WGU D265 CRITICAL THINKING: REASONING AND
EVIDENCE | OBJECTIVE ASSESSMENT 2026/2027 Actual
Questions & Verified Answers | Advanced Analytical
Reasoning | Pass Guarantee
SECTION 1 – ADVANCED ARGUMENT DECONSTRUCTION (Questions 1-25)
Passage for Q 1-2
[1] City Councilor Vega argues that Greenwood should abolish its 1978 ordinance
capping residential building heights at four stories. [2] Vega notes that, since 2010,
Greenwood’s population has grown 18 % while new housing units have increased only 7
%. [3] She concludes that taller buildings—and therefore more units—are required to
prevent critical housing shortages. [4] Moreover, Vega claims, every adjacent city that
removed similar caps saw rents stabilize within five years. [5] Therefore, she asserts,
removing the cap will stabilize Greenwood’s rents within five years.
1. The conclusion of Vega’s argument is stated in which sentence?
A. 1
B. 3
C. 4
D. 5
Correct: B
Rationale: Sentence 3 contains the explicit conclusion indicator “She concludes that…”
followed by the policy claim that taller buildings are required. Sentence 5 restates an
,inferred predictive outcome, but the primary conclusion is the need for taller buildings
(3).
Distractor Analysis: D (5) is a secondary prediction; treating it as the main conclusion
conflates intermediate and final claims.
2. Which assumption is necessary for the argument’s conclusion to follow logically?
A. Greenwood’s population growth will continue at ≥ 18 % per decade.
B. Constructing taller buildings is the only way to increase unit count
significantly.
C. Rent stabilization is a desirable social outcome.
D. Adjacent cities are comparable to Greenwood in housing-demand elasticity.
Correct: D
Rationale: The analogical inference (sentence 4) requires that the cities share relevant
similarities; without comparability, their rent stabilization is irrelevant to Greenwood.
Distractor Analysis: B is too extreme; the argument allows other unit-increase methods
but claims taller buildings are required, not uniquely possible.
Passage for Q 3-4
[1] Recent meta-analyses show that remote-work employees log 12 % more hours than
office counterparts. [2] Consequently, remote work boosts productivity. [3] Yet, some
firms recall staff to offices, fearing collaboration erosion. [4] If collaboration is essential
for innovation, and if innovation ultimately determines profitability, then firms that
mandate office returns will outperform remote-first rivals in long-term profits. [5] Thus,
reports of remote-work productivity gains are misleading.
3. The argument structure from sentences 1-2 to 5 is best described as
A. linked: premise 1 supports premise 2, which jointly support 5.
B. convergent: independent premises 1 and 4 support 5.
, C. divergent: premise 1 leads to multiple unrelated conclusions.
D. serial: premise 2 supports 4, which supports 5.
Correct: A
Rationale: Sentence 1 (more hours) is intended to establish 2 (productivity), and 2 is
then rejected by 5; the chain is linked.
Distractor Analysis: B misreads 4 as a premise for 5 rather than a conditional
sub-argument.
4. Which statement, if true, most weakens the reasoning in sentences 3-5?
A. Firms with hybrid policies report the highest employee-satisfaction scores.
B. Innovation metrics correlate more strongly with employee autonomy than with
physical proximity.
C. Office rents have risen 8 % nationally.
D. Meta-analyses include firms from multiple continents.
Correct: B
Rationale: It severs the link between mandated office returns and innovation/profit by
showing proximity is not the innovation driver.
Distractor Analysis: A is about satisfaction, not profit; C is financially irrelevant to the
causal chain.
Passage for Q 5-6
[1] Historically, every influenza pandemic has been preceded by a novel avian strain. [2]
Therefore, the next pandemic strain will originate in birds. [3] Surveillance should focus
on poultry farms. [4] After all, if we monitor the source, we can halt transmission early.
5. The argument employs which form of reasoning?
A. Enumerative induction
B. Analogical reasoning
, C. Inference to the best explanation
D. Deductive entailment
Correct: A
Rationale: It generalizes from past instances (every pandemic) to a future
prediction—classic enumerative induction.
Distractor Analysis: B is incorrect because no comparison across domains occurs.
6. Which hidden premise is required to validly derive the conclusion in sentence 2?
A. Avian strains are more mutable than swine strains.
B. The historical pattern of pandemic origin will continue.
C. Poultry farms are the only reservoirs of avian influenza.
D. Surveillance technology is now more advanced.
Correct: B
Rationale: The argument assumes the future will resemble the past—uniformity of
nature.
Distractor Analysis: C concerns surveillance scope, not origin prediction.
Passage for Q 7-8
[1] Only statements that are empirically verifiable count as meaningful. [2] Ethical claims
such as “justice is intrinsically valuable” are not empirically verifiable. [3] Therefore,
ethical claims are meaningless. [4] Hence, public debates about justice waste valuable
time.
