Evaluating evidence

English · C1

The rule

Distinguish correlation from cause. Identify the writer’s evidence and the limits they admit. Look for alternative explanations rather than assuming one event caused another.

Example

Results improved after the change, but other factors may have contributed.

Practice

1. Did the change definitely cause all the improvement?

  1. Yes
  2. No, other factors are possible
  3. The text says no improvement
  4. Yes, because it came first
Answer and explanation

No, other factors are possible

The text explicitly allows alternative factors.

2. Which conclusion fits?

  1. The change may have contributed.
  2. The change proves everything.
  3. Other factors are impossible.
  4. The results are necessarily false.
Answer and explanation

The change may have contributed.

May reflects the uncertainty.

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