DISCUSSION: Passage B talks abstractly about fingerprint analysis. Passage A only talks about fingerprint analysis in order to prove a conclusion in a specific case. The judge’s argument is focussed on one defendant’s claims.
You may have found C tempting. Passage B may seem tentative because they claim we don’t know if fingerprint analysis works.
But, they are 100% certain that we don’t know. They’re making a strong claim. Tentative would mean admitting they’re not sure if their argument is correct.
Tentative: I’m 75% certain that we are correct.
Certain: I’m 100% certain that we don’t know what we’re doing.
___________
- Passage B is somewhat pessimistic about fingerprint analysis, since we have no idea whether it works.
- CORRECT. Passage B talks about fingerprint analysis in general. Passage A focussed on one defendant’s case, even if the judge used evidence about fingerprint analysis to support their argument.
- Passage B is very clear in its claim: we don’t know whether fingerprint analysis works. If the author had been tentative in their claim, they would have said they weren’t confident about their evidence.
- Passage B doesn’t show respect or disrespect to opposing claims. The author just makes an argument without reference to opponents.
And passage A isn’t disrespectful to opposing claims. The judge is fair to the defendant even though they disagree with him. - Passage B cites research. Their assumptions are substantiated.
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