So what is this recession we keep hearing about? The word recession comes from the Latin recedere, which means “to move backward.” What is it that moves backward in a recession? Sadly, it is the entire country. In a recession, a nation grows worse (sometimes dramatically so) rather than better. (clarity) 2The most recent recession in the United States began in 2008. It was in that fateful year that the stock market crashed, the real-estate bubble burst, and financial firms such as Lehman Brothers collapsed. The consequences of these events for ordinary Americans are far reaching. Millions of Americans lost their jobs. Millions of others saw their income decline drastically. Families lost a lot of stuff. (precise vocabulary)

3What caused this catastrophe? In short, the financial crisis was brought about due to the fact that there was a whole bunch of overspending. For years, ordinary Americans bought things they couldn’t really afford by charging them on their credit cards. Unable to pay their full credit-card balances each month, many people made only the minimum payment and therefore ended up owing much more than they charged in the form of added interest. (effective phrasing)

4Unfortunately, people overspent not only on relatively small items. They overspent on things like dinner and a movie or a new video game. People used their credit cards to buy more expensive things like computers, high-definition televisions, or vacations to Europe. Such people count on their ability to pay tomorrow for things they enjoy today. Sometimes, however, tomorrow never arrives. (sentence combining)

In paragraph 2, the author begins his argument by
Question 2 options:

quoting experts on his topic.

listing reasons for his position on the topic.

providing the historical background to his topic.

referring to other people's opinions about the topic.