If you select a wrong answer, you can keep guessing till you get the right answer. Then, to move on to the next question, you click the right arrow below. (You can click the left arrow to look back at a previous question.) We encourage you to retake the quizzes periodically to refresh your knowledge.
Choosing Good Candidates
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Question 1 |
Imagine a race for a senate seat. It’s a race between two members of your party. One is the incumbent who has been in for 24 years and is now 62. The other candidate is closer to your age, 40. The challenger has been a state senator and lieutenant governor. As far as the issues, they both have pluses and minuses that cancel each other out. The TV ads of the challenger talk about some bad legislation that the incumbent had supported. When you watch video of them on the Senate floor (national in one case, and state senate in the other) they seem equally intelligent and equally persuasive. The younger candidate does seem to have more energy and enthusiasm.
Which do you choose?
A | The challenger |
B | The incumbent |
Question 2 |
The race is for a city council seat in your district. One candidate is a self-made millionaire who started a company that sells clothing online. Her company employs 2,000 people in the city. She is proud that the clothing is fair-trade and does not involve sweatshops. The main city newspaper endorses her over the other candidate, touting her business success and her generous funding of many community projects over the years. The other candidate is a lawyer who does family and divorce law, and also volunteers as a mediator. He is endorsed by three members of city council.
Who do you choose?
A | The female CEO |
B | The male city counsel member |
Question 3 |
Two candidates for Mayor. One has been on city council for eight years, has a good reputation and is responsible for many sensible and original solutions to the city’s problems. However he and his wife divorced a year ago. At that time, they both said they just grew apart after the children were raised. Since then the gossip columns have often been filled with pictures of him and various women he’s dating. One woman he was dating was arrested for drug possession.
The only other candidate who has a chance is a man who’s as solid as the come, a family man with three college-age children, a church-goer, and someone whose older, was a city judge but then got an MBA on top of his law degree, and was city controller four years, managing the finances of the city.
A | The divorced council member |
B | The family man, ex-judge |
Question 4 |
Two candidates for President. One was born into a super-wealthy family. She has had experience as a state senator, a member of the House, a term as governor, and two terms as a senator in Washington DC. She always claimed that because of her wealth, she didn’t have to do favors for corporations, because her own wealth paid for her campaigns. When you look at her voting record, you do get sense that she is consistently voting for what she thinks is right. Most of it you like. What you don’t like is her personality, bossy and aggressive.
The other candidate has middle-class roots. He’s had roughly the came career path in politics, being of about the same age and having as many high-profile jobs. He has lots of charisma, is campaigning as “a man of the people.” He has a vision for "a greater America for the long term." He talks very intelligently about America’s long-term structural problems. He wants to transform America by leading the way on campaign finance reform, having all elections be federally or state funded, so that “big money won’t control politics.” When you check his voting record, you like it less than the woman's voting record. When you visit FollowtheMoney.Org you see a pattern of doing favors for various lobbies. On the other hand, you like his personality so much more than the woman’s.
Meanwhile it looks like Congress will be split. One party will definitely get the House and the other the Senate. For whom do you vote?
A | The woman candidate whose personality you don't like. |
B | The male candidate whose personality you do like. |
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Choosing Good Information Sources
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Question 1 |
As a new member of PTTN, you've decided to upgrade your chosen news sources. Using ABC-QRS (meaning Accuracy-Bias-Credibility-Quality-Reasonableness-Support), which of these three (imaginary) websites would you choose based on the excerpt?
A | BullNews.com: “According to a recent Gallup poll [a link is provided], only 9% of Americans believe the new healthcare law has helped them so far. That number is expected to increase as new provisions of the law go into effect, but opponents of the law, such as Congresswoman Faye Kwon, contend that, in the long run, more people will be hurt than helped.” |
B | DarkAgesNews.com: “Anyone who knows anything about history knows that the namby-pamby anti-corporation movement is destined to fail.” |
C | TotallyObjectiveNews.com: “As described in my book, Outlaw-in-Chief [a link is provided], this latest push by President Obama to enact immigration reform is designed to subvert Congress’ constitutional authority. I can only conclude that it has something to do with his Kenyan birthright.” |
Question 2 |
As a new member of PTTN, you've decided to upgrade your chosen news sources. Using ABC-QRS (meaning Accuracy-Bias-Credibility-Quality-Reasonableness-Support), which of these three websites would you choose based on the excerpt?
