Critical Reasoning (Assumptions) Statement: 'Private property, trespassers will be prosecuted' — a notice on a plot of land. Which assumptions are implicit?

Introduction / Context:
This question tests your ability to detect unstated assumptions behind a practical statement. A property owner posts a notice: 'Private property, trespassers will be prosecuted.' We must decide which assumptions must be true for the notice to have its intended effect.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• I: The passerby may read the notice and may not trespass.
• II: The people are scared of prosecution.

Concept / Approach:
An assumption is a fact that the author of the statement takes for granted and that must hold for the action to make sense. Ask: if an assumption were false, would the statement lose purpose or persuasive force?

Step-by-Step Solution:
1) Purpose of the notice: deter trespassing by warning of legal action.2) For deterrence to work, passersby must be able to receive the message; hence literacy/legibility and attention are assumed (Assumption I).3) The threat must influence behavior. That requires people to care about possible prosecution (penalties, hassle, cost), implying fear or concern (Assumption II).4) If either I or II fails (cannot read or do not care about prosecution), the notice largely fails its purpose.

Verification / Alternative check:
Consider counterfactuals: illiterate passersby or those indifferent to prosecution are unlikely to be deterred, undermining the rationale for posting such a notice. Therefore both assumptions underpin the notice's effectiveness.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:

• Only I or only II: The notice needs both communication (I) and motivation via deterrence (II).
• Either I or II: One alone is insufficient to ensure deterrence.
• Neither I nor II: Would render the notice purposeless.

Common Pitfalls:
Do not over-interpret 'scared' as panic; it suffices that people wish to avoid legal trouble. Also, assumption I does not demand everyone reads it—only that the intended audience can and will generally do so.

Final Answer:
Both I and II are implicit