Argument117 【loveaw】第八次作业

njuliuyangUID: 2300567

ARGUMENT117 - The following is a memo from the business manager of Valu-Mart stores.
"Over 70 percent of the respondents to a recent survey reported that they are required to take more work home with them from the workplace than they were in the past. Since Valu-Mart has not seen impressive sales in its office-supply departments in the past, we should take advantage of this work-at-home trend by increasing at all Valu-Mart stores the stock of home office machines such as printers, small copy machines, paper shredders, and fax machines. We will also increase stock of office supplies such as paper, pens, and staplers. With these changes, our office-supply departments will become the most profitable component of our stores."
WORDS: 385（333）          TIME: 0:34:08          DATE: 2007-2-22

The author comes to the conclusion on the basis of several unsubstantiated assumptions and questionable reasoning, which lead to a unsound conclusion as it stands.

To begin with, the author does not prove that the survey is statistically reliable. Perhaps the sample of respondents to the recent survey is so small that it does not suffice to represent the general cases. And it is entirely possible that the majority of the respondents to the survey conducted came from the same department or company or a few corporations which cannot be representative of overall departments and companies in the area where Valu-Mart (VM) sell its home office machines and supplies.(86)

In addition, the author comes to the conclusion based on the precarious assumption that foregoing products will be popular with the customers. The author provide no evidence that the quality of home office machines and office supplies which VM sells is so satisfactory and good that people are more willing to purchase them. Also, the author fails to rule out the possibility that the price of those products in VM stores is prohibitive, which prevents the consumers from buying them. And thus the sales in its office-supply department is far from satisfactory and it is unlikely to increase even after VM stores increase its stock of those products.(108)

Finally, even assuming that the home office machines and office supplies are popular with the customers, it is not necessarily true that office-supply department in VM will become the most profitable part of their stores. It is entirely possible that the production costs of those products are too high to profit a lot, or even that the incomes of sales simply can cover the costs. Moreover, the author provides no specific information concerning how many profits other departments in VM stores can earn, which render it unsound to make a comparison of office-supply department with other departments, and thus conclusion that office-supply department will become the most profitable part of VM stores remain dubious.(115)

In sum, the author lends little support to the conclusion according to the presented assumptions and precarious reasoning. To better bolster the argument, it would be of use to substantiate the reliability of the recent survey and eliminate other possibilities that may prevent the sales in its office-supply department from increasing.

katrinajjUID: 2242021

The author comes to the conclusion[个人觉得中间推理可以不写,但这个结论还是写出来清晰点~~] on the basis of several unsubstantiated assumptions and questionable reasoning, which lead to a unsound conclusion as it stands.

To begin with, the author does not prove that the survey is statistically reliable. Perhaps the sample of respondents to the recent survey is so small that it does not suffice to represent the general cases. And it is entirely possible that the majority of the respondents to the survey conducted came from the same department or company or a few corporations which cannot be representative of overall departments and companies in the area where Valu-Mart (VM) sell its home office machines and supplies.(86)

In addition, the author comes to the conclusion based on the precarious assumption that foregoing products will be popular with the customers. The author provide no evidence that the quality of home office machines and office supplies which VM sells is so satisfactory and good that people are more willing to purchase them. Also, the author fails to rule out the possibility that the price of those products in VM stores is prohibitive[这个词用在这里是什么意思?], which prevents the consumers from buying them. And thus the sales in its office-supply department is far from satisfactory and it is unlikely to increase even after VM stores increase its stock of those products.(108)[这段的分析不是深刻~~人们是否真的需要这些办公机器还没有被证明~~没有找到这个关键的错误]

Finally, even assuming that the home office machines and office supplies are popular with the customers, it is not necessarily true that office-supply department in VM will become the most profitable part of their stores. It is entirely possible that the production costs of those products are too high to profit a lot, or even that the incomes of sales simply can cover the costs. Moreover, the author provides no specific information concerning how many profits other departments in VM stores can earn, which render it unsound to make a comparison of office-supply department with other departments, and thus conclusion that office-supply department will become the most profitable part of VM stores remain dubious.(115)[这段的分析挺全面~~~]

In sum, the author lends little support to the conclusion according to the presented assumptions and precarious reasoning. To better bolster the argument, it would be of use to substantiate the reliability of the recent survey and eliminate other possibilities that may prevent the sales in its office-supply department from increasing.

PS: 逻辑错误没有找得很全~~语言挺不错的~~就是分析不够深刻~~