The short passage:
119. Evidence suggests that academic honor codes, which call for students to agree not to cheat in their academic endeavors and to notify a faculty member if they suspect that others have cheated, are far more successful than are other methods at deterring cheating among students at colleges and universities. Several years ago, Groveton College adopted such a code and discontinued its old-fashioned system in which teachers closely monitored students. Under the old system, teachers reported an average of thirty cases of cheating per year. In the first year the honor code was in place, students reported twenty-one cases of cheating; /five years later, this figure had dropped to fourteen. Moreover, in a recent survey, a majority of Groveton students said that they would be less likely to cheat with an honor code in place than without.
The instruction:
Write a response in which you discuss one or more alternative explanations that could rival the proposed explanation and explain how your explanation(s) can plausibly account for the facts presented in the argument.
The sample answer:
There is a solid belief that the reduction in students’ cheating in exams is owing to the introduction academic honor codes. To explain, it is stated that the number of cheating cases was declining and students’ attitude towards the codes was positive. However, bearing a couple of flaws, these explanations tend to be problematic and thus more tenable ones should be afforded (开头无需多言，信息齐全即可).
Initially, thirty cases of cheating were reported under the old system. After the new one was carried out, only twenty-one cases of cheating were reported, whose number declined to fourteen five years later. This reduction of cases might make the administration in Groveton College feel heartening, yet, there is a possibility that there were much higher cases of cheating (presumably 50 or 60 annually) before the old system was implemented (替代性解释一：很可能在老措施实施之前，作弊案例更多). Namely, the effectiveness of the old system is likely to outperform the new alternative. For another, it is dubious the total number of students in this college remained steady after the honor code was employed. When there were significantly fewer students enrolling in this college, twenty one or fourteen cases of cheating were worrisome （替代性解释二：学生人数前后不一致的情况下，作弊案例的减少不见得一定说明新方法奏效）. Clearly, these explanations above are more likely to be persuasive as they have involved other variables into consideration （rival部分：给出解释时要分析更多变量，才能得到有说服力的观点）.
In addition, a majority of students in Groveton showed their positive attitude towards the honor codes. A rule tends to be put into practice easily and gain fruits smoothly as long as those involved in it are willing to obey. Now that students said they would be more honest in exams when an honor code was in place, this new method seems effective and encouraging. However, being less likely to cheat does not mean the eradication of cheating（替代性解释一：表态不做不代表不会去做）. Namely, students might fear the disrepute of cheating but they might figure out more intricate methods to cheat in order to avoid being caught on the spot (具体给出解释细节). Besides, whether the survey was conducted among the adequate number of students is suspicious (替代性解释二：大部分可能只是被调查者中的大部分). It is of high possibility that ‘the majority’ refers to the larger number of group among attendees in this survey but is not necessarily depicted on the basis of the overall number of students in this college. These alternative explanations above are more likely to verify the argument as they value the accuracy of the information disclosed.
Conclusion
(略)
