what it says, and a long vague sentence is still vague.
• Evidence strengthens an argument when it is about the case in hand. A saving measured in three comparable towns is evidence; a saving that somebody expects is not.
• A threat, an appeal to fear or a claim that something is inevitable is not a reason, because it cannot be weighed against the other side.
• The question asks which argument is strong, not which side is right. A strong argument against the proposal is as good an answer as a strong argument for it.
• Some questions ask which argument is weak. The same habits answer both, and the personal and the vague options are the ones to look at first.

How to work through these questions

1. Read the proposal and decide what a relevant reason would look like, before reading the options.
2. Strike out the personal options first. They are usually the easiest to identify and they remove a third of the list quickly.
3. Then strike out the general truths. Ask of each whether it would be equally true of any similar proposal.
4. Look for the option that names what the proposal would do about the particular problem, or the condition under which it would work.
5. Remember that a strong argument may be for or against. Do not assume the answer is the side you prefer.
6. Where two options remain, prefer the one that could be weighed - that gives a quantity, a condition or a comparison with a comparable case.

Mistakes that cost marks

Worked example

Practice questions with answers

A few Statement and Argument questions with the full solution shown, so you can see how the method is applied before you attempt the timed set.

Frequently asked questions