The assignment for this lesson is to read a passage and answer the following questions: what inference can you make from this passage? what explicit and implicit details support your inference? the population of the southwest is growing more quickly than the national average. desert cities like san antonio, phoenix, and los angeles now boast populations in the millions. this population boom is hard on the desert environments of these cities. the most obvious issue is the lack of water. because these cities get less than 10 inches of average rainfall a year, they rely on water in rivers flowing from the rocky mountain region, almost 800 miles away. though water shortages are a concern in many areas, this is especially true in the deserts of southern california, arizona, and texas. these shortages can pose problems for everyone, from farmers to normal citizens. one result of water shortages is an increase in wildfires, such as those that have occurred recently near los angeles. such fires have the potential to destroy property and hurt or kill people.

After reading the passage above, one can infer that it belongs to an article or an essay which purpose is to inform the reader about the population boom and its consequences (cause-effect writing). The writer developed the main event in the introduction of the passage and then added supporting sentences about the consequences of that main event. The population is growing in cities such as San Antonio, Phoenix, and Los Angeles and this event has serious effects on the desert environment of these cities mentioned earlier, being the most obvious one the water shortages. The reader can infer all this information thanks to the organization of the text and the words or connectors used. The organization that has been used by the writer is The Casual Chain (one effect is a cause of another effect, which in turn can become a cause of another effect, and so on) and some of the words/connectors chosen to describe the relationship of the events are “result”, “Because…,”, and “concern”.

1. drag the central argument paine presents and its two claims to complete the chart. argument claims america may have flourished more had it not been under the power of any european country. america may have flourished under britain in the past, but there is no guarantee that it will continue to flourish in the future. america will continue to flourish as long as the essential food products it sells are bought and eaten in europe. the american colonies will no longer flourish when britain makes war against them. britain's king has shown himself to be prejudiced against the colonies, rather than wanting them to flourish.

2.select the sentence in this passage that can be classified as a false statement.

although few humans per year are attacked by polar bears, any individual attack can be terrifying and even fatal. the warming of arctic regions has allowed the intrusion of humans into the polar bears’ habitat, increasing the danger of harmful contacts. remaining alert and using precautions can humans avoid a negative encounter with a polar bear. traveling together and staying close to the group can humans avoid bear attacks. certain weapons, including nonlethal ones such as pepper spray, are effective against polar bears. once a bear has decided to attack, however, nothing can be done.

3.select the sentence in this passage that demonstrates the fallacy of making an extreme either-or claim.

the civil war was the bloodiest conflict in the history of the united states. more than 600,000 soldiers lost their lives. the fighting took place in many different cities and throughout the countryside. the wounded often suffered acute pain while in the field hospitals. they all should have asked for better care. william hammond, the surgeon general of the union army, created a new system of sanitary field care. if people do not accept hammond as the most important person from the civil war, they have no understanding of the war.

c. barbarians with unexpected intelligence