ONLY HALF THE STORY
Another way a writer may slant information is to omit
evidence. A writer may try to convince you to accept his
or her interpretation of an event or issue by giving you
only one side of the story and by leaving out contrasting
facts or perspectives. When this is done deliberately, it is
a propaganda technique called card stacking. When you
read, evaluate whether the author has presented different
points of view and offered balanced evidence. For
instance, a campaign ad might highlight a candidate’s
positive qualities and leave out unfavorable characteris-
tics. Campaign ads might also target an opponent, pre-
senting negative qualities and omitting positive ones,
thereby creating a distorted perspective.
Cause and Effect Relationships
The GED Social Studies Test will ask you to identify the
relationships between events. Often, historical events are
connected to situations that came before them. When
you are considering the causes of an event, be aware that
multiple causes can create one effect, just as one cause
can have many effects. Sometimes, what is considered a
cause can be controversial. In the following passage, leg-
islators and criminologists argue over the causes that
might have contributed to a drop in the youth crime rate.
Juvenile crime has reached its lowest national
level since 1988. The number of arrests for juve-
nile murder has also dropped. It is now at the
lowest level since 1966. Backers of “adult time”
legislation—“get-tough” laws that send violent
teenagers to adult prison—believe that fear of
imprisonment is stopping juveniles from com-
mitting crimes. However, the decrease in crime
often started before these laws took effect. Some
criminologists believe a drop in crack cocaine use
and gun carrying is the more likely cause. These
experts argue that as the crack market dropped
off in the mid-1990s, fewer teens were dealing
drugs and fewer were carrying guns to protect
themselves. Police also increased their efforts to
enforce gun laws. With fewer young people carry-
ing weapons, the teen murder rate dropped.
According to the criminologists mentioned in the pas-
sage, which of the following is NOT a cause of the drop
in juvenile crime?
a. fewer gun-carrying juveniles
b. enforced gun laws
c. fear of jail time
d. fewer drug dealers on the street
e. police presence
The correct choice is c. In the passage, criminologists
argue that “adult time” laws have not had an effect on the
decrease in youth crime. They believe that choices a,b,d,
and eare multiple causes of the drop in crime.
Social Studies Key Words
As with any type of study, the social sciences use specific
terms and vocabulary. While you are studying for the
test, use a dictionary to look up unfamiliar terms. How-
ever, even if you do not recognize a word, you might
be able to figure out its meaning. The parts of a word—
prefix, root, and suffix—can offer clues to its meaning. A
number of terms used in social studies derive from Latin
or Greek. Knowing some useful word parts can help you
make an educated guess about the meaning of a word.
Review these common Latin and Greek word parts:
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ante before
anthrop human
arche beginning,
government
auto self
bi two
bio life
bene good
cracy rule
co, con with
demo people
dis not, opposite
femina woman
geo Earth
genos race
inter between
mis wrong
mono one
ology study
poly many
proto first
sub under, below
super over
theo god
topos place
tri three
uni one
Using the chart, isolate the word parts of the following
words:
monotheism ___________________________
autocrat _______________________________
democracy _____________________________
Now you can guess what they mean. Monotheism is
the belief that there is only one God. Autocrat stands for
someone who rules by him- or herself: a ruler with
unlimited power. Democracy is a government in which
the people rule either directly or indirectly through
representatives.
Context—the words and sentences surrounding a
term—can also offer clues to its meaning. Sometimes, a
word will be followed by a phrase that restates and
explains its meaning.
Example: President Truman instituted a set of
domestic programs that were later labeled the
Fair Deal; these policies continued and devel-
oped Roosevelt’s New Deal programs.
In this sentence, you can determine what the term
Fair Deal means from the text that surrounds it. The Fair
Deal is both “a set of domestic programs” and a contin-
uation of “Roosevelt’s New Deal programs.”
A contrast or opposing point of view can also offer
clues to the meaning of a term. The following sentence
uses the term bipartisanship:
Example: Despite the president’s plea for
bipartisanship, Republican senators accused
Democratic leaders of petty politics.
The sentence tells you that the Republicans are mak-
ing accusations about the actions of the Democrats. The
two groups are not in agreement. In the sentence, the
term bipartisanship refers to the opposite. So, you can
guess that it refers to the two groups when they are in
agreement.
