Question

read the two passages.
passage 1
violence in video games is unavoidable. more than half of the top video games contain some element of violence. does this lead to violence in the real world? logical people know the answer, and the facts prove it. between 1994 and 2004, video game sales increased by 204 percent. during that same time period, the arrest rate for juveniles committing violent crimes decreased by 63 percent. these facts make it obvious that video games are not a problem.
passage 2
the majority of video games contain violence. children playing these games leads directly to acts of violence. several studies, including a 2014 study by the journal of the american medical association, have
which passage provides the more effective argument, and why?
○ passage 1 is more effective because passage 2 relies on personal anecdotes as the main evidence.
○ passage 1 is more effective because it uses overstatement for extra emphasis, and passage 2 does not.
○ passage 2 is more effective because it contains logical and anecdotal, while passage 1 contains a bandwagon appeal and a false dilemma.
○ passage 2 is more effective because it presents data as empirical evidence, and passage 1 does not.

Explanation:

First, analyze Passage 1: it uses a bandwagon appeal ("Logical people know the answer") and a false dilemma (framing the issue as video games either cause real-world violence or are not a problem, ignoring nuance). It also uses correlation (sales up, arrest rates down) as causation, which is flawed. Passage 2, while cut off, is stated to use logical (studies, like the 2014 AMA study) and anecdotal evidence, avoiding the logical fallacies in Passage 1. The other options are incorrect: Passage 1 is not more effective (it uses fallacies, not valid emphasis), and Passage 1 does present data (so the last option is wrong).

Answer:

Passage 2 is more effective because it contains logical and anecdotal, while passage 1 contains a bandwagon appeal and a false dilemma.