A | BullNews.com: “It is a fact that Neil Armstrong admitted that the moon landings were filmed in a soundstage in New Mexico, as reported by The Onion.” |
B | DarkAgesNews.com: “According to Alex Jones’ InfoWars [a link is provided], ‘the precedent set by Obama could eventually lead to an armed revolt against the federal government.’ I, for one, intend to have an assault rifle when this happens.” |
C | TotallyObjectiveNews.com: “CNN reports today that President Obama’s uncle is now legally allowed to live in the United States following a long legal battle over his immigration status that began with a drunk driving arrest.” |
Question 3 |
As a new member of PTTN, you've decided to upgrade your chosen news sources. Using ABC-QRS (meaning Accuracy-Bias-Credibility-Quality-Reasonableness-Support), which of these three websites would you choose based on the excerpt?
A | BullNews.com: “There is simply no scientific evidence that evolution is real.” |
B | DarkAgesNews.com: “Never before in America’s 400-year history has the nation been so divided.” |
C | TotallyObjectiveNews.com: “On December 6, 2012, the Senate Minority Leader became the first senator to filibuster his own proposal.” |
Question 4 |
As a new member of PTTN you've decided to upgrade your chosen news sources. Using ABC-QRS (meaning Accuracy-Bias-Credibility-Quality-Reasonableness-Support), which of these three websites would you choose based on the excerpt?
A | BullNews.com: “We should not listen to anyone who persists in defending pharmaceutical companies, because they have not listened to us. Vaccines are bad business, and no one can prove otherwise.” |
B | DarkAgesNews.com: “Opponents of the Second Amendment make a good case for it being outdated, that it was written for a country that had no federal standing army and was at risk from foreign invaders. Still, defenders of the Second Amendment are probably not wrong when they argue that its original intent is less important than its current applicability.” |
C | TotallyObjectiveNews.com: “While his facts are not in dispute, his conclusions should be called into question because his nephew is a convicted rapist. We can sympathize with his supporters for believing that the contraception mandate may be bad economics, but it’s clearly part of an all-out offensive against women that should have no place in civil political discourse.” |
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FITA-Key
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Question 1 |
What does FITA mean?
A | It means FEEL which issue are important , then INFORM others, then THINK about a strategy, then ACT. |
B | It means that when you have strong FEELINGS about an issue, that you INFORM yourself by gathering information, then you THINK about the information, and then you ACT. |
C | It means that if you FEEL that the country's problems are urgent, you should INFORM yourself about all the issues, and then THINK about which are the priorities, and the take ACTION on the priority. |
Question 2 |
In this example, imagine that you are very concerned about the local environment. A friend emails you and writes that there's a certain piece of legislation that will give companies the right to drill for natural gas in your community. Your friend wants you to help organize a march this weekend, in three days.You have no plans for the weekend, and the environment is a priority issue for you and your family. What do you do?
A | Say yes, and begin to contact your network. |
B | Find out about the details of the legislation, if it's true that it will affect your community, you begin to contact your network and mobilize. |
C | Go through all the FITA steps. Feel whether it's most urgent -- Gather information, both pro and con --Think about the information and what would be the best, most loving use of your time. Act on the best strategy for the most important issue. |
Question 3 |
You signed up for reminders from PTTN and you get a reminder to do your two hours of advocacy this month if you haven't already. You've already spent an hour, and so you have about an hour of time. You look in the newspaper, and you also look at action alerts that come in your email. Three issues seem of equal importance to you but you feel you only have time for one. They are getting roughly the same amount of media attention, and they affect about the same number of people since they are all state-wide issues. Which of the following three do you pick?
- A bill that will increase funding to elementary and secondary schools for the next three years, taking a little more from lottery proceeds.
- The governor is deciding between two companies each offer a different voting machines. One provides a paper back-up record, and the other doesn't
- A bill that raises taxes on gasoline to fund highways.