Tools and Methods in
Social Science
Social scientists use polls in order to learn the attitudes
and opinions of a population. Polls are surveys that ask
people about the way they live and what they believe.
One method of polling is called sampling, in which a
polltaker questions a small part of a group so that he or
she can speculate about the opinions of the whole group.
In this way, polltakers can make accurate predictions.
However, sometimes polls are inaccurate. A historic
polling failure occurred in 1948, when polling groups
predicted that presidential candidate Harry S. Truman
would lose the election. In the recent 2004 presidential
election, the narrow margin in some states between can-
didates George W. Bush and John Kerry made it difficult
for polling organizations to make predictions.
In addition to forecasting voting patterns in elections,
polls can determine the opinions of groups on a whole
range of issues from consumer trends to health care and
education. Polltakers may use personal interviews, tele-
phone interviews, or mail-in questionnaires. The data
from these methods are then tabulated and evaluated.
After social scientists gather information from surveys
or studies, they can organize the information into the
form of numbers or statistics. Statistics can help social
scientists interpret information. They use statistics to fol-
low trends in global or national rates of population, edu-
cation level, housing status, crime, or another category.
They can also use statistics to make comparisons
between groups.
Example: The U.S. Census Bureau found that
36% of U.S. citizens between the ages of 18 and
24 voted in the November 2004 election, while
72% of citizens between the ages of 65 and 74
voted.
From this information, a social scientist can hypoth-
esize about the causes and effects of this age difference in
people who vote.
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Primary Sources
To gather information about the past, social scientists
and historians use a wide range of sources. Primary
sources are firsthand records of the past that include let-
ters, legal records, business records, diaries, oral histories,
photographs, posters, maps, or artifacts. Secondary
sources are accounts of an event made sometime after the
event took place. These include newspaper articles, pam-
phlets, books, or interviews. Together, these clues about
the past make up the historical record.
When reading historical sources, you need to use the
same analysis skills that you would apply to a present-day
source. Here are some basic questions to ask when you
are evaluating the reliability of a historical source:
■Consider the purpose of the author. Was the
source intended for a private or public audience?
■Did the author witness the event or rely on oth-
ers’ accounts?
■Did the author express an opinion? What was his
or her point of view?
■Can you verify the source with other evidence?
■How much time elapsed after the event before the
author made his or her account? (The sooner an
account is made, the more reliable a source tends
to be. Also, the nearer the witness is in proximity
to the event, the more reliable. Social scientists
and historians call this the time and place rule.)
Presenting Facts
Social scientists often use tables, charts, and graphs to
arrange information. Charts and tables divide figures
into columns. They organize information so that you can
see the relationships between facts. Graphs visually dis-
play information so that you can interpret facts more
easily. Graphs include tables, bar graphs, line graphs, and
circle graphs.
Tables
Tables arrange figures (numbers) into columns in order
to show a relationship between them. To read a table,
begin by noting the title of the table (the title runs across
the top of the table). Next, read each column heading.
Now you can locate facts and begin to discern the rela-
tionships between them.
World Energy Consumption,
1970–2020
Year Quadrillion Btu Consumed
1970 207
1975 243
1980 285
1985 311
1990 346
1995 366
2000 382
2005 439
2010 493
2015 552
2020 612
Sources: History—Energy Information Administration
(EIA), Office of Energy Markets and End Use, International
Statistics Database and International Energy Annual 1999,
DOE/EIA-0119(99), Washington, DC, February 2001. Pro-
jections—EIA, World Energy Projection System (2002).
EXERCISE 11
Look at the table, “World Energy Consumption, 1970–
2020,” and then answer the following questions. The
answers are on page 169.
1. How much energy did the world consume in
1980?
2. What is the table’s estimate of world energy
consumption for the year 2015?
3. What is the trend of the world’s energy
consumption?
4. In which five-year period in the past was the
increase in the world’s energy consumption the
greatest?
5. Between 1970 and 2020, how many times will
the world’s consumption rate grow, according
to the table’s estimate?
Bar Graphs
A bar graph is one way to present facts visually. A bar
graph features a vertical axis (running up and down on
the left-hand side of the graph) and a horizontal axis
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(running along the bottom of the graph). The graph rep-
resents quantities in strips or bars. To construct a bar
graph from the table, “World Energy Consumption,
1970–2020,” mark the five-year increments on the bot-
tom horizontal axis and the units of energy consumed
(by increments of 100 quadrillion Btu) on the vertical
axis. By representing the table’s data in a bar graph, you
can visualize the world’s energy consumption trend
more easily.
