Critical Thinking in Test Taking

The Test Question In order for someone to be convicted of a crime, the person must: Be convicted by real (tangible) evidence. Must confess to the crime. Must be proven guilty beyond any doubt. Must intentionally or recklessly perform a prohibited criminal act. All of the above are true.

What is the Issue? Always read the question in context with your class discussion and your textbook. The issue in this case is fairly simple and is stated in the question: what does it take for someone to be convicted of a crime? Before you select an alternative listed, try mentally inventorying the things that you know must occur before a person can be convicted of a crime. These things may be categorized as the Rules.

What are the Rules? In criminal law, a person must be culpable to be convicted. This means they had intent to commit a crime. A crime is a statutory prohibited criminal act. Intent can be inferred from recklessness in some cases. All elements of the crime must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt. Evidence used to prove guilt can be real (tangible), eye-witness, or circumstantial. A person who pleads innocent & remains silent can be found guilty, if proven to the satisfaction of the minimum legal standard of proof.

Perform an Analysis For this question, we can stop listing rules, since we have covered all of the alternatives listed in the question. No. 1 cannot be correct because a person can be convicted by other evidence such as eye-witness testimony. No. 2 cannot be correct because even a person who pleads not guilty and makes no statements can be convicted by other evidence. No. 3 cannot be correct because the standard is beyond a reasonable doubt, not any doubt. No. 4 is correct. Even though the alternative could have stated “a statutorily prohibited criminal act,” there is nothing false about the alternative as given. No. 5 cannot be correct since 1, 2, & 3 are not correct.

Analysis Remember to be suspicious of answers or alternatives that include terms such as always, must, never, & shall. These terms exclude other possibilities and alternatives. In law and life, seldom are answers that concrete. But, do not automatically exclude answers containing these terms because the rules involved may dictate shall, must, never, and must.

Reach a Conclusion Given the Issue, Rules, and Analysis, the only possible correct answer is No. 4. It is true that in order to be convicted of a crime a person must intentionally or recklessly perform a prohibited act. There are probably more factors that could be included, but there is nothing false about the statement and there are no better alternatives listed.

Critical Thinking in Test Taking Issue Rules Analysis Conclusion IRAC