Argument111【0906G ANap Hand 作文互改小组】第三次作业 by tianshi02

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Argument111【0906G ANap Hand 作文互改小组】第三次作业 by tianshi02

TOPIC: ARGUMENT111 - The following appeared in a memo from the vice president of marketing at Dura-Sock, Inc.

"A recent study of Dura-Sock wearers suggests that our company is wasting the money it spends on its patented "Endure" manufacturing process, which ensures that our socks are strong enough to last for two years. Dura-Sock has always advertised its use of the "Endure" process, but the new study shows that the average Dura-Sock customer actually purchases new Dura-Socks every three months. Furthermore, Dura-Sock customers surveyed in our largest market, northeastern United States cities, say that they most value Dura-Sock's stylish appearance and availability in many colors. These findings suggest that Dura-Sock can increase its profits by discontinuing its use of the "Endure" manufacturing process."


The arguer drew the conclusion that the profits will rise by terminating the “endure” manufacturing process, based on the two findings, neither of which could lend strong support to the conclusion.

The phenomenon that the average Dura-Sock customer buys new Dura-Socks every 3 months could in no way reveal that a great many of customers are not concerned about its quality to last for 2 years. Perhaps the reason why the average customer purchases new Dura-Socks so frequently is that the customers are attracted by the various styles and colors of the products. There are a myriad of reasons that could be attributed to this phenomenon. The socks, for example, are too dirty to be washed clean. Therefore, the evidence here is not sufficient to show the marginal role of endurance of the socks.

Accompanying the above phenomenon is the survey result which demonstrates that the customers in the largest market place great importance on the fashionable appearance and the variety of colors. The first flaw is that the survey result does not, in any sense, imply that the customers in this market do not expect the socks to last as long as 2 years. Their pursuit for fashions may be based on its high quality. Secondly, the arguer seems to assume the representativeness of the largest market, which is not necessarily true. Even if we concede that the customers in the northeastern US cities pay close attention to the fashion of the socks, as opposed to endurance, we are not sure if it is the case for the customers in other regions. It is possible that the rest of the customers highly value the quality of the socks.

To sum up, it is not advisable to stop the use of “endure” manufacturing process simply with the knowledge of the 2 observations above, which cannot logically justify the intended conclusion.