Summarize Argument
The criminologist concludes that increasing the prison term for robbery won’t discourage people from committing robbery. No support is provided for this claim.
Notable Assumptions
The criminologist assumes that potential robbers are not deterred by stiffer prison terms.
A
Many people who rob are motivated primarily by thrill-seeking and risk-taking.
Stiffer prison terms increase the risk of committing a robbery. This actually leads people to commit more robberies, since robbers are motivated by taking risks.
B
An increase in the prison term for embezzlement did not change the rate at which that crime was committed.
There was no decrease in the embezzlement rate when stiffer penalties were added for embezzlement. If robbery is similar to embezzlement from a criminological standpoint, then robbery rates likely won’t decline when stiffer penalties are added for robbery.
C
Prison terms for robbery have generally decreased in length recently.
We have no idea how decreasing sentences have affected robbery rates. This does nothing for the criminologist’s argument.
D
Most people committing robbery believe that they will not get caught.
Robbers don’t worry about robbery sentences since they don’t think they’ll get caught in the first place. Thus, the prospect of a 5-year sentence has the same effect on them as a 7-year sentence.
E
Most people committing robbery have no idea what the average sentence for robbery is.
Robbers aren’t aware of average sentences. They can’t be deterred by something they don’t know.
Romney: Only compelling, versatile songs can stand such radical reshaping. Bebop musicians recognized this, and their revolutionary approach to the jazz classics enabled them to discover previously unknown depths in the music.
Speaker 1 Summary
Pettengill claims that bebop musicians showed distaste for the classic jazz songs that they radically reshaped. In support, Pettengill says that the bebop musicians must have reshaped the songs because the original songs were not interesting to them.
Speaker 2 Summary
Romney claims that bebop musicians actually appreciated the classic jazz songs. In support, Romney says that only compelling and versatile songs can be successfully reshaped: in choosing to reshape the songs, the bebop musicians must have recognized their merit. Furthermore, reshaping the songs allowed the bebop musicians to appreciate them in a new way.
Objective
We need to find a point of disagreement. Pettengill and Romney disagree about whether bebop musicians felt distaste or appreciation for the jazz songs they reshaped.
A
bebop jazz was radically different from the jazz music that preceded it
The speakers both agree with this statement. Each speaker talks about how bebop musicians “radically reshaped” classic jazz songs, meaning they made the songs radically different.
B
bebop jazz was an improvement on the jazz classics that preceded it
Neither speaker makes this claim. The discussion is about how the bebop musicians felt about jazz classics, not about which style of music is better or worse.
C
bebop musicians showed appreciation for jazz classics in radically reshaping them
Pettengill disagrees with this but Romney agrees, making this the point of disagreement. Pettengill says that the bebop musicians felt “distaste” for jazz classics, while Romney argues that the musicians recognized the value of the jazz classics.
D
jazz music requires musicians to adhere closely to the original version in order to be widely popular
Neither speaker mentions popularity at all. The argument is about how the bebop musicians felt about the jazz classics they reshaped; the popularity of the songs is irrelevant to that.
E
bebop musicians were influenced by the more conservative styles of their predecessors
Neither speaker gives an opinion about the stylistic influences on bebop musicians. We know that they reshaped classic songs, but neither Pettengill nor Romney says anything more about the relationship between those styles.