A | The school bill |
B | The voting machine decision |
C | The gasoline bill |
Question 4 |
An advocacy group that is aligned with your favored political party sends you a lot of emails asking you sign petitions. This time it's a week before the mid-term elections.Their email states that the opposition party is close to winning control of the House of Representatives. The President is a member of your favored party. The Senate will definitely be controlled by the opposition party. The advocacy group wants $25 to help with last minute ads in the five House districts races that could potentially be one. Four races would be needed to keep control of the House.
At a website that you find through PTTN's Political Info links page, you look up the poll numbers for the Congressional races that's known to give roughly unbiased odds. In those five races, your party is down by two percentage points in three races, and three points in two races. What do you do?
A | It's probably too late. Save your $25 dollars or use it for some other good cause. |
B | Give your $25 dollars. After all, what's at stake is most legislation for the next two years. |
Question 5 |
Again you have an hour to do some advocacy. Let's say you are very close to retirement and your opportunity to receive Social Security. For the sake of simplicity, only two issues are of interest to you and you must pick one. One would be a bill proposing an extra 1.5% increase in Social Security. The other bill proposes undoing the three strikes and you're out law for minor offenses like marijuana possession. For the sake of this example, you agree with this legislation. Which of the two do you pick to work on?
A | The Social Security legislation |
B | The prison sentence reduction legislation |
Question 6 |
What are the benefits of adopting the FITA-KEY strategy?
A | It keeps you focused on productive action. Productive action helps keep you from being pessimistic about politics and our mutual future. |
B | Your action is more likely to be productive if you took the time to gather relevant information and think about it. |
C | By asking yourself if the issue and action are key or critical, it helps you focus on the political priorities. |
D | All of the above. |
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Thinking about Issues
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You scored %%SCORE%% out of %%TOTAL%%.
Your performance has been rated as %%RATING%%
Question 1 |
A | Julie is short for her age. |
B | Julie is 30 years old. |
C | Julie is only four feet tall. |
Question 2 |
A | A: Its premises are true.
|
B | B: Its conclusion is true. |
C | C: The conclusion must be true if the premises are true.
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D | D: All of the above |
Question 3 |
A | Its premises are true. |
B | Its conclusion is true. |
C | The conclusion must be true if the premises are true. |
D | All of the above. |
Question 4 |
A | A simple deductive argument
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B | A simple inductive argument |
C |
An analogic deductive argument
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D | An analogic inductive argument |
Question 5 |
A | A simple deductive argument
|
B | A simple inductive argument
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C | An analogic deductive argument
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D | An analogic inductive argument |
Question 6 |
A | A simple deductive argument
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B | A simple inductive argument |
C | An analogic deductive argument
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D | An analogic inductive argument |
Question 7 |
A | It relies on a hidden assumption.
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B | It isn’t valid because the conclusion does not necessarily follow the premises. |
C | It isn’t sound because one of the premises is false. |
Question 8 |
A | It relies on a hidden assumption.
|
B | It isn’t valid because the conclusion does not necessarily follow the premises. |
C | It isn’t sound because one of the premises is false.* |
Question 9 |
A | It relies on a hidden assumption.
|
B | It isn’t valid because the conclusion does not necessarily follow the premises. |
C | It isn’t sound because one of the premises is false. |
Question 10 |
A | It relies on a hidden assumption.
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B | It isn’t valid because the conclusion does not necessarily follow the premises.
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C | It isn’t sound because one of the premises is false. |
Question 11 |
A | All Republicans oppose stem cell research. |
B | All Democrats are pro-choice when it comes to abortion. |
C | Mr. Peterson must be either a Republican or a Democrat. |
D | Mr. Peterson’s political affiliation is determined by his beliefs concerning stem cell research and abortion.
Additional comment:
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Question 12 |
A | It’s weak because it relies on inductive reasoning. |
B | It’s weak because not all socialists regard Stalin as a hero. |
C | It’s strong because the central argument uses sound deductive reasoning. |
D | It’s strong because it leaves room for the conclusion to be false.
|
Question 13 |
A | Yes |
B | No, because it relies on a faulty hidden assumption or is otherwise invalid.
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C | No, because at least one of the premises is false. |
Question 14 |
A | Yes. |
B | No, because it relies on a faulty hidden assumption or is otherwise invalid.
