Back to the on-screen lesson ·
When a reason covers only some cases, shrink the claim to fit it instead of throwing the reason away.
Paper packet. Every task here also exists on screen, where it is checked automatically; answers written on paper are not assessed by Nydus. When you are back at a device, enter your answers there.
You will shrink a claim that is bigger than its reason — using all, most, some, always, usually, sometimes, definitely and probably — until it fits, without making it smaller than the reason actually supports.
You know that one case cannot settle a claim about every case. This lesson turns that round: instead of throwing a claim away, make it the right size for its reason.
| Term | What it means |
|---|---|
| This lesson's terms | The scope of a claim is how many cases it is about. Scope words set it: all, most, some; always, usually, sometimes. Certainty words say how sure it is: definitely, probably, might. Most means more than half. A careful claim is the biggest claim its reason supports. |
| Supported conclusion | The conclusion the stated reasons reach, including the limits on its group, time or conditions. |
Theo counts: of the 20 goldfish at the pet shop, 14 were orange. Then he says: all goldfish are orange.
His count is real. His claim is too big: it covers every goldfish anywhere, and he looked at 20, six of which were not orange. He does not need to give up. He needs a claim the size of his reason: most of the goldfish at the pet shop were orange.
Think of scope words as a ladder:
| Scope | Times | Sureness |
|---|---|---|
| all, every, everyone | always | definitely |
| most (more than half) | usually | probably |
| some | sometimes | might |
| this one | once |
Climb down the ladder until the claim fits the reason. Fourteen of twenty is more than half, so most fits; all does not.
Do not climb down too far. If Theo had looked at all 20 and all 20 were orange, all the goldfish at the pet shop are orange would be exactly right. Shrinking it to some would throw away what he found.
Two more things to keep the same size: where (the pet shop, not the world) and when (last Saturday, not every Saturday).
Another way: picture
A claim is a blanket and the reason is the bed. Too big, and it trails on the floor; too small, and your feet stick out. Pick the blanket that fits the bed you actually have.
Another way: steps
A careful revision keeps what the evidence supports and removes what it does not. If you tested four pens and one failed, 'All four pens work' must change. 'None of the pens work' is an overreaction. 'Three of the four tested pens work' fits the result. You have changed the size of the claim, not abandoned the whole investigation.
Pay attention to the group described. A count from your table does not automatically describe the whole class. A count from one day does not establish always. Add phrases such as 'in this group', 'on the tested day' or 'among the examples checked' when they mark the actual boundary. These phrases make a claim clearer; they are not excuses for avoiding an answer.
Words about certainty also need care. A wet path may suggest rain, but a sprinkler could explain it. 'It may have rained' preserves a possibility that 'It definitely rained' overstates. Do not weaken every claim automatically. If you have counted every chair in the room and there are twelve, you can say there are twelve chairs in the room at that time. The task is matching the wording to the evidence.
Keep a record of the old claim, the new evidence and the revised claim. This lets another reader see why the change happened. Changing a claim because of evidence is a strength of reasoning. Changing it merely to avoid every possible test is different: a claim so vague that nothing could count against it may no longer answer the original question.
Reason: The number 4 bus was late on 3 of the 10 days we checked. Which claim does this reason actually support?
The supported answer is: The number 4 bus is sometimes late.
The distinction in this case is that 3 days out of 10 is some of the time, not all of it.
Reason: There was frost on the car on the last five mornings. Which claim does this reason actually support?
The supported answer is: There will probably be frost again tomorrow morning.
The distinction in this case is that five frosty mornings in a row make another likely, not certain, and say nothing about the whole year.
Reason: Three of the apples in the top layer of the box are bruised. Which claim does this reason actually support?
The supported answer is: Some of the apples in the box are bruised.
The distinction in this case is that three bruised apples show that some are, and the rest of the box has not been looked at.
Reason: We asked the 12 people in our reading group, and 11 had read the new book. Which claim does this reason actually support?
The supported answer is: Nearly everyone in our reading group has read the new book.
The distinction in this case is that 11 of 12 is nearly all of the group we asked, and we asked nobody outside it.
Reason: Of the 20 sunflower seeds we planted, 16 came up. Which claim does this reason actually support?
The supported answer is: Most of the seeds we planted came up.
The distinction in this case is that 16 of 20 is more than half of the seeds we planted, so most fits, and nothing was said about other seeds.
Put these four claims in order from the biggest (covers the most) to the smallest.
