SAT OwlQuestion bank / Command of Evidence
An unsigned pamphlet published in 1854 urged Massachusetts lawmakers to limit the hours that children could work in textile mills. Historian Grace Whitaker argues that the pamphlet was written by reformer Abigail Reese, noting that several of its distinctive phrases, such as "the stolen hours of childhood," also appear in Reese's private letters.
Which finding, if true, would most directly weaken Whitaker's argument?
Reese's letters show that she was deeply concerned about child labor in textile mills.
The pamphlet's distinctive phrases, including "the stolen hours of childhood," come from a widely reprinted newspaper editorial that many reformers, Reese among them, quoted in the 1850s.
The pamphlet was printed in the town where Reese lived in 1854.
Reese is known to have published several other works without signing them.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B
Whitaker's evidence is that phrases in the pamphlet also appear in Reese's letters. If those phrases came from a popular editorial quoted by many reformers, then any of them could have written the pamphlet, and the shared wording no longer points to Reese. Choice B weakens the argument.
Choice A fits Whitaker's argument, since Reese's concern about child labor would make her a likely author, so it supports rather than weakens it.
Why the other choices are wrong
- A. This finding supports the argument by showing Reese had a motive to write the pamphlet, rather than weakening the claim that she is the author.
- C. Living in the town where the pamphlet was printed makes Reese a plausible author, which strengthens the argument instead of undermining it.
- D. Knowing that Reese published other unsigned works suggests she might have written this one, so this detail supports the argument rather than weakening it.
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