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C | No, because at least one of the premises is false. |
Question 15 |
A | Yes. |
B | No, because it relies on a faulty hidden assumption or is otherwise invalid. |
C | No, because at least one of the premises is false. |
Question 16 |
A | Yes. |
B | No, because it relies on a faulty hidden assumption or is otherwise invalid. |
C | No, because at least one of the premises is false. |
Question 17 |
A | Yes |
B | No, because it relies on a faulty hidden assumption or is otherwise invalid.
|
C | No, because at least one of the premises is false. |
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Don't Be Fooled! (Part 1: Recognizing Deceptions / Media Literacy / Statistics.)
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Question 1 |
Which of these is essential for productive thinking about politics?
A | Finding unbiased news sources |
B | Recognizing your tendency to make errors when you think and analyze |
C | Taking a course in logic |
D | Only engaging in people who agree with you |
Question 2 |
What is the Halo Effect?
A | Emphasizing one’s positives in order to detract from one’s negatives |
B | Assuming that people of your political persuasion are more trustworthy than others |
C | The perceived increase in violence caused by video games |
D | Ignoring facts that don’t support a given conclusion |
Question 3 |
Which of these is not an aspect of media literacy?
A | Recognizing that media messages are carefully constructed |
B | Knowing that media messages are intended for multiple audiences |
C | Understanding that some mediums, like TV or radio, are low-quality sources of information |
D | Realizing that sophisticated techniques are used to manipulate your attention |
Question 4 |
Which of these is not an aspect of media literacy?
A | Recognizing that different people will “hear” different things
|
B | Knowing that more than one message can be conveyed at the same time |
C | Understanding that even something as simple as font type can help send a certain message |
D | Identifying which media outlets are part of the “mainstream” |
Question 5 |
What questions should you ask yourself about any media message?
A | How would other kinds of people interpret this message? |
B | Why was this message created? |
C | Is there something important that is not being said? |
D | All of these |
Question 6 |
In statistics, what is the “average” of any set of numbers?
A | The sum of the numbers divided by how many numbers there are |
B | The most commonly occurring number |
C | The number in the middle of the set, when you put them in order from smallest to largest |
D | All of these |
Question 7 |
In statistics, what is a small representative group called?
A | a standard deviation |
B | a unit |
C | a sample |
D | inadequate |
Question 8 |
Which of these is not a potential source of sampling bias?
A | degree of anonymity |
B | location |
C | margin of error |
D | time |
Question 9 |
If poverty and crime steadily go up at about the same rate in a certain community for about ten years, what does that mean?
A | It means that the increase in poverty is probably causing the increase in crime. |
B | It could mean that the crime might be causing the poverty – but we just don't understand how. |
C | It means they are “correlated” -- in other words, there is some real relationship between them, that might be causal (one causing the other), not causal, or partly causal (several things causing crime, for instance) – we don't know. |
D | It means that something else is causing both to go up, for instance maybe the quality of education is steadily going down in that community over the ten years. |
Question 10 |
If a correlation is deemed “statistically significant,” what does that mean?
A | It must be a real correlation |
B | It is a compelling, strong correlation |
C | It is probably a real correlation |
D | Nothing |
Question 11 |
How could the following (fake) statistic be misleading?
In an online poll of fifty thousand college students, it was discovered that, between March 2005 and January 2011, 51% of respondents were not registered to vote, meaning that the majority of college-aged individuals are disinterested in voting.
A | It uses a bad sample |
B | It’s margin of error or statistical significance is unreasonable |
C | It sets an arbitrary standard |
D | All of the above |
Question 12 |
How could the following (fake) statistic be misleading?
The latest Smith-Jones poll, which utilized a randomized telephone survey of twenty-three registered voters and has a margin of error of +/- 5%, found that five out of six potential voters in the next election are likely to vote for their party’s candidate.
A | It uses a bad sample |
B | Its margin of error or statistical significance is unreasonable |
C | It sets an arbitrary standard |
D | All of the above |
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Don't Be Fooled! (Part 2: Logical Fallacies)
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Question 1 |
Which manipulative technique is being employed by Smith in the following example?
