argument51 我们的九月小组-----第二十二次作业

maggie-leeUID: 2220892

题目：ARGUMENT 51 - 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."
字数：431 （519）          用时：0:30:00(又用了 6分钟)          日期：2006-8-18

In this medical newsletter, the writer comes to the conclusion that all the patients with muscle strain should be advised to take antibiotics in their treatment. To substantiate the claim, the writer cites the preliminary results of a recent study, in which two groups of patients are observed. Unfortunately, due to the vague description of the study and the incomplete comparisons, the study does not lend a credible support to the claim of the writer.

First of all, the claim relies on a incomplete comparison between the two groups of patients which seriously undermines the credibility of the study. Common sense tells us that the recuperation time of the patients is closely related with the gender, age, and the degree of injury and so on. However, the cited study almost mentions nothing about the above items, and in that case the recovery time tells nothing concerning the function of antibiotics. It is totally possible that the first group members' muscle is strained far more seriously than the second group; therefore even the first group patients do not take antibiotics, they tend to recover more quickly in contrast to group two. Mean while it is equally possible that the average members of group one are considerably younger than those of group two, and hence it is understandable that the patients of group one get recuperation within less times regardless of the antibiotics. In addition, the gender proportions of those two groups are not mentioned, which might also affect the recuperation speed of muscle strain. In short, the information and comparison between the backgrounds of the two groups is too vague to be informative.

Secondly, the writer fails to take into account the other potential alternatives to explain the cause of different recuperation time, rather than mere antibiotics. A careful scrutiny reveals that actually the doctors of the two groups are quite different, for instance, one specializes in sports medicine, and the other is merely a general physician. It is entirely possible that the professional background of the doctors affect the patients’ psychological confidence to some extent in recovering which ultimately influences the speed of recovery. To strengthen the claim, the study should employ the doctors with the same professional background.

Besides, no evidence is provided to show that the patients of group two take pills regularly, in other words, it might be the irregular taking pills result in the lack confidence of group two patients in recuperation, and the antibiotics do not play any role in prevents secondary infections.

Last but not least, granted that the antibiotics really have positive effects in recuperation, it does not imply that the way of treatment should be applied to every patients suffering muscle strain. Perhaps, merely the severe patients need such a special treatment. As for the light injured ones, the present cure approaches might be adequate to help recovery.

In summary, to substantiate the claim, the writer has more work to present detailed information of the crucial comparisons of the two groups. In addition, it is beneficial for the writer to provide the scientific principles of how the antibiotics prevent secondary infections.

veronicaaaUID: 2217022

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