Claim and Supporting Evidence

Consider this claim:

Daylight saving time should be abolished.

Which is the strongest evidence to support the claim?

• Turning the clocks forward in the spring means an extra hour of daylight in the evenings, which might motivate people to do more active outdoor activities after work instead of sitting around inside.

• A study from the National Bureau of Economic Research found that turning the clocks forward in the spring increased energy consumption, contradicting the popular belief that daylight saving time saves energy.

• An economics professor noted that his students often seem less alert in class during the week following daylight saving time because the time change throws off their sleep schedule.

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Consider this claim:

Online colleges prepare students for careers just as well as traditional brick-and-mortar schools do.

Which is the strongest evidence to support the claim?

• "I've hired two people recently who received their college degrees through online programs, and the quality of their performance is as good as, if not better than, that of their peers," reported business owner Tony Taylor.

• Online college programs often provide career preparation services that are equivalent to those provided by traditional college programs, including interview preparation, job fairs, and even internship placement.

• Many students choose to gain some credits through an online college program and then successfully transfer to a brick-and-mortar institution to complete a degree.

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Consider this claim:

Wikis, or websites that allow users to generate and alter content, are not reliable sources for academic research.

Which is the strongest evidence to support the claim?

• Many wikis allow anyone, not just subject-matter experts, to post information on their sites.

• Many wikis were first launched in the twenty-first century, while encyclopedias have been used as reference sources since the eighteenth century.

• Scott Hardin, a political science professor, forbids his students from citing wikis as sources in any of their research papers.

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Consider this claim:

People should be rewarded for winning, not merely participating.

Which is the strongest evidence to support the claim?

• Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker James Harrison took away his children's participation trophies, posting on Instagram that he wouldn't give them back until his sons earned real trophies by winning.

• On giving out participation trophies, parenting blogger Allison Slater Tate writes, "There is something to teaching kids that it is worth keeping a commitment, that we value this. Winning and losing is not a lesson that kids need to search out to find. It's everywhere."

• Chris Hudson, founder of the website Understanding Teenagers, warns, "Ironically, participation medals don't build confidence, but they do create entitlement. Confidence and resilience don't come from false praise or rewarding normal behavior."

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Consider this claim:

Educators should incorporate computer games into their classroom instruction.

Which is the strongest evidence to support the claim?

• A study published in an academic journal found that student engagement increased when a computer game about genetics was used in a high school classroom.

• A ninth-grade student at Middlefield High stated that playing computer games in her math class was the highlight of her day.

• In recent years, a number of tech companies have prioritized the development of computer games that are both appropriate and fun for students in a classroom environment.

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Consider this claim:

College is worth the cost of tuition because graduates experience greater financial success.

Which is the strongest evidence to support the claim?

• College graduates are more likely than those who don't have college degrees to report being in excellent health.

• A prominent financial blogger writes, "My father dropped out of college in his senior year, and he always regretted it. I was determined to not make the same mistake."

• The lifetime earnings of a college graduate are about half a million dollars more than those of someone with only a high school diploma.

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Consider this claim:

Criminalizing cyberbullying is not the most effective solution to the problem.

Which is the strongest evidence to support the claim?

• More than half of young people reported being cyberbullied in 2014.

• A Democrat in the New York Senate introduced a bill that called for prison time in some cyberbullying cases.

• The co-director of the Cyberbullying Research Center stated that the best responses to cyberbullying include in-school detention and family partnership programs.

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Consider this claim:

Daily stress contributes to long-term health problems.

Which is the strongest evidence to support the claim?

• On a community health forum, one of the top contributors wrote, "I'm sure that my high blood pressure is directly linked to my level of stress."

• A study by the American Psychological Association cited that money and work were two of the most common sources of stress in the United States.

• Researchers have shown that stress can be a factor in the development of heart disease, depression, and obesity.

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Consider this claim:

Cheerleading, which requires great physical skill, is a legitimate sport.

Which is the strongest evidence to support the claim?

• Researchers have concluded that cheerleading is now the leading cause of catastrophic injuries for all high school and college females.

• The American Medical Association, the nation's largest physicians' group, officially recognizes cheerleading as a sport.

• A high school senior told the school newspaper: "My brother is a football player, and as a cheerleader, I train just as hard, take just as many risks, and compete just as seriously as he does."

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Consider this claim:

Rather than being promoted as art, graffiti should be condemned and prohibited.

Which is the strongest evidence to support the claim?

• Studies have demonstrated that the majority of people who make graffiti are males between the ages of twelve and twenty-one years old, whereas only about 15 percent of graffiti taggers are young females.

• Graffiti Hurts, a grassroots community education program in the United States, cites fame, rebellion, self-expression, and power as the four motivating factors for graffiti vandalism.

• Calling graffiti "art" encourages its creation, which in turn leads to a costly community expense. For instance, the Kansas City Parks and Recreation Department spent approximately $130,000 in 2012 to remove graffiti.

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