Every dog in town likes swimming. / Most dogs in town like swimming. / Some dogs in town like swimming. / Rex likes swimming.
Every dog in town covers all of them: it is the biggest. Most dogs in town covers more than half; some dogs in town covers at least a few. Rex likes swimming covers one dog, so it is the smallest.
The chess club has 30 members. Match each thing that was found out to the biggest claim it supports.
We asked all 30, and all 30 said yes. / We asked all 30, and 22 said yes. / We asked all 30, and 6 said yes. / We asked 3 members, and all 3 said yes. / Everyone in the club wants a tournament. / Most of the club wants a tournament. / Some of the club want a tournament. / At least three members want a tournament.
All 30 asked and all 30 saying yes supports everyone in the club: that is not too big. 22 of 30 is more than half: most. 6 of 30 is a few: some. Asking only 3 people, even if all 3 said yes, supports a claim about at least those three and no more.
Reason: at last Saturday's story hour, 25 children came, and most of them said they enjoyed it. Claim: Everyone / at this library / always / enjoys / the story hour. Mark the parts of the claim that go further than the reason.
Everyone / at this library / always / enjoys / the story hour.
The reason is about most of 25 children, not about everyone at the library: everyone stretches it. The reason is about one Saturday, not every week: always stretches it. At this library, enjoys and the story hour match the reason. A careful claim would be: most children at last Saturday's story hour enjoyed it.
A newspaper asked the 12 households on Elm Road, and 9 said they want a bus stop at the end of the road. Which headline does the survey support?
The supported answer is: Most households on Elm Road want a bus stop.
The survey covers one road, twelve households. 9 of 12 is more than half, so most households on Elm Road fits. The whole town, and every household, both go past the twelve that were asked.
Suppose a notebook first says that every seed in a tray has sprouted. A closer count finds seventeen sprouts from twenty planted seeds. Cross out the original sentence with one line so it can still be read, then write the result and the date underneath. Seventeen of twenty have sprouted by that date. Three have not yet sprouted. The word yet matters if the observation concerns a process that may continue. It would be a different claim to say the three seeds can never sprout.
Do not quietly change the total to seventeen and announce that all seventeen sprouted. That would hide the original group. Keep the planted group and the observed result separate. The revised claim should help somebody reconstruct the check, not merely protect the word all. A later count may justify another revision, and recording the dates lets the two results make sense together.
A class asks twenty students which of two fruits they would choose for the next snack. Fourteen choose apples and six choose pears. The first headline says, 'Everyone in the school wants apples.' That headline stretches both the number and the group. Six of the twenty respondents did not choose apples, and students outside this survey have not been counted.
Begin with a claim you can check directly: 'Fourteen of the twenty students surveyed chose apples.' Fourteen is more than half of twenty, so 'Most of the surveyed students chose apples' also fits. The exact count gives the reader more detail. Neither sentence says what every student in the school wants.
Now imagine that the next day the class asks a different twenty students and only eight choose apples. Do not hide that result to protect the first headline. The two groups gave different answers. A combined statement would need both counts and clear information about whether any student answered twice. The first survey remains a record of its own group; it has not become a record of everybody.
When choosing the snack, the class may still need to consider allergies, cost and whether both fruits can be offered. Those are decision reasons beyond the popularity count. A careful headline does one job well: it tells readers what the survey found. It leaves the separate decision open to the other relevant facts instead of pretending that a small survey settled every part of the choice.
Throwing the claim away. A reason that covers some cases still supports something. Shrink the claim; keep the reason.
Thinking smaller is always safer. A claim smaller than its reason wastes what was found.
Forgetting where and when. A count at one shop last Saturday is not a count of every shop, every week.
Reason: the lift was broken on 2 of the 5 days I used it. Claim: the lift is always broken.
Reason: the lift was broken on 2 of the 5 days I used it. Claim: the lift is always broken.
How many days does the reason cover?
State the result of this reading move.
How many days does the reason cover?
This records the link just identified: Reason: the lift was broken on 2 of the 5 days I used it. Claim: the lift is always broken.
Two days out of five. That is some days, not every day, and fewer than half.
Two days out of five. That is some days, not every day, and fewer than half.
Always goes too far; usually does too.
State the result of this reading move.
Always goes too far; usually does too.
This records the link just identified: Two days out of five. That is some days, not every day, and fewer than half.
Careful claim: the lift is sometimes broken — two out of five days last week.
Careful claim: the lift is sometimes broken — two out of five days last week.
