1. Relying on the executive summary, explain how the experiences of veterans and service members compare with those of students generally. Relying on the entire selection, explain how their experiences differ from those of students twenty-five and older who have never served in the military.

2. Read footnote 2 carefully. What is its function? What sort of definition does it offer for the terms it discusses? Why is it necessary, especially in research studies like this one? (Chapter 9 on definitional arguments includes a discussion of kinds of definitions.)

3. What purposes do the tables in this selection serve? Pay special attention to the sorts of information that such visual displays of information contain that are not included in the text about them. Similarly, imagine what the selection would be like without any of the tables. How do the tables complement the discussions about them in the text?

4. Like many reports generated by research institutes, this selection is primarily an argument of fact. As is common, however, there are proposals (or at least recommendations) embedded within these factual arguments, with the facts serving as evidence for and justification of the proposed action. Find instances of such recommendations or proposals in this selection. Why might they be part of what is primarily a factual argument?

5. As is often the case, data from reports such as this one can be used to support multiple arguments. Write a summary of this selection that supports the claim that, by and large, the experiences of veterans and service members at college are not especially different from those of their age cohort, all students twenty-five and older. Then write a second summary of the selection that supports the claim that, in fact, the experiences of veterans and service members at college are quite distinct from those of their age cohort. In both cases, you will be constructing factual arguments, relying heavily on fact and statistics from surveys. (Chapter 4 on arguments based on fact and reason and Chapter 8 on arguments of fact will be helpful to you here.) You might imagine that these summaries are part of a larger research project on veterans and service personnel on college campuses; doing so will give you a context for this assignment.