Question

HURRY PLEASE

Q.22
The following passage is an excerpt of an online article on teens and sleep.

(1) In October 2019, the state of California passed a new law that mandates a change to the starting times for the state’s public schools. (2) The law—which was supported by the California Medical Association, the California Psychiatric Association, the CDC, and the American Academy of Pediatrics—requires middle schools to start no earlier than 8:00 a.m. and high schools to start no earlier than 8:30 a.m.

(3) The law is a state-level solution to a problem that doctors, school administrators, and researchers have been justifiably lamenting for decades: adolescents need eight to ten hours of sleep per night, but more than two thirds of high schoolers get less than that. (4) Even more troubling, about forty percent of students get fewer than six hours. (5) Simply telling teenagers to go to bed earlier isn't effective; teens build up sleep pressure—the regulatory force that builds up and allows a person to both fall and stay asleep—more slowly than adults or younger children. (6) For this reason, they are simply not equipped to fall asleep earlier on command; they are truly designed to go to bed later and sleep later into the morning.

(7) Sleep deprivation among adolescents has been proven to affect overall health, often resulting in weakened immune systems and other problems. (8) It also compromises memory consolidation, thus resulting in decreased overall academic performance as reflected in lower test scores. (9) If that's not enough to support later start times, consider this: one school district that voluntarily implemented the time changes long before the California law reported a 70% reduction in student car crashes. (10) It's tough to argue with data that shows an increase in student safety in addition to an increase in student performance.

(11) Despite this rather obvious data in support of later start times, many school administrators lament the challenges of bus schedules, lunch services, childcare, and even athletic practices, all of which have traditionally been built around much earlier start times than the 8:00 to 8:30 a.m. requirements. (12) But the experts are emphatic in reminding the public that the challenges are worth facing, and the adjusted start times will result in greater health and safety and increased student learning.

The writer wants to present an objective argument. Which of the following changes should the writer make?

A. Add "according to studies conducted over the years" after "six hours" to sentence 4.
B. Change "not equipped" to "not able" in sentence 6.
C. Change "has been proven" to "has been shown" in sentence 7.
D. Delete "rather obvious" before "data" in sentence 11.
E. Revise "emphatic" to "unequivocal" in sentence 12.

Answer 1

If the goal is to present a more objective argument, the best choice is option D: Delete "rather obvious" before "data" in sentence 11.

The term "rather obvious" could be seen as injecting a personal opinion or bias into the analysis. An objective argument should present facts, data, and perspectives without such editorializing language. Removing this phrase helps maintain a more neutral, objective tone throughout the passage.

The other options do not necessarily increase the objectivity of the argument. They mostly propose minor changes to wording that don't significantly alter the tone or balance of the presentation.