Question 7·Easy·Command of Evidence
A neighborhood bakery tracks how customers place orders: at the counter or through the bakery’s website. The graph shows the number of counter orders and online orders recorded in April of each year from 2020 to 2023.
A marketing intern writes, “Online orders first outnumbered counter orders in 2022.” To support this claim, the intern could add the following sentence: _____ Which choice most effectively uses data from the graph to complete the sentence?
When a claim includes a time word like “first,” look for evidence that compares the key year to an earlier year. Use the graph to verify both conditions: the relationship is not true before the key year, and it becomes true in the key year.
Hints
Pay attention to the word “first”
To support “first outnumbered in 2022,” you need evidence about 2022 and at least one earlier year.
Compare the year before 2022 to 2022
Look at 2021 and 2022. In 2021, which type is larger? In 2022, which type is larger?
Choose the option that shows the switch
Pick the choice that shows online orders below counter orders before 2022, but above counter orders in 2022.
Step-by-step Explanation
Identify what the claim requires
The claim says online orders first outnumbered counter orders in 2022. So the best evidence should show:
- In 2021 (the year before), online orders were fewer than counter orders.
- In 2022, online orders were greater than counter orders.
Read the needed values from the graph
From the graph:
- 2021: 45 counter orders and 30 online orders
- 2022: 40 counter orders and 44 online orders
Select the option that states those comparisons
Only one choice reports both 2021 and 2022 and shows the switch from online being fewer to online being greater.
Therefore, the correct answer is In 2021 the bakery recorded 45 counter orders and 30 online orders, but in 2022 it recorded 40 counter orders and 44 online orders.