ETS 6分范文分析_Argument[自由女神]小组第一次作业

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Test3
A recent survey of dental patients showed that people who use Smile-Bright toothpaste are most likely to have capped teeth -- artificial but natural-looking protective coverings placed by dentists on individual teeth.  Those people who had begun using Smile-Bright toothpaste early in life were more likely to have capped teeth than were people who had begun using Smile-Bright later in life.  In addition, those who reported brushing their teeth more than twice a day with Smile-Bright toothpaste were more likely to have caps on their teeth than were those who reported brushing with Smile-Bright less frequently.  Therefore, people wishing to avoid having their teeth capped should not use Smile-Bright toothpaste.


6、
The argument contains several facets (facet / aspect / respect) that are questionable. First, the reliability and generalizability of the survey are open to quesiton ( /open to doubt). In addition, the argument assumes a correlation (相关性) amounts to a causal relationship (因果关系). The argument also fails to examine alternative explanations. (“未考虑其他可能的情况”，是思维枯竭时找第三个攻击点的办法。) I will discuss each of these facets in turn.
-首段开门见山提出结论。并简要列举了存在问题的方面，相当于提纲。 “把A 设想成/想象成/当成 B” ：assumes A to B.

In evaluating the evidence of the survey, one must consider how the survey was conducted.(survey如何进行的) If the questions were leading or if the survey relied on self reports, the results might be unreliable -- people might just respond with the expected answer.(分析，学习此句表达方式)   One must also consider how broad the survey was.(survey的调查范围是否足够宽) If the survey was limited to a few patients of a certain dentist, the results might be attributable to those particular individuals and that particular dentist. Hence, the generalization drawn might not apply to most people.(分析，表达方式可背诵) In addition, even if (Transition) the survey was broader, one must consider whether it was limited in certain ways.(survey是否有其它局限性) For example, were the survey respondents old people? Was the survey limited to a certain city or geographic region? Factors such as these could explain the survey results and could undermine the generalizability of the survey results.
第一攻击点：无效调查。

Even if (Transition) one accepts the survey results, the argument remains questionable. The argument assumes that the correlation between the use of SMILEBRIGHT and capped teeth means that SMILE BRIGHT causes the need for capped teeth. But the argument fails to provide sufficient evidence to support the conclusion.(基础句型) In addition, the argument fails to consider the possibility that people who already have capped teeth might prefer SMILEBRIGHT as a toothpaste because it works better on capped teeth.
第二攻击点：把数量上的相关性当作因果关系。首先一个Even if承接第一段攻击，然后立即从正面分析“作者没提供足够的证据来证明因果关系”，随机又从反面说明可能是别的原因导致数量上的结果。此段4句话，仔细一看其实也比较简单。

Finally, the argument's author fails to rule out alternative explanations.(基础句型) For instance, people who brush their teeth more than twice a day might be those who are prone to (易于，相当于be apt to) the need to have their teeth capped. It might also be the case that (举例句型) starting with SMILEBRIGHT early in life damages the teeth so that capped teeth will be needed later. It also might be the case that SMILEBRIGHT users tend to be the kind of people who are excessively concerned with the appearance of their teeth, perhaps they are actors, and so are the kind of people who might, sooner or later, want to have their teeth capped anyway.
第三攻击点：其它可能原因。发挥想象力的段落。

In conclusion, the argument, while it seems logical at first, has several flaws as discussed above. The argument could be improved by (可以借鉴的句型，同类：To strengthen the argument, the arguer should have to ....) providing evidence that the correlation is indeed a causal relationship -- that using the toothpaste actually causes the need for capped teeth. It could be further improved by ruling out alternative explanations for the supposed causal relationship.
结尾段未提survey，尽管survey最终也是为了证明causal relationship，但不提一下始终感觉有点遗憾。