WGU D265 CRITICAL THINKING: REASONING AND
EVIDENCE | OBJECTIVE ASSESSMENT 2026/2027
Applied Analysis | Questions and Verified
Correct Answers
SECTION 1 – ARGUMENT ANALYSIS & STRUCTURE (Questions 1–20)
1. Passage:
“Every high-school student should be required to pass a financial-literacy course
before graduating. After all, personal debt among 18- to 25-year-olds is at an
all-time high, and the economy relies on responsible consumer spending.”
Which statement best identifies the conclusion of this argument?
A. Personal debt among 18- to 25-year-olds is at an all-time high.
B. The economy relies on responsible consumer spending.
C. Every high-school student should be required to pass a financial-literacy
course before graduating.
D. Financial-literacy courses reduce personal debt.
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: The phrase “should be required” is prescriptive and signals the arguer’s
main thesis. Premises A and B supply supporting data; D is an implicit
assumption, not the stated conclusion.
2. Passage:
“I’ve met three tourists from Norway this year and all were extremely tall.
Norwegians must be the tallest people in Europe.”
The argument is best described as:
A. Deductive and valid
B. Deductive and invalid
C. Inductive and strong
D. Inductive and weak
Correct Answer: D
Rationale: The inference moves from a tiny, unrepresentative sample (three
, tourists) to a universal claim about an entire population—classic weak inductive
reasoning. Validity applies only to deduction.
3. Passage:
“Either we ban all plastic packaging in grocery stores, or marine ecosystems will
collapse within a decade.”
Which choice identifies the argumentative structure used?
A. Disjunctive syllogism
B. False dilemma
C. Modus tollens
D. Causal slippery slope
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: The passage presents only two options as exhaustive, ignoring
intermediate policies (taxes, partial bans, recycling). This is the fallacy of false
dilemma, not a formal syllogism.
4. Passage:
“If a smartphone’s battery drains fully every day, its overall lifespan shortens.
Liam’s phone battery reaches 0 % daily. Therefore, his battery will degrade faster.”
The reasoning is:
A. Deductive and valid
B. Deductive and invalid
C. Inductive and strong
D. Inductive and weak
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: The structure is a conditional (if P then Q), affirmed antecedent (P),
therefore Q—modus ponens, a valid deductive form.
5. Passage:
“City council should fund more library programs because libraries promote
literacy, and literacy improves economic opportunity.”
Which statement is an unstated assumption?
A. Libraries promote literacy.
B. Literacy improves economic opportunity.
C. Economic opportunity is desirable for city residents.
D. City council should fund programs that improve economic opportunity.
Correct Answer: D
Rationale: Premises A and B are explicit. The bridge from “improves economic
opportunity” to “should fund” presumes D. C is trivially true and not the operative
assumption.
6. Passage:
“Most successful tech CEOs wear the same style of black turtleneck. Clearly,
, wearing black turtlenecks causes business success.”
Which choice identifies the main weakness?
A. Confusing correlation with causation
B. Hasty generalization
C. Appeal to authority
D. Begging the question
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: The passage leaps from a stylistic pattern shared by a few cases to a
causal claim without evidence of influence, illustrating correlation-causation
confusion.
7. Passage:
“All mammals nurse their young. Platypuses nurse their young. So platypuses are
mammals.”
The argument is:
A. Valid and sound
B. Valid but not sound
C. Invalid
D. Inductive
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: Formally valid categorical syllogism (All M are P; S are P; therefore S
are M). Sound because both premises are factually true—platypuses are indeed
egg-laying mammals.
8. Passage:
“We should not expand the highway; every previous expansion here led to more
traffic, not less.”
Which choice best identifies the argumentative pattern?
A. Argument from analogy
B. Generalization from a sample
C. Causal argument based on past outcomes
D. Argument from authority
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: The claim relies on a repeated causal sequence (expansion →
increased traffic) to predict future outcomes, a causal inductive pattern.
9. Passage:
“If the new vaccine were truly safe, the manufacturer would not have settled
lawsuits out of court. They did settle, so the vaccine is unsafe.”
Which fallacy is committed?
