Critical Reasoning

Weather patterns in various parts of the country appear to affect the emotional states of many residents; for example, the long winters of the Northeast and northern Midwest are associated with increased depression and lethargy in some people. Therefore, an extended, unseasonal cold spell in Florida would result in an increased incidence of depression among many Florida residents.

In the passage above, the author develops the argument by


giving examples of a set of proven effects, and then analyzing the cause of those effects

drawing a conclusion based on a generalization about weather patterns

presupposing that cold weather necessarily affects one’s emotional state

claiming that a result will occur in a specific case after citing a correlation in another case

making a distinction between normal and unusual weather patterns