argument22 by poboso

pobosoUID: 2318913

22.The following appeared in a memo from the president of a company that
builds and sells new homes in Steel City.

"Over the past five years, the population of Steel City has increased by
more than 20 percent, and family incomes in Steel City have risen much
faster than the national average. Nationwide, sales of houses priced above
$150,000 have increased more than have sales of lower-priced houses. Such
data indicate that we should make changes in our business to increase
company profits. First, we should build fewer low-priced houses than we
did last year and focus instead on building houses designed to sell at
above $150,000. Second, we should hire additional workers so that we can
build a larger total number of houses than we did last year."

过去五年中，Steel
City的人口增加超过了20％，家庭收入的上涨比全国平均水平快的多。在全国范围，房价在$150000以上的房产销量的增长比低价房产要多。这些数据显示我们的业务应该进行一些变革来增加利润。首先，我们所建设的低价位房产应该比去年少，而集中力量建设房价在$150000以上的房产。其次，我们应该雇佣更多的工人从而保证我们能够比去年建设更多的房屋。The arguer of this article recommends that they should build fewer low-priced houses and build houses designed to sell at above $150,000. The author rests his recommendation on some unwarranted outcome of some researches. The author also asserts that the company should hire additional workers to build larger total number of houses than it did last year. The argument is reasonable at the first glance, but it can’t stand further meditation.
First and foremost, the author equates the increase in family income with the higher purchasing ability. The assumption is unwarranted. As a common sense, the purchasing ability of a group is decided by the average income. However, the author indicates that the population of Steel City has increases by more than 20 percent, which means the family income is affected by the number of people in the family, too. In order to show that the average income is going up, the author has to rule out the possibility mentioned above.
What is more, the author recommends designing houses at above $150,000, which is based on nationwide conditions that houses over $150,000 are selling better than those of lower prices. The author ignores the terrain and time differences. The research relies on the past five years. The author has to show evidences to prove that the company will profit in the following years instead of the past. And the research is based on nationwide statistics, which means there may lots of differences in S city. Unless the author proves that S city is a representative sample of the whole country, there is no possibility to reason the conditions in S city from the whole country statistics.
Finally, the writer simply demonstrates that they should hire more workers to build more houses. There is no evidence showing that more workers will help them make more profit. Hiring more workers means more cost. The efficiency is unwarranted, too. If the company wants to make more profit, it has to cultivate more educational workers who are earnest and efficient. Maybe it is wiser to devote money in education than simply hire more workers.
In sum, the author makes a cursory conclusion which can’t stand further reasoning. The author makes a false analogue between the conditions of the whole country and that of S city. He also lacks some basic factors affecting the sales of houses. In order to improve, he has to improve his argument as mentioned above.


个人认为：第四段的论证和第二段的论证有点重复。
           个人平均所得与家庭收入的关系还不是很明确，房产销量与个人收入成正比？如何叙述？
      修更多的房屋不代表赚更多的钱，应该如何展开、？？？？。。。。。