argument51 ,求拍

kxf79UID: 2130897

TOPIC: ARGUMENT51 - The following appeared in a medical newsletter.

"Doctors have long suspected that secondary infections may keep some patients from healing quickly after severe muscle strain. This hypothesis has now been proved by preliminary results of a study of two groups of patients. The first group of patients, all being treated for muscle injuries by Dr. Newland, a doctor who specializes in sports medicine, took antibiotics regularly throughout their treatment. Their recuperation time was, on average, 40 percent quicker than typically expected. Patients in the second group, all being treated by Dr. Alton, a general physician, were given sugar pills, although the patients believed they were taking antibiotics. Their average recuperation time was not significantly reduced. Therefore, all patients who are diagnosed with muscle strain would be well advised to take antibiotics as part of their treatment."
WORDS: 405          TIME: 0:30:00          DATE: 2006-4-9

In this argument, the arguer advocates that all patients who are diagnosed with muscle strain would be advised to take antibiotics as part of their treatment. To support his conclusion, the arguer provides a study of two groups of patients which used to explain patients with took antibiotics regularly are more quickly to recuperation after muscle strain than the time of those who are not sure to use. With careful examination, this argument relies on insufficient evidences and lends to be unconvincing.

To begin with, the arguer fails to rule out other possible factors contributing to the quicker recuperation of the patients treated by Dr. Newland. Although 40 percent quicker than typically expected, the arguer fails to provide what the characters of this 40 percent patients. Perhaps, they are younger or only mildly injured. Also, they might avoid the excessive movements and be treated more immediately after the injury. In addition, Dr. Newland, as a specialist of sports medicine, probably has applied other advance measures to treat his patients, especially the psychological consults to the patients. Therefore, the arguer attempts to attribute less time of recuperation only to the antibiotics are unfair and unwarranted.

In the second place, the arguer fails to convince the reader that the long average recuperation time of patients treated by Dr.Alton are caused by without taking antibiotics. The most important failure, which the arguer have ignored to provide, is how many patients treated by Dr. Alton have used the antibiotics after their injury. Perhaps, all of the patients also take the antibiotics themself. Therefore, it's easier to judge that antibiotics exert trivial roles on the recuperation. Furthermore, as Dr. Alton was a general physician, the arguer fails to compare the capacities of Dr. Alton and Dr.Newland on treating sports related muscle injury. The specialist could more superior than the generalist on treating patients. So the conclusion was hasty generalization about two isolated facts, and oversimplifies the complexity.

Last but not least, granted the antibiotics are very important to the patients with muscle strain, the arguer fails to gurantee all of patients will benefit from the antibiotics. From the evidences, only 40 percent patients have less time of recuperation, so how can every one obtain benefits from such treatment. Otherwise, the less time of recuperation could not confirm that the patients would get more healthy status after the treatment, perhaps they have suffered more pain and used too much money on treatment.

In conclusion, the arguer commits the illogical conclusion based on vague investigation. To further bolster such conclusion, the arguer should provide the evidence of the random and double-blinded clinical trails to reveal that antibiotics are not necessary to be used by patients, in these trails, the patients treated within same manner and by the doctors with equivalent experiences and knowledges.

icyfire0105UID: 2187203

最后一条攻击有误，原文中 Their recuperation time was, on average, 40 percent quicker than typically expected. 是说这组病人的平均恢复周期比预想的快40%.
不是说有40%的病人恢复的快。
last but not least是口语中短语 书面慎用。