A statement that describes what should happen or what ought to be is called a:

A statement that describes what should happen or what ought to be is called a:

• A. Normative statement
• B. Nonnormative statement
• C. General
• D. Explanatory

Answer: (A)

Distinguishing prescriptive language from descriptive language is what this question is about. A statement that says what should happen or what ought to be is normative because it expresses a value judgment and prescribes a course of action. In political analysis, normative statements revolve around questions of what is desirable, just, or right, and they imply how people ought to act or what policies ought to be pursued. This contrasts with descriptive (nonnormative) statements that describe how things are without advising action. For example, saying a policy exists or results in a certain outcome describes reality without making a judgment about what should be done. Explanatory statements, meanwhile, try to account for why something happens, rather than prescribing what should happen. So the best label for a statement about what ought to be is normative.

Distinguishing prescriptive language from descriptive language is what this question is about. A statement that says what should happen or what ought to be is normative because it expresses a value judgment and prescribes a course of action. In political analysis, normative statements revolve around questions of what is desirable, just, or right, and they imply how people ought to act or what policies ought to be pursued.

This contrasts with descriptive (nonnormative) statements that describe how things are without advising action. For example, saying a policy exists or results in a certain outcome describes reality without making a judgment about what should be done. Explanatory statements, meanwhile, try to account for why something happens, rather than prescribing what should happen. So the best label for a statement about what ought to be is normative.