reading quiz and test

  The quiz is available now through Wednesday at 11:59pm.  The exam is scheduled for Friday and will be available for about 24hours (from 12:00am – 11:55pm).  The quiz will consist of 25 multiple choice and true/false questions that cover the major concepts from chapters 1 through 5 in your ARQ text.  You may want to review the presentations to prepare for the quiz.  

On your exam you will be required to analyze an argument using the model from your ARQ text by answering the critical questions we have been studying.  In addition, you will be required to answer some multiple choice questions that will demonstrate your depth of understanding regarding the analysis that you have done. 

The following is a sample analysis of the article that you analyzed in your groups last week. I would like you to compare it with your group post.  It may help you to see some points that you may have overlooked in the article, or perhaps point out some things that you included that may not have been in direct support of the author’s conclusion. 

Issue: Should state run lotteries be banned?

Conclusion:  Yes, the states should not be in the business of urging people to gamble.

Reasons:

1. Buying a ticket is an almost sure-fire way of getting nothing for something.
2. The slogans urge people to buy a product – a jackpot – that they have almost no chance of receiving.
3. Presumably, the only new jobs created by the lottery are the relatively few jobs of the people who dream up the slogans or who are in charge of collecting and processing the receipts.
4. To imply that the lottery is a reasonable option to get out of present poverty is to be    deceptive.
5. Further, the message is essentially unwholesome.  It implies that the way out is luck,   rather than education and hard work.
6. The amount of revenue generated is only about 4 percent of the total revenue of the states.  This amount could be raised by other means, specifically by taxation.
7. The state should not tempt people, rich or poor, with dreams of an easy buck.
8. Education and social services are immensely important to the whole of society, so theyshould not be disproportionately financed by the poor and addicted.
9. We would consider it almost criminal if in an effort to increase its revenues, the state enticed people to smoke – for example, by posting billboards showing attractive people smoking or cartoon characters that appealed to children. (compares gambling and smoking)
10. State legislators who genuinely have the interests of their constituents at heart will not  pass bills that put the state into the lottery business and that cause the state to  engage in an activity that is close to pickpocketing.

 Ambiguities are bold, italicized and underlined in the reasoning.

 Value Conflicts:
Hard work vs.  risk taking
Honesty vs. increased revenue
Tradition vs. novelty
Collective responsibility vs. individual responsibility

 Value Assumptions (the author’s value preferences) are bold, italicized and underlined in the value conflicts.

Descriptive Assumptions:

1. People who buy lottery tickets expect to win.
2. People support the lottery because it creates jobs.
3. Only the poor buy lottery tickets.
4. Gambling is unwholesome.
5. Buying tickets will stop people from working hard and getting educated.
6. Gambling is just as unhealthy as smoking.

In the Week 6 section of your course site you will find all of the materials you should need for this week.  Included in this section is a:

Checklist to help keep you organized;

Link to the quiz #1;

Practice article titled, It’s a Job for Parents, Not the Government;

Presentation of an analysis of the practice article;

Exam 1 –Analysis link;

Exam 1 – Analysis Worksheet;

The worksheet that you will be using for the exam is available now and you may even want to use it as you practice for the exam so that you get used to the format.  You will not be able to access the article or the questions on Exam 1 until Friday.   

You should plan to take the quiz early in the week.  You have already read all of the material that will be covered in the quiz (ARQ Chapters 1 through 5). To take the quiz you should click on the link provided and answer the questions.  You will have 60 minutes to complete the quiz.  When you have finished answering the questions click submit and finish.  Your quiz is due by Wednesday at 11:59pm.  Your score and feedback on the quiz will be available after the due date.

To prepare for the exam, you should use the practice article provided in the Week 6 section.  The article is titled, “It’s a Job for Parents, Not the Government.”  I recommend that you read the article and view the presentation to get an overview of what will be expected of you on the exam.  You will be analyzing the argument presented in the article by answering the critical questions we have been studying.  The Analysis Worksheet will provide a good model for you to follow as you critically read each paragraph.   If you find you are having difficulty with a particular critical question, go back to that chapter in the ARQ text and review the information.  There are also practice exercises at the end of each chapter that can be helpful.  Once you have completed your analysis, you will be required to apply your understanding of the author’s argument to answer a series of multiple choice questions.  Be sure to submit your answers to the exam questions as well as your analysis worksheet.  If you do not submit your worksheet, you will not get credit for the exam.

You will be taking the exam on Friday. You will have 2 hours to complete the exam.  The exam must be completed in one sitting.  You may not start the exam in the morning and then go back to it later in the day.  Be sure that you have ample time to complete the test before you begin