A. Appeal to ignorance
B. Ad hominem circumstantial
EVIDENCE | OBJECTIVE ASSESSMENT 2026/2027
Applied Analysis | Questions and Verified
Correct Answers
SECTION 1 – ARGUMENT ANALYSIS & STRUCTURE (Questions 1–20)
1. Passage:
“Every high-school student should be required to pass a financial-literacy course
before graduating. After all, personal debt among 18- to 25-year-olds is at an
all-time high, and the economy relies on responsible consumer spending.”
Which statement best identifies the conclusion of this argument?
A. Personal debt among 18- to 25-year-olds is at an all-time high.
B. The economy relies on responsible consumer spending.
C. Every high-school student should be required to pass a financial-literacy
course before graduating.
D. Financial-literacy courses reduce personal debt.
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: The phrase “should be required” is prescriptive and signals the arguer’s
main thesis. Premises A and B supply supporting data; D is an implicit
assumption, not the stated conclusion.
2. Passage:
“I’ve met three tourists from Norway this year and all were extremely tall.
Norwegians must be the tallest people in Europe.”
The argument is best described as:
A. Deductive and valid
B. Deductive and invalid
C. Inductive and strong
D. Inductive and weak
Correct Answer: D
Rationale: The inference moves from a tiny, unrepresentative sample (three
, tourists) to a universal claim about an entire population—classic weak inductive
reasoning. Validity applies only to deduction.
3. Passage:
“Either we ban all plastic packaging in grocery stores, or marine ecosystems will
collapse within a decade.”
Which choice identifies the argumentative structure used?
A. Disjunctive syllogism
B. False dilemma
C. Modus tollens
D. Causal slippery slope
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: The passage presents only two options as exhaustive, ignoring
intermediate policies (taxes, partial bans, recycling). This is the fallacy of false
dilemma, not a formal syllogism.
4. Passage:
“If a smartphone’s battery drains fully every day, its overall lifespan shortens.
Liam’s phone battery reaches 0 % daily. Therefore, his battery will degrade faster.”
The reasoning is:
A. Deductive and valid
B. Deductive and invalid
C. Inductive and strong
D. Inductive and weak
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: The structure is a conditional (if P then Q), affirmed antecedent (P),
therefore Q—modus ponens, a valid deductive form.
5. Passage:
“City council should fund more library programs because libraries promote
literacy, and literacy improves economic opportunity.”
Which statement is an unstated assumption?
A. Libraries promote literacy.
B. Literacy improves economic opportunity.
C. Economic opportunity is desirable for city residents.
D. City council should fund programs that improve economic opportunity.
Correct Answer: D
Rationale: Premises A and B are explicit. The bridge from “improves economic
opportunity” to “should fund” presumes D. C is trivially true and not the operative
assumption.
6. Passage:
“Most successful tech CEOs wear the same style of black turtleneck. Clearly,
, wearing black turtlenecks causes business success.”
Which choice identifies the main weakness?
A. Confusing correlation with causation
B. Hasty generalization
C. Appeal to authority
D. Begging the question
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: The passage leaps from a stylistic pattern shared by a few cases to a
causal claim without evidence of influence, illustrating correlation-causation
confusion.
7. Passage:
“All mammals nurse their young. Platypuses nurse their young. So platypuses are
mammals.”
The argument is:
A. Valid and sound
B. Valid but not sound
C. Invalid
D. Inductive
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: Formally valid categorical syllogism (All M are P; S are P; therefore S
are M). Sound because both premises are factually true—platypuses are indeed
egg-laying mammals.
8. Passage:
“We should not expand the highway; every previous expansion here led to more
traffic, not less.”
Which choice best identifies the argumentative pattern?
A. Argument from analogy
B. Generalization from a sample
C. Causal argument based on past outcomes
D. Argument from authority
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: The claim relies on a repeated causal sequence (expansion →
increased traffic) to predict future outcomes, a causal inductive pattern.
9. Passage:
“If the new vaccine were truly safe, the manufacturer would not have settled
lawsuits out of court. They did settle, so the vaccine is unsafe.”
Which fallacy is committed?
A. Appeal to ignorance
B. Ad hominem circumstantial
