Demonstrate Awareness of Audience Beliefs/Values Practice Test
•15 QuestionsRead the student-written argumentative passage below and answer the question that follows.
Scenario: A community college is debating whether to require all students to take an in-person public speaking course. The audience includes working adults, students with anxiety, faculty, and administrators focused on graduation rates.
Passage (student essay):
An in-person public speaking requirement is necessary because communication is the most important skill in life. If you can’t stand up and talk, you will never succeed professionally. That’s just reality, and the college shouldn’t water down standards to accommodate discomfort.
Some students claim anxiety, but everyone gets nervous. The whole point of college is to get over things. If we keep letting students avoid hard experiences, we’re basically teaching them that feelings matter more than competence. Administrators should support this because employers will respect our graduates more, and that will improve the college’s reputation.
Diagnosis: Which assumption about the audience most weakens the passage’s effectiveness?
Read the student-written argumentative passage below and answer the question that follows.
Scenario: A community college is debating whether to require all students to take an in-person public speaking course. The audience includes working adults, students with anxiety, faculty, and administrators focused on graduation rates.
Passage (student essay):
An in-person public speaking requirement is necessary because communication is the most important skill in life. If you can’t stand up and talk, you will never succeed professionally. That’s just reality, and the college shouldn’t water down standards to accommodate discomfort.
Some students claim anxiety, but everyone gets nervous. The whole point of college is to get over things. If we keep letting students avoid hard experiences, we’re basically teaching them that feelings matter more than competence. Administrators should support this because employers will respect our graduates more, and that will improve the college’s reputation.
Diagnosis: Which assumption about the audience most weakens the passage’s effectiveness?