argument51 [7\8\910] 第一次作业

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51The 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."

7.20  时间：60m  字数：561
In this medical newsletter, the author recommends that doctors should advise all patience diagnosed with muscle strain take antibiotics to be part of their treatment. To support this suggestion, the author cites an hypothesis proved by preliminary results of a study of two groups of patients. However, the hypothesis is not authenticated and the conclusion is fully suspected.

First of all, the author does not offer strong evidence to demonstrate that the two groups of patients are randomly grouped with the assumption that all these patients have the same muscle strain. And it could be possible that the first group of patients who are diagnosed to have light muscle strain, but the second group patients all are severed injured with their muscle. Therefore, the cooperation of the experiment has no strength in supporting the conclusion. Furthermore, the doctors treat the two groups of patients are different that the first one is the specializes in sports medicine
and the second one is only a general physician. In this consequence, the two groups of patients could be treated differently and take different pills, which lead the first group to a quick recuperation. Therefore, unless the author cites credible evidence to show the reliability of the experiment, we could not get any justified conclusion.

Secondly, admittedly that different doctors would not effect the precise of the experiment and two groups of patients with the same muscle strain are randomly separated, however, we should not omit the possibility that the sugar pills that the second group patients took could aggravate their muscle strain. As the common sense, people who injured their muscle should be careful with what they eat and in some situation sugar will slow the cure of the muscle strain. Besides, the experiment that the author mentions only reveals that the first group patients is 40% quickly healing that expected but does not compare with the speed of the healing between the two groups. As a result, the second group patients probably heal quickly than the first group patients .Thus, the author should rule out all these possibilities that deaden the credibility of the conclusion.

Finally, even if the hypothesis had been proved authentically, we should not haste to conclude. Because the argument resets on the assumption that these patients who have severe muscle strain typify all the patients who have muscle strain. If it is not the case, then ir is entirely possible that for some patients only injury their muscle slightly, taking antibiotics as part of their treatment would be of no effect on cure their muscle strain, or even slow the healing process. Therefore, lacking more information about other kind of muscle strain, it is difficult to assess that antibiotics will be effective to every muscle strain patients.

To sum up, the argument fails to substantiate its claim that all patients with muscle strain should be advised to take antibiotics as part of their treatment, because the evidences that the author cited in the analysis does not lend strong support to what the arguer maintains. To make the argument more convincing, the arguer would have to offers a more precise and credible experiment. Additionally, the arguer should demonstrate that the antibiotics is suitable for all patients who are diagnosed with muscle strain. Therefore, the argument would be sounder and warranted, if the arguer take what is discussed above into consideration.

[ 本帖最后由 小猪sisi 于 2008-7-22 10:46 编辑 ]