The claim now fits its reason.
Reason: the ferry has been canceled every stormy day this month. Claim: tomorrow's ferry will definitely be canceled — and a storm is forecast.
Reason: the ferry has been canceled every stormy day this month. Claim: tomorrow's ferry will definitely be canceled — and a storm is forecast.
Is the reason sure or only likely?
State the result of this reading move.
Is the reason sure or only likely?
This records the link just identified: Reason: the ferry has been canceled every stormy day this month. Claim: tomorrow's ferry will definitely be canceled — and a storm is forecast.
A pattern this month makes a cancellation likely; the storm might blow over.
A pattern this month makes a cancellation likely; the storm might blow over.
Definitely goes too far.
State the result of this reading move.
Definitely goes too far.
This records the link just identified: A pattern this month makes a cancellation likely; the storm might blow over.
Careful claim: tomorrow's ferry will probably be canceled.
Careful claim: tomorrow's ferry will probably be canceled.
Same subject, right sureness.
Identify the task before answering its parts.
Working torches: {{b0}}
Tested torches: {{b1}}
Not working: {{b2}}
The three labeled spaces ask for different parts of this analysis, so keep their order visible.
Locate the evidence for the first part.
The positive result covers 6 torches, not the whole tested group.
This is the supplied information that bears on work out working torches.
Work out working torches.
6
The positive result covers 6 torches, not the whole tested group.
Work out tested torches.
8
The denominator stays 8; changing it would hide the failures.
Work out not working.
2
The two failures refute all while leaving the narrower counted claim intact.
Write the completed analysis in its original order.
6 / 8 / 2
Read these entries with their labels: Work out working torches. / Work out tested torches. / Work out not working.
Reason: we asked the 24 people in our class, and 13 walk to the park. Claim: everyone in town walks to the park. How many cases does the reason cover, and where?
Reason: we asked the 24 people in our class, and 13 walk to the park. Claim: everyone in town walks to the park. How many cases does the reason cover, and where?
24 people, in our class.
Is 13 out of 24 more than half?
Write the careful claim.
Reason: *the volunteers checked all 50 trees in the park, and 38 had a name tag.* Say whether each claim is too big for the reason, fits it, or is smaller than the reason allows. Use these category identifiers: A = too big; B = fits; C = smaller than the reason allows. Select the identifier, not the category's words.
| How does the claim fit the reason? | |
|---|---|
| Every tree in the park has a name tag. | |
| Most trees in the park have a name tag. | |
| Every tree in the town has a name tag. | |
| Some trees in the park have a name tag. |
A claim says all 11 tested torches work. In the test, 9 light up and two do not. Complete the exact revised claim: ___ of the ___ tested torches work, and ___ do not.
Work out working torches.
b0
Use the observed successful count.
Work out tested torches.
b1
Keep the full tested group as the denominator.
Work out not working.
b2
Record the failures rather than hiding them in a changed group.
A claim says all 15 tested torches work. In the test, 13 light up and two do not. Complete the exact revised claim: ___ of the ___ tested torches work, and ___ do not.
Working torches: b0
Tested torches: b1
Not working: b2
A claim says all 9 tested torches work. In the test, 7 light up and two do not. Complete the exact revised claim: ___ of the ___ tested torches work, and ___ do not.
Working torches: b0
Tested torches: b1
Not working: b2
A claim says all 10 tested torches work. In the test, 8 light up and two do not. Complete the exact revised claim: ___ of the ___ tested torches work, and ___ do not.
Working torches: b0
Tested torches: b1
Not working: b2
A claim says all 13 tested lamps work. In the test, 11 light up and two do not. Complete the exact revised claim: ___ of the ___ tested lamps work, and ___ do not.
Working torches: b0
Tested torches: b1
Not working: b2
Lesson test: one question per skill, one attempt each, no hints. Your answers are checked when you submit.
A claim says all 12 tested torches work. In the test, 10 light up and two do not. Complete the exact revised claim: ___ of the ___ tested torches work, and ___ do not.
Working torches: b0
Tested torches: b1
Not working: b2
You can make a claim the right size for its reason, in both directions. Say what claim 14 of the 20 goldfish were orange supports, and why all does not fit. Next: choosing the evidence that would settle a question.
17. Your turn: the class survey, step 2
Is 13 out of 24 more than half?
Not bigger than the reason, and not smaller either.
17. Your turn: the class survey, step 3
Write the careful claim.
Not bigger than the reason, and not smaller either.