World Energy Consumption,
1970–2020
Line Graphs
Line graphs compare two or more things and help you to
visualize trends at a glance. Like the bar graph, a line
graph features a horizontal and vertical axis. Look at the
graph, “Immigrants Admitted: Fiscal Years 1900–2000.”
The vertical axis marks the number of immigrants (in
thousands). The horizontal axis measures each decade
between 1900 and 2000. A point for each year is plotted
on the coordinate plane and a line connects the points.
By using a line graph, you can readily see immigration
trends over the century.
Immigrants Admitted to the
United States: Fiscal Years
1900–2000
Source: 2000 Statistical Yearbook of the Immigration and
Naturalization Service.
EXERCISE 12
Look at the line graph, “Immigrants Admitted to the
United States,” and then answer the following questions.
The answers are on page 169.
1. What was the general trend of U.S. immigration
between 1950 and 1990?
2. In which decades was lowest point of U.S. immi-
gration in the last century?
3. When did the highest point occur?
Circle Graphs
Circle graphs, also called pie charts, display information
so that you can see relationships between parts and a
whole. The entire circle in the graph represents 100% of
something. Then it is divided into parts, or pie slices, that
together add up to the whole. To understand a circle
graph, read the title of the graph. What does the graph
represent? Read all other headings and labels. What
does each portion of the circle represent? Now you are
ready to see how the parts of information relate. Review
the following circle graph and then answer the practice
questions.
0
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
1900 1910 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000
Thousands
1,950
1,800
1,650
1,500
1,350
1,200
1,050
900
750
600
450
300
150
0
0
100
200 207
1970
1975
1980
1985
1990
1995
2000
2005
2010
2015
2020
243 285 311 346 366 382
439
493
552
612
Projections
History
Quadrillion Btu
300
400
500
600
700
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The Federal Government Dollar
Source: U.S. Office of Management and Budget, the Execu-
tive Office of the President.
Reading and Interpreting
Graphs
➧Note the title of the graph.
➧Look at the labels of the axes (or pie slices
in a circle graph).
➧Carefully read the information in the legend
or key if there is one.
➧Look for relationships between the facts
presented.
EXERCISE 13
Use the circle graph, “The Federal Government Dollar,”
to answer the following questions. The answers are on
page 169.
1. What percentage of the federal budget comes
from social insurance receipts and corporate
income taxes?
2. What is the biggest source of income for the fed-
eral government?
3. Which program receives the largest share of the
national budget?
4. What proportion of the budget goes to health-
care programs?
Maps
Maps are printed or drawn representations of a geo-
graphic area. Social scientists use different types of maps
to understand the natural or cultural facts about an area.
Maps can visually display many kinds of information,
such as the physical features of the land, political bound-
aries between nations, or population densities.
Topographic maps show the physical features of land,
including land elevations and depressions, water depth,
rivers, forests, mountains, or human-made cities and
roads.
Political maps display political divisions and borders.
Special-purpose maps can depict a wide range of infor-
mation about an area, from average rainfall, crop distri-
bution, or population density, to migration patterns of
people.
To read a map, carefully review each of the following:
■Title—this describes what the map represents.
■Legend, or key—a table or list that explains the
symbols used in a map.
■Latitude and longitude—latitude refers to the
lines on a map that are parallel to the equator;
longitude refers to lines parallel to the prime
meridian that run north to south through Green-
wich, England. These lines help locate specific
areas on a map.
■Scale—shows the map’s proportion in relation to
the area it represents. For example, on a topo-
graphic map, the scale might show the distance
on the map that equals a mile or kilometer on
land.
Review the special-purpose map on page 165, paying
careful attention to its details, and then answer the prac-
tice questions. The answers are on page 169.
National
Defense
16 cents
Nondefense
Discretionary
19 cents
Social
Security
23 cents
Medicare
12 cents
Net Interest
10 cents
Medicaid
7 cents
Other
Means—Tested
Entitlements
6 cents
Other
Mandatory
7 cents
Where It Goes
Individual
Income
Taxes
49 cents
Social
Insurance
Receipts
33 cents
Corporate
Income
Taxes
11 cents
Other
4 cents
Excise
Taxes
3 cents
Where It Comes From
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