Jones: “I believe we should institute tougher Federal guidelines for education across the board.”
Smith: “It’s hardly surprising that Jones would take that position, since his father is a Communist.”
A | Deflection |
B | Appeal to emotion |
C | Mudslinging |
D | The Halo Effect |
Question 2 |
Which deceptive technique is being employed in the following example?
“It’s true that we have yet to see any returns on the foreign policy initiatives I put in place two years ago, but I think it’s important to remember that I spent over a decade working for the American embassy in Turkey, so I have plenty of experience dealing with foreign interests.”
A | Appeal to emotion |
B | Deflection |
C | The Halo Effect |
D | No true Scotsman |
Question 3 |
Which deceptive technique is being employed in the following example?
“If elected, I will do more to lower our fine city’s crime rate than my opponent will.”
A | Promises without specifics
|
B | Cherry-picking |
C | Matching popular opinion |
D | Distorting the record |
Question 4 |
Which deceptive technique is being employed by in the following example?
“My Democratic colleague insists on voting down tax cuts, but even the great Democratic president John F. Kennedy knew that cutting taxes is the best way to grow the economy.”
A | Promises without specifics |
B | Cherry-picking |
C | Matching popular opinion |
D | Distorting the record |
Question 5 |
Which influential technique is being used in the following example?
“My opponent has talked at length about how his new abortion laws would affect women, but what I don’t hear is him spending the same amount of energy talking about how it would affect men.”
A | One-sided argument |
B | False balance |
C | Changing the subject |
D | Obscure lingo |
Question 6 |
Which influential technique is being employed by in the following example?
“This plan is an egregious and downright lavish escalation of the War on Drugs.”
A | Matching popular opinion |
B | Slippery slope |
C | Lofty language |
D | Humor |
Question 7 |
Which influential technique is being employed by Jones in the following example?
Smith: “I propose we put together a Congressional panel to investigate the matter.”
Jones: “Right, because we all know how effective Congressional panels are at getting the truth.”
A | Changing the subject |
B | Matching popular opinion |
C | Lofty language |
D | Humor / sarcasm |
Question 8 |
Which fallacy best describes Smith’s logical mistake in the following example?
Jones: “I believe there is a crisis in this country when sixty percent of the population believes that the Speaker of the House is dishonest.”
Smith: “You wouldn’t be saying that if the Speaker was a member of your own party.”
A | Appeal to motive |
B | Appeal to emotion |
C | Appeal to tradition |
D | Appeal to popularity |
Question 9 |
Which influential technique is being employed by Smith in the following example?
Smith: “If we don’t take the necessary national security steps, it won’t be a question of if we’ll get hit with another terrorist attack, but when.”
Jones: “Isn’t putting a security camera on every city block a little excessive?”
Smith: “I’ll tell you what’s excessive: your plan to gut the defense budget.”
A | One-sided argument |
B | False balance |
C | Changing the subject |
D | Obscure lingo |
Question 10 |
Which fallacy best describes Smith’s logical mistake in the following example?
Smith: “We put my job plan into effect in my state, and it reduced the unemployment rate. That’s why I know my plan can add jobs if enacted nationwide.”
A | Unstated premise |
B | Equivocation |
C | Hasty generalization |
D | Straw man argument |
Question 11 |
Which fallacy best describes Smith’s logical mistake in the following example?
Smith: “The phrase ‘All men are created equal’ was written by a white slave-owner who inherited his wealth, so you’ll forgive me if I don’t believe it.”
A | Hasty generalization |
B | Genetic fallacy |
C | Syllogistic fallacy |
D | Special pleading |
Question 12 |
Which fallacy best describes Smith’s logical mistake in the following example?
Smith: “The phrase ‘All men are created equal’ was written by a white slave-owner who inherited his wealth, so you’ll forgive me if I don’t believe it.”
A | Hasty generalization |
B | Genetic fallacy |
C | Syllogistic fallacy |
D | Special pleading |
Question 13 |
Which fallacy best describes Smith’s logical mistake in the following example?
Jones: “Generally speaking, economic sanctions don’t work.”
Smith: “Tell that to Nelson Mandela and all the other blacks who were suffering under South African apartheid before economic sanctions helped set them free.”
