Coursework: Discursive and Argumentative Writing: Question 9
Syllabus R4, R5
Your discursive coursework assignment discusses a proposed bypass road around the village of Elmswood. You are deciding which of the following two sources to cite as evidence.
Source 1, from a regional transport monitoring group's published report: "Vehicle counts taken across four weekday mornings recorded 1,850 cars passing through Elmswood's high street, a figure consistent with year-on-year traffic data the local council has collected since 2019."
Source 2, an anonymous comment posted beneath a local news article: "Everyone I know says the bypass will destroy this village completely, and anyone who supports it obviously doesn't care about where they live."
Which source would be more appropriate to cite as evidence in your coursework? Identify the source and give TWO separate reasons for your judgement, each referring to a specific feature of the sources themselves. [5]
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Worked solution
Assessment focus
This question tests the ability to judge a source’s reliability before using it as evidence, a skill needed both when selecting material to cite in coursework and when evaluating an opposing viewpoint encountered during research, distinct from simply agreeing or disagreeing with what a source claims.
Why Source 1 is the better choice
Source 1 states its method (vehicle counts taken across four weekday mornings), is attributed to a named type of organisation with a stated purpose (a regional transport monitoring group), and notes that its figures are consistent with independently collected council data, three separate, checkable markers of reliability.
Why Source 2 is weaker
Source 2 is anonymous, offers no method or evidence beyond “everyone I know says,” generalises from an unspecified, unrepresentative group of acquaintances, and dismisses anyone who holds a different view rather than engaging with their reasoning, a combination of anecdote, unverifiable claim and dismissal of opposing views rather than evidence.
Mark scheme (5 marks)
- 1 mark: correctly identifies Source 1.
- 2 marks: first valid, specific reason (e.g. stated method, named source, or cross-checked data).
- 2 marks: second valid, specific reason, genuinely distinct from the first (e.g. Source 2’s anonymity, lack of method, or dismissal of opposing views).
Common pitfalls specific to this task
- Writing “Source 1 sounds more official,” which gestures at reliability without identifying a specific reason.
- Choosing Source 2 because its conclusion matches the writer’s own intended argument, rather than judging the source on its own merits.
- Overlooking that Source 2’s final clause dismisses supporters of the bypass rather than addressing their reasoning, which is itself evidence of biased, low-quality argument.