argument9 -拍文修改小组 6.12

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Argument 9
The following appeared in a memorandum from a dean at Omega University.
"Fifteen years ago, Omega University implemented a new procedure that encouraged students to evaluate the teaching effectiveness of all their professors. Since that time, Omega professors have begun to assign higher grades in their classes, and overall student grade averages at Omega have risen by thirty percent. Potential employers apparently believe the grades at Omega are inflated; this would explain why Omega graduates have not been as successful at getting jobs as have graduates from nearby Alpha University. To enable its graduates to secure better jobs, Omega University should now terminate student evaluation of professors."

In this memo the dean from Omega University (OU) point out that they should terminate student evaluation of professors which has worked for fifteen years in order to enable graduates of OU to find better jobs. And the dean also reasons that OU’s graduates are not successful at hunting jobs as the ones from nearby Alpha University (AU) due to this evaluation system. However, as far as I concerned, this argument contains several logical flaws, which render it unconvincing.

First of all, even if the evaluation has result in potential employers believing the grades at OU are inflated, the dean’s claim that because of grades inflation, graduates are less successful than AU’s is unjustified, for the dean overlooks some other explanations for this phenomenon. It is quite possible that OU’s graduates are pursuing higher goals or trend at OU toward higher admission standards. Without ruling out other possibilities, the arguer may not persuade me in this aspect.

Additionally, there is an obvious fault that increasing grades which has risen by thirty percent is resulted from this new evaluation procedure. This opinion is too absolute to concern other possible factors which may influence the increasing grades. Maybe after evaluating teaching effectiveness, teachers know their own shortcomings and take some effective measures at the same time, maybe with the help of evaluation procedure, students get fully understanding about teachers which encourage them to struggle and work hard. All these factors can contribute to increasing grades, and it is not fair for employers to conclude evaluation as a cause to grades inflation.

Also, the argument based on a false analogy, even OU and AU are both universities and in the same geographic area, it does not mean that OU and AU will have same number of graduates in hunting jobs, the unsuccessful job hunting in OU can be caused by its inadequate career service, or AU has improved its public relations to find jobs, and maybe AU’s courses are more relevant to social need. Therefore, we cannot give conclusions so cursorily.

In the end, this argument is unpersuasive as it stands, to strengthen it the speaker must offer more sufficient evidence such as possibilities lead to increasing grades and proper reasons of less success in finding jobs. Only with fully comprehension of it can the dean at OU terminate student evaluation of professors.