A | Appeal to anecdote |
B | Equivocation |
C | Argument from ignorance |
D | Appeal to authority |
Question 14 |
Which fallacy best describes the logical mistake in the following example?
“If we legalize homosexual marriage, next they’ll want us to legalize bestiality, polygamy, and pedophilia.”
A | False dilemma |
B | Syllogistic fallacy |
C | Causation fallacy |
D | Slippery slope |
Question 15 |
Which fallacy best describes the logical mistake in the following example?
“Republicans can’t complain about government spending since President Bush increased spending by leaps and bounds.”
A | Genetic fallacy |
B | Unstated premise |
C | Shifting the burden |
D | Two wrongs make a right |
Question 16 |
Which fallacy best describes the logical mistake in the following example?
“The price of gas is unacceptable, which is why we should be more open to talks with the North Korean leadership.”
A | Personal attack |
B | Irrelevant conclusion |
C | Straw man argument |
D | Guilt by association |
Question 17 |
Which fallacy best describes the logical mistake in the following example?
“You can’t trust my opponent’s stance on alternative energy, since more coal mining is done in her district than in any other part of the state.”
A | Appeal to motive |
B | Hasty generalization |
C | Circular argument |
D | Personal attack |
Question 18 |
Which fallacy best describes Bob's logical mistake in the following example?
Eric: “Lowering the capital gains tax would do more to stimulate the economy than another stimulus package.”
Bob: “I remind my opponent that the middle class is shrinking and his plan to take money from the poor and give it to the rich can only make things worse.”
A | Nirvana fallacy |
B | Special pleading |
C | Straw man argument |
D | Appeal to tradition |
Question 19 |
Which fallacy best describes the logical mistake in the following example?
“We should reduce gun control, because look at cities like Chicago that have strict gun control laws and lead the country in gun crime.”
A | False dilemma |
B | Nirvana fallacy |
C | Causation fallacy |
D | Appeal to emotion |
Question 20 |
Which fallacy best describes the logical mistake in the following example?
“Clearly we are becoming more communistic, because all communist states have failed in the long run, and this country is on the decline.”
A | Hasty generalization |
B | Circular argument |
C | Two wrongs make a right |
D | Syllogistic fallacy |
Question 21 |
Which fallacy best describes the logical mistake in the following example?
“We can’t even talk about a path to citizenship until we secure the borders.”
A | False dilemma |
B | Appeal to emotion |
C | Irrelevant conclusion |
D | Slippery slope |
Question 22 |
Which fallacy best describes the logical mistake in the following example?
“War is unjustifiable if even one civilian is needlessly killed.”
A | Slippery slope |
B | Appeal to emotion |
C | Nirvana fallacy |
D | Appeal to anecdote |
Question 23 |
Which fallacy best describes Emma's logical mistake in the following example?
Maggie: “I believe the government should help fund stem-cell research.”
Emma: “So you support legalizing murder?”
A | Straw man argument |
B | Slippery slope |
C | Equivocation |
D | Personal attack |
Question 24 |
Which fallacy best describes the logical mistake in the following example?
“I think people only disagree with the president because of the color of his skin.”
A | Argument from ignorance |
B | Unstated premise |
C | Appeal to motive |
D | Circular argument |
Question 25 |
Which fallacy best describes Todd's logical mistake in the following example?
Aiden: “How can you justify filibustering the Supreme Court nominee when you promised during your campaign that you would never resort to filibustering any judicial nominations whatsoever?”
Todd: “I promised I wouldn’t filibuster any judicial nomination that wasn’t so blatantly extremist and unqualified for the highest court in the land.”
A | Personal attack |
B | Hasty generalization |
C | Circular argument |
D | Special pleading |
Question 26 |
Which fallacy best describes the logical mistake in the following example?
"Abortion is murder because it's the unjustified killing of a human being."
A | Circular argument |
B | Causation fallacy |
C | Appeal to motive |
D | Straw man argument |
Question 27 |
Which fallacy best describes Brandon's logical mistake in the following example?
Andrew: “Tougher enforcement and sentencing guidelines are the only way to curb the drug problem in this country.”
