Argument 35 范文

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Argument 35/52/128/129
Arg 35 Modify showerheads to restrict water

35) The following appeared in a letter from the owner of the Sunnyside Towers apartment complex to its manager.

One month ago, all the showerheads in the first three buildings of the Sunnyside Towers complex were modified to restrict maximum water flow to one-third of what it used to be. Although actual readings of water usage before and after the adjustment are not yet available, the change will obviously result in a considerable savings for Sunnyside Corporation, since the corporation must pay for water each month. Except for a few complaints about low water pressure, no problems with showers have been reported since the adjustment. I predict that modifying showerheads to restrict water flow throughout all twelve buildings in the Sunnyside Towers complex will increase our profits even more dramatically.

Write a response in which you discuss what questions would need to be answered in order to decide whether the prediction and the argument on which it is based are reasonable. Be sure to explain how the answers to these questions would help to evaluate the prediction.

52) The following appeared in a letter from the owner of the Sunnyside Towers apartment building to its manager.

One month ago, all the showerheads on the first five floors of Sunnyside Towers were modified to restrict the water flow to approximately one-third of its original flow. Although actual readings of water usage before and after the adjustment are not yet available, the change will obviously result in a considerable savings for Sunnyside Corporation, since the corporation must pay for water each month. Except for a few complaints about low water pressure, no problems with showers have been reported since the adjustment. Clearly, restricting water flow throughout all the twenty floors of Sunnyside Towers will increase our profits further.

Write a response in which you discuss what questions would need to be answered in order to decide whether the recommendation is likely to have the predicted result. Be sure to explain how the answers to these questions would help to evaluate the recommendation.

128) The following appeared in a letter from the owner of the Sunnyside Towers apartment complex to its manager.

One month ago, all the showerheads in the first three buildings of the Sunnyside Towers complex were modified to restrict maximum water flow to one-third of what it used to be. Although actual readings of water usage before and after the adjustment are not yet available, the change will obviously result in a considerable savings for Sunnyside Corporation, since the corporation must pay for water each month. Except for a few complaints about low water pressure, no problems with showers have been reported since the adjustment. Clearly, modifying showerheads to restrict water flow throughout all twelve buildings in the Sunnyside Towers complex will increase our profits further.
Write a response in which you discuss what specific evidence is needed to evaluate the argument and explain how the evidence would weaken or strengthen the argument.

129) The following appeared in a letter from the owner of the Sunnyside Towers apartment complex to its manager.

Last week, all the showerheads in the first three buildings of the Sunnyside Towers complex were modified to restrict maximum water flow to one-third of what it used to be. Although actual readings of water usage before and after the adjustment are not yet available, the change will obviously result in a considerable savings for Sunnyside Corporation, since the corporation must pay for water each month. Except for a few complaints about low water pressure, no problems with showers have been reported since the adjustment. Clearly, modifying showerheads to restrict water flow throughout all twelve buildings in the Sunnyside Towers complex will increase our profits further.

Write a response in which you examine the stated and/or unstated assumptions of the argument. Be sure to explain how the argument depends on these assumptions and what the implications are for the argument if the assumptions prove unwarranted.




G1: One month ago, all the showerheads in the first three buildings of the Sunnyside Towers complex were modified to restrict maximum water flow to one-third of what it used to be.

C1: Although actual readings of water usage before and after the adjustment are not yet available, the change will obviously result in a considerable savings for Sunnyside Corporation, since the corporation must pay for water each month.

G2: Except for a few complaints about low water pressure, no problems with showers have been reported since the adjustment.

C2: I predict that modifying showerheads to restrict water flow throughout all twelve buildings in the Sunnyside Towers complex will increase our profits even more dramatically."


A1 (G1): The modification has helped save water.

A2 (C2): The cost of the modification would not severely reduce the profits.

A3 (G2, C2): The modification would not upset the current and prospective tenants.


拿到这道题首先要搞清楚前提和结论是什么。这里的结论是在所有的公寓里改装花洒头可以显著提高利润。而前提和证据则包括前三栋公寓改装后没有收到投诉、尚无水表读数以及公司需要每月付水费。这里需要知道利润是由收入和开支决定的，因此可以从这两方面展开讨论。其中开支主要包括水费以及改装的费用，而收入则主要是租金收入。因此需要讨论的问题包括

- 水费是不是真的会节省
- 改装的费用会不会影响利润
- 改装会否赶走现有的和潜在的租客


model essay


In the letter, it is argued that all the showerheads in Sunnyside Towers should be modified to restrict water flow in order to save water and increase profits. While the modification of the showerheads in the three buildings has not led to many complaints, a number of questions about whether water can be saved, the cost of modification and its effects on the leasing business have to be answered to decide if the proposal will lead to the increase of profits.


To begin with, we need to know if the modification has indeed saved significant amount of water. In the absence of water usage data before and after the adjustment, it is necessary to look into different possible scenarios. For example, with restricted water flow, the residents may spend more time showering; as a result, the total water usage may not be reduced. In fact, with more time spent showering, more electricity might be consumed leading to the increase of expense in other area as well. Also, in response to the modification, residents may choose to bath instead of shower, which would also use more water. More information about how the residents behave differently is requried to evaluate the proposal.

Another important question to be addressed is how much it would cost to modify the showerheads. Obviously it takes money to hire skiled workers to modify the showerheads. The labor cost for modifying all the showerheads could be quite significant and affect the cash flow and income statement of the company. If the labor cost exceeds the amount that can be saved through reducing water usage, this proposal would not icnrease the profits significantly, at least not in the short term. Another hidden cost of modification is the disruption it may cause to the residents who may not be happy with the work. If the residents are not happy with the disruption, they may choose to live in other apartment complex, leading to the loss of rental revenue of the company.

In fact, a more pressing issue is whether the current and propsective tenants of the apartment complex will be dissastified with the restricted water flow and vote against the company by their feet. It is reasonable to believe that there are other apartment complex in town which the tenants can choose and enjoy normal water flow from showerheads. If the proposed modification lead to significant loss of tenants and rental revenue, the company would be unlikely to increase its profits.

In conclusion, while it is understandable that the company tries to save money by restricting the water flow, more information has to be gathered to answer the questions discussed above in order to decide if the proposed modification will help the company to make more profits.





Argument范文与提纲目录(tesolchina)
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