frmichelin1-5, Exercise 3: "Michelin stars drive chefs to despair"

Model answer (check the details):

Why it is hard to test:
1. Causes. A person's distress and death have many causes (health, family, money, work), and nobody outside can know which mattered. A single cause cannot be assigned from press reports.
2. Numbers. Nobody has published reliable figures comparing the rate of mental illness or suicide among starred chefs with other chefs or with the population, so a "pattern" cannot be shown.
3. Selection. The cases that are reported are the famous ones, and the many chefs who thrive or who are unaffected are not reported.
4. Interested accounts. Chefs, the guide and the press all have reasons to stress different explanations.

How a careful writer should handle it: state what is documented (a chef died on a date; the press at the time reported certain pressures; the guide said what it said), say that the cause cannot be known, avoid detail of the death, and avoid language that suggests a single explanation. Point to evidence on working conditions in kitchens generally (long hours, hierarchy, stress), and include information on where to find help.

A careful sentence: "Chefs and journalists have discussed the pressure of the rating system after the deaths of two prominent chefs, though the causes of such deaths are complex and cannot be reduced to one factor."

Care: this is a matter on which guesswork can hurt. When in doubt, say less.