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TOPIC: ARGUMENT181 - From a letter to the editor of a city newspaper.






"One recent research study has indicated that many adolescents need more sleep than they are getting, and another study has shown that many high school students in our city are actually dissatisfied with their own academic performance. As a way of combating these problems, the high schools in our city should begin classes at 8:30 A.M. instead of 7:30 A.M., and end the school day an hour later. This arrangement will give students an extra hour of sleep in the morning, thereby making them more alert and more productive. Consequently, the students will perform better on tests and other assignments, and their academic skills will improve significantly."
WORDS: 409
TIME: 00:30:00
DATE: 2009-7-20 20:17:40

In this argument the author concludes that in order to let the students perform better on tests and other assignments and therefore improve the academic skills, the school need to begin the class one hour earlier and end in one hour later. To justify this argument the author points out that a study shows that the adolescents need more sleep than they are getting. And another study shows that the students are dissatisfied with the academic performance. However, this argument is unpersuasive, for several reasons.

First of all, a good study must be statistically reliable. The sample must be large in size and representative of the overall students. However the author fails to provide any evidence to prove the study is reliable. Absent evidence it is entire possible that the students who have enough sleep tend not to answer the questions, or they are absent at that time. In these cases, the author cannot draw any board conclusion about the arrangement will improve the academic skills of the adolescents.
Secondly, even assuming the study is statistically reliable the author overlooks some other situations will lead to the academic performance decline rather than the sleep. Perhaps the students plays video games too often or they watch television in their leisure time and ignores the homework. Either of these scenarios, if true, will weak the authors recommendation at best.

Thirdly, the author unfairly assumes that the arrangement will give the adolescent more sleep and therefore they will perform better at school. It is entire possible that due to the new arrangement the students tend to sleep later at night and as a result cannot have energy at their school time and therefore decrease the academic performance. Moreover, common sense informs me that every people is different in study, and some adolescents will be more tired in the hour later at school. Without accounting for and compare the effect of the two arrangements the author cannot convince me that the conclusion is the best choice.

In sum, the author's argument is unpersuasive as it stands. To bolster the argument I would need to know that the study is statistically reliable. It is also useful to know that the students are lack of sleep and this is the cause of their decrease in academic performance. To better evaluate the argument I would need more information about the condition of each student and ensure that the arrangement will be helpful for them actually.
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