Question:medium

Read the passage below and answer the question that follows.

The Bistupur-Sakchi corner needs a speed-breaker. Loyola school children cross this intersection, on their way to the school, and many a times do not check out for traffic. I get to read regular reports of cars and other vehicles hitting children. I know that speed-breakers are irritating for drivers, and I know that children cannot be protected from every danger, but this is one of the worst intersections in town. There needs to be a speed-breaker so that vehicles have to slow down and the children be made safer.

Which of the following types of argument is used in the passage above?

Show Hint

Check whether the passage uses numbers, a comparison to something else, one child's specific story, or just the emotional pull of children's safety.
Updated On: Jul 10, 2026
  • Analogy: comparing the intersection to something dangerous.
  • Emotive: referring to the safety of children to get people interested.
  • Statistical analysis: noting the number of children hit by vehicles.
  • Personalization: telling the story of one child's near accident at the intersection.
Show Solution

The Correct Option is B

Solution and Explanation

This question asks us to name the technique the writer uses to argue for a speed-breaker at a busy school crossing. Instead of eliminating options one by one, read the passage for what actually drives its persuasion, then match that against each label.

  1. Analogy: this would need the writer to compare the intersection to some other dangerous thing, like a cliff or a warzone. The passage never draws such a comparison.
  2. Emotive: the writer keeps centering the argument on "school children" and their safety, a subject that naturally worries most readers regardless of facts or figures. This matches the passage closely.
  3. Statistical analysis: this needs numbers, a count of accidents or injuries. The passage gives none, only "regular reports."
  4. Personalization: this would need one specific child's story, with a name or event described in detail. The passage only mentions reports of children being hit in general, no single incident is told in detail.

Since the passage leans entirely on the reader's concern for children's safety rather than on data, comparison, or a single detailed story, the argument is emotive.

Let's summarize:

  • An emotive argument uses feeling, here the safety of children, to persuade, rather than facts, figures, or a story.
  • None of analogy, statistics, or personalization fit what the passage actually does.

The correct option is (BB), emotive.

Was this answer helpful?
0

Top Questions on Critical Reasoning


Questions Asked in XAT exam