1. Thinking Skills June 2009 Paper 2, question 3 (slightly adapted 2012) Main Conclusiion Intermediate Conclussion & Main SUPPORTING Reason. Supporting Reasons Counter Argument Example

2. 1 There is pressure on young couples to have babies. But young people, especially educated women, are increasingly choosing not to have children, or to have fewer of them. Many may call such people selfish. But having children is actually the selfish option. Ensuring the survival of your own genes is entirely for your own benefit. Producing children just so that they can wipe your dribble and listen to you moaning when you are old and infirm is hardly an altruistic act. Main Conclusiion Intermediate Conclussion & Main SUPPORTING Reason. Supporting Reasons Counter Argument Example

3. 2 Who knows how many parents and children make each other miserable on this Earth? Many parents mistreat their children because they entered the parent-child relationship rashly and are not ready for the responsibility of a child. Others try to live their own lives through their children and push their young to achieve all the things they did not. It is unfair to the children to have such demands placed on them. Such parents would have been better thinking through the decision to reproduce.

4. 3 Children are hugely expensive consumers. They need food, clothing, medical care, trendy gadgets, football equipment, dancing lessons, cars… This can be a problem for parents. More importantly, the Earth will struggle to cope. Unless we have fewer children, the world will get more and more crowded. For every child born, more of the worlds precious resources will be used up on a wasteful, unnecessary lifestyle. So making the decision not to have children is actually unselfish. Main Conclusiion Intermediate Conclussion & Main SUPPORTING Reason. Supporting Reasons Counter Argument Example

5. 4 People speak of the joy of having children – and there undoubtedly is a kind of biological reward that makes even intelligent people go gooey when their baby gurgles at them. But this cannot compensate for all the sacrifices a parent must make. Children take over your life and eclipse your identity. Your friends dont want to know you anymore, you cant go out, you cant have an adult conversation… Your kids demand constant service and attention to their needs, as if you were a maidservant, but cant manage to be polite to you. And they last for more than twenty years. In short, the responsibility is great and the rewards very small: the decision not to have children is clearly a reasonable one.

6. (a) ANALYSIS – 2 marks Using the exact words from the passage as far as possible, identify the main conclusion. 2 marks: The decision not to have children is clearly a reasonable one 1 mark: The responsibility is great and the rewards very small: the decision not to have children is clearly a reasonable one

7. (b) ANALYSIS – 3 marks Using the exact words from the passage as far as possible, identify three reasons used to support the main conclusion. Any three of the following, 1 mark each: Having children is the selfish option Such parents would have been better thinking through the decision to reproduce (OR Parents who mistreat their children or demand too much from them would have been better thinking through the decision to reproduce) The Earth will struggle to cope The decision not to have children is actually unselfish This cannot compensate for all the sacrifices (OR The joy of having children cannot compensate for all the sacrifices) Children take over your life and eclipse your identity The responsibility is great and the rewards very small

8. (c) EVALUATION – 5 marks Evaluate the reasoning in the argument. In your answer you should consider any strengths, weaknesses, flaws and unstated assumptions. Paragraph 1 Restricts the options – gives only two fairly extreme reasons for having children (passing on genes, and being looked after in old age) Assumes there are not other, more positive, reasons for having children Uses an emotive description (wipe your dribble and listen to you moaning) to mock this attitude ( instead of using logical reasoning)

9. (c) EVALUATION (continued) Paragraph 2 Uses a rhetorical question (Who knows how many …?) for dramatic effect (instead of using logical reasoning) Vague generalisation (many, others, such parents) Again restricts the options, and assumes there are only these extreme cases (mistreating children, and living through them) Just because some parents make these mistakes does not mean it happens generally

10. (c) EVALUATION (continued) Paragraph 3 Unjustified generalisation (Children are…) which assumes that no child will go on to live a careful and prudent lifestyle rather than a wasteful one Fails to consider other possibilities (such as families which are environmentally-conscious; or the low consumption of poor populations) Confuses needs and wants (referring to both as needs)

11. (c) EVALUATION (continued) Paragraph 4 Straw person CA, by reducing the joy of having children to (going) gooey when their baby gurgles at them (and using emotive language to make fun of such reactions) Exaggerates the sacrifices; and this also contradicts the earlier claim that having children is selfish Generalises, by assuming that no child is caring, polite and grateful (that all children are unreasonably demanding, impolite and ungrateful) Fails to consider that the way a child is brought up can make a big difference

12. (c) EVALUATION (continued) Overall The argument is especially weakened by generalisations, exaggeration and contradiction The reasoning might support a conclusion that the decision not to have children can be reasonable for some people It does not adequately support the stated conclusion that it simply is a reasonable decision (implicitly for all would-be parents)

13. Identifying assumptions Remember: An assumption is implicit, not explicit – so it is not actually stated in the text Implicit assumption, unstated assumption or underlying assumption all mean the same Assertions are often mis-identified as assumptions, especially unsupported/unjustified assertions

14. One way to express an assumption is by turning round an assertion. For example: It is assumed that parents are too demanding on their children, or mistreat them (assertion) It is assumed that parents are not reasonable and loving towards their children (assumption) The writer assumes that every child will lead a wasteful, unnecessary lifestyle The writer assumes that no child will lead a prudent, careful lifestyle The passage assumes that children are always demanding, ungrateful and impolite The passage assumes that children cannot be caring, grateful and polite

15. (d) FURTHER ARGUMENT – 5 marks Children have the right to demand what they want from their parents. Write your own argument to support or challenge this claim. The conclusion of your argument must be stated. Main conclusion Reasons An example Probably a counter argument Perhaps an intermediate conclusion

16. (c) FURTHER ARGUMENT MC: Children do not have the right to demand whatever they want from their parents CA: Some people say that childrens natural desires should not be repressed, but R1: Children whose parents put no limits on their behaviour will grow up to be totally spoilt and inconsiderate of others R2: Children need someone with experience to make good decisions about following a healthy and productive lifestyle R3: What is more, children only gradually develop a sense of right and wrong IC: So they need their parents to guide them Ex. For example, if a child demands cocaine, it would be criminally irresponsible for a parent to give it to them

17. (c) FURTHER ARGUMENT Children do not have the right to demand whatever they want from their parents. Some people say that childrens natural desires should not be repressed, but children whose parents put no limits on their behaviour will grow up to be totally spoilt and inconsiderate of others. Children require someone with experience to make good decisions about following a healthy and productive lifestyle. What is more, children only gradually develop a sense of right and wrong, so they need their parents to guide them. For example, if a child demands cocaine, it would be criminally irresponsible for a parent to give it to them. (103 words)