Step #2:    Where Is The Evidence?

Statistics

 

You probably use statistics every day. Some examples include:

"Mom, here's my report card! I'm doing better this quarter."
Mom gets last quarter's report card and says, "Not really! This quarter's grades are lower than the last quarter."
The report card grades are statistics. They can provide evidence of whether the student did better or worse this quarter.

"Dad, there was a story on the news about a school violence situtaion today. I guess schools are becoming more violent."
But his father replies, "Actually, the statistics over the last ten years show a decline in school violence."

Statistics provide evidence of social problems. People may think that crime is increasing in their city. They should check the crime statistics for their city. Maybe the crime rate has actually gone down.

 

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