Brandon: “You’re a convicted marijuana user, so your opinion is worthless.”
A | Syllogistic fallacy |
B | False dilemma |
C | Shifting the burden |
D | Personal attack (ad hominem) |
Question 28 |
Which fallacy best describes Katie's logical mistake in the following example?
Katie: “Raising the minimum wage will damage the economy.”
Nina: “How do you figure?”
Katie: “Can you show me how it won’t?”
A | Genetic fallacy |
B | Shifting the burden |
C | Straw man argument |
D | Circular argument |
Question 29 |
Which fallacy best describes Ed's logical mistake in the following example?
Ed: “In my wildest dreams I can’t imagine how my proposals could damage the local ecosystem. That's how I know they're safe.”
A | Appeal to popularity |
B | Argument from ignorance |
C | Is - ought fallacy |
D | Genetic fallacy |
Question 30 |
Which fallacy best describes John's logical mistake in the following example?
John: “It could be dangerous for Congress to tinker with a system that has worked fine for three generations just because it’s become unpopular this year.”
A | Appeal to nature |
B | Appeal to emotion |
C | Appeal to tradition |
D | Appeal to popularity |
Question 31 |
Which fallacy best describes Jane's logical mistake in the following example?
Jane: “I hear the Iranians love my opponent’s stance on women’s rights.”
A | Genetic fallacy |
B | Guilt by association |
C | Personal attack |
D | Two wrongs make a right |
Question 32 |
Which fallacy best describes Jane's logical mistake in the following example?
Jane: “I hear the Iranians love my opponent’s stance on women’s rights.”
A | Genetic fallacy |
B | Guilt by association |
C | Personal attack |
D | Two wrongs make a right |
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Advocacy and Strategic Action
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Question 1 |
Which of the following is a definition of advocacy?
A | Letting your officials know what you want them to do, usually asking them to vote a certain way on a bill. |
B | Any effort to influence anyone to take action. |
C | Both are valid definitions of advocacy. |
Question 2 |
What follows is an mock advocacy email. What makes it an ineffective email?
The Honorable Representative Jane Doe
US Senate
Washington, DC 20515
Dear Representative Doe:
As a mother, I'd like you to do everything in your power to expand funding to education. I read that our state is near the bottom of the 50 states in primary and secondary education. I can imagine that you have many priorities, and I know these are hard economic times, but we can't lose sight of the big picture: education is key to the future. I am worried about my daughter's future and we should be concerned about the economic future of this state. In the same article, I read that China, Japan, most of Europe and many other countries spend a greater percentage on education than our country does.
Sincerely,
Beth Q. Voter
A | It does name a specific piece of legislation for the Representative to take action on. |
B | It doesn't include the address of the person writing, so the Congressman doesn't know if Beth Q. Voter lives in her district. |
C | Both of the above. |
D | Nothing is wrong with the email. |
Question 3 |
In part of our write-up on advocacy and strategic action, we list eight questions to ask yourself before you take action. Which of the following is not on the list?
A | Is this the most important issue to work on now? |
B | Have I chosen the best target for my communication? |
C | Have I chosen the best method to influence the target? |
D | Have I checked to make sure the message I want to communicate is clear? |
E | All the above questions are on the list. |
Question 4 |
We also created a list of 12 key principles of advocacy. Which two of the following four do you think are the most important? [Note: you must pick two responses before you can find out if either response is correct.]
A | Define the Stakeholders, the Decision-Makers and the Influencers. |
B | Be clear on the goals before you think about methods. |
C | Find out the relevant history. |
D | Keep your promises. |
Question 5 |
Here are another 4 key principles of advocacy (of the 12). Which two do you think are most important? [Note: you must pick two responses before you can find out if either response is correct.]
A | Try for solutions that yield mutual benefit. |
B | Be systematic. Plan. |
C | Know your place. |
D | Understand what structural change is. |
Question 6 |
Here are the remaining four of our twelve principles of advocacy. Which one do you think is most important?
A | Speak in a way that will be heard. Be assertive without being aggressive. |
B | Understand that almost every action has multiple effects. |
C | Treat people, even enemies, with respect. |
D | When possible, be creative or edgy. |
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