7. The argument’s reasoning is best classified as
A. valid and sound
B. valid but not sound
C. invalid; affirming the consequent
D. invalid; equivocation on “meaningful”
EVIDENCE | OBJECTIVE ASSESSMENT 2026/2027 Actual
Questions & Verified Answers | Advanced Analytical
Reasoning | Pass Guarantee
SECTION 1 – ADVANCED ARGUMENT DECONSTRUCTION (Questions 1-25)
Passage for Q 1-2
[1] City Councilor Vega argues that Greenwood should abolish its 1978 ordinance
capping residential building heights at four stories. [2] Vega notes that, since 2010,
Greenwood’s population has grown 18 % while new housing units have increased only 7
%. [3] She concludes that taller buildings—and therefore more units—are required to
prevent critical housing shortages. [4] Moreover, Vega claims, every adjacent city that
removed similar caps saw rents stabilize within five years. [5] Therefore, she asserts,
removing the cap will stabilize Greenwood’s rents within five years.
1. The conclusion of Vega’s argument is stated in which sentence?
A. 1
B. 3
C. 4
D. 5
Correct: B
Rationale: Sentence 3 contains the explicit conclusion indicator “She concludes that…”
followed by the policy claim that taller buildings are required. Sentence 5 restates an
,inferred predictive outcome, but the primary conclusion is the need for taller buildings
(3).
Distractor Analysis: D (5) is a secondary prediction; treating it as the main conclusion
conflates intermediate and final claims.
2. Which assumption is necessary for the argument’s conclusion to follow logically?
A. Greenwood’s population growth will continue at ≥ 18 % per decade.
B. Constructing taller buildings is the only way to increase unit count
significantly.
C. Rent stabilization is a desirable social outcome.
D. Adjacent cities are comparable to Greenwood in housing-demand elasticity.
Correct: D
Rationale: The analogical inference (sentence 4) requires that the cities share relevant
similarities; without comparability, their rent stabilization is irrelevant to Greenwood.
Distractor Analysis: B is too extreme; the argument allows other unit-increase methods
but claims taller buildings are required, not uniquely possible.
Passage for Q 3-4
[1] Recent meta-analyses show that remote-work employees log 12 % more hours than
office counterparts. [2] Consequently, remote work boosts productivity. [3] Yet, some
firms recall staff to offices, fearing collaboration erosion. [4] If collaboration is essential
for innovation, and if innovation ultimately determines profitability, then firms that
mandate office returns will outperform remote-first rivals in long-term profits. [5] Thus,
reports of remote-work productivity gains are misleading.
3. The argument structure from sentences 1-2 to 5 is best described as
A. linked: premise 1 supports premise 2, which jointly support 5.
B. convergent: independent premises 1 and 4 support 5.
, C. divergent: premise 1 leads to multiple unrelated conclusions.
D. serial: premise 2 supports 4, which supports 5.
Correct: A
Rationale: Sentence 1 (more hours) is intended to establish 2 (productivity), and 2 is
then rejected by 5; the chain is linked.
Distractor Analysis: B misreads 4 as a premise for 5 rather than a conditional
sub-argument.
4. Which statement, if true, most weakens the reasoning in sentences 3-5?
A. Firms with hybrid policies report the highest employee-satisfaction scores.
B. Innovation metrics correlate more strongly with employee autonomy than with
physical proximity.
C. Office rents have risen 8 % nationally.
D. Meta-analyses include firms from multiple continents.
Correct: B
Rationale: It severs the link between mandated office returns and innovation/profit by
showing proximity is not the innovation driver.
Distractor Analysis: A is about satisfaction, not profit; C is financially irrelevant to the
causal chain.
Passage for Q 5-6
[1] Historically, every influenza pandemic has been preceded by a novel avian strain. [2]
Therefore, the next pandemic strain will originate in birds. [3] Surveillance should focus
on poultry farms. [4] After all, if we monitor the source, we can halt transmission early.
5. The argument employs which form of reasoning?
A. Enumerative induction
B. Analogical reasoning
, C. Inference to the best explanation
D. Deductive entailment
Correct: A
Rationale: It generalizes from past instances (every pandemic) to a future
prediction—classic enumerative induction.
Distractor Analysis: B is incorrect because no comparison across domains occurs.
6. Which hidden premise is required to validly derive the conclusion in sentence 2?
A. Avian strains are more mutable than swine strains.
B. The historical pattern of pandemic origin will continue.
C. Poultry farms are the only reservoirs of avian influenza.
D. Surveillance technology is now more advanced.
Correct: B
Rationale: The argument assumes the future will resemble the past—uniformity of
nature.
Distractor Analysis: C concerns surveillance scope, not origin prediction.
Passage for Q 7-8
[1] Only statements that are empirically verifiable count as meaningful. [2] Ethical claims
such as “justice is intrinsically valuable” are not empirically verifiable. [3] Therefore,
ethical claims are meaningless. [4] Hence, public debates about justice waste valuable
time.
7. The argument’s reasoning is best classified as
A. valid and sound
B. valid but not sound
C. invalid; affirming the consequent
D. invalid; equivocation on “meaningful”
