Read this outline for an argumentative essay about government. 1. People have different ideas about the role of government.
A. The primary purpose of government is to protect its citizens.

2. Government should protect citizens from foreign and domestic threats.
A. The country faces threats from other nations, terrorists, and criminals.
B. The military can provide a strong defense at home and abroad.
C. The police and other government agencies keep citizens safe locally.
D. Some people believe social services are more important than defense,
but citizens cannot survive without protection and security.

3. Government’s main role is to provide protection via the military and other agencies.

Which statement could be added to the outline as supporting evidence for the claim?

In the past, the military and the FBI have prevented a number of terrorist attacks.
I still remember how it felt on September 11 when our country was attacked by terrorists.
Social services cannot provide the sense of security that a strong national defense can.
Social services provide food, health care, and other forms of assistance to millions of citizens each year.

It is widely assumed that people need to engage in intellectual activities such as solving crossword puzzles or mathematics problems in order to maintain mental sharpness as they age. in fact, however, simply talking to other people—that is, participating in social interaction, which engages many mental and perceptual skills—suffices. evidence to this effect comes from a study showing that the more social contact people report, the better their mental skills. which of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the force of the evidence cited? (a) as people grow older, they are often advised to keep exercising their physical and mental capacities in order to maintain or improve them. (b) many medical conditions and treatments that adversely affect a person's mental sharpness also tend to increase that person's social isolation. (c) many people are proficient both in social interactions and in solving mathematical problems. (d) the study did not itself collect data but analyzed data bearing on the issue from prior studies. (e) the tasks evaluating mental sharpness for which data were compiled by the study were more akin to mathematics problems than to conversation.