Unit 5 · Weakening Arguments
School Sports Participation — Weaken the Claim
Lesson 1 of 9
Weakening-arguments questions test whether you can spot a hidden assumption — then pick the option that breaks it, not just something that sounds opposite.
Direct “which statement best weakens…” items appear regularly on Selective TS — often as a reliable mid-paper mark when you name the claim first.
The examiner wants you to identify the argument’s conclusion and find evidence that undermines the link the speaker relies on (e.g. correlation → cause), not a vague counter-fact.
A short argument jumps from an observation to a cause or policy. Four options are plausible; only one attacks the reasoning the argument actually needs.
Best approach: State the claim in one sentence. Ask what must be true for it to hold. Eliminate options that are true but irrelevant or that attack the wrong link. The winner should make the conclusion less convincing.
Question
Students who participate in school sports teams perform better academically than those who do not. Therefore, participating in sports improves academic performance.
Which of the following, if true, most weakens the argument?
Select an answer to see the explanation.
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