0910AW 同主题写作第二期

Element88UID: 2646667

ARGUMENT173
The following is a memorandum issued by the publisher of a newsmagazine, Newsbeat, in the country of Dinn.

'Our poorest-selling magazine issues over the past three years were those that featured international news stories on their front covers. Over the same period, competing news-magazines have significantly decreased the number of cover stories that they devote to international news. Moreover, the cost of maintaining our foreign bureaus to report on international news is increasing. Therefore, we should decrease our emphasis on international news and refrain from displaying such stories on our magazine covers.'




In this argument, the author concludes that they should decrease our emphasis on international news and refrain from displaying such stories on their magazine covers to promote sailing in the future. To substantiate this conclusion, the author cites the evidence that the poorest-selling magazine over the past three years are those whose covers were featured in international news. In addition, the author cites the evidences from competitors and the case that cost of foreign bureaus is increasing. Plausible as it may seem, I am afraid that the argument can hardly bear further examination since there are several flaws in it.

First, assuming that poor-selling performance was due to international news covers, the author relies on the additional assumption that the cover of magazine is responsible for selling performance. However, it is entirely possible that one or more other factors are instead key points to ensure good sailing. The content of magazine issue, the reputation of magazine publisher, the manner of packing, or even the price of the issue are likely to be alternative reasons instead of cover to determine the sailing performance. Even if assuming that customers choose magazines by their covers, which is, of course, an unwarranted assumption, it does not follow the conclusion that customers do not like the cover simply because it is featured in international news stories. It is highly possible that the artistic design or the characters on cover has more powerful contribution to the attitude towards the magazine for a specific buyer. Without ruling out these and other possible factors that influence the sails of magazine, the author cannot confidently make the conclusion.

In addition, the author fails to provide evidences that the competing news-magazines have made profits due to decreasing the number of cover stories about the international news and will continue to maintain the profits in the future. Perhaps it is because competitors are facing hardship of insufficient funds or they can not compete with us on the international news covered magazines that they have to transfer their emphases to other fields. Lacking information about the relationship between obtaining profits with cutting down the international news, it is impossible to assess the validity of the conclusion.

Finally, the increasing cost of foreign bureaus that report international news can not be the reason for reduction of those agencies. To support the suggestion, the author should provide the evidence to demonstrate that these increasing costs have burdened the company. The author should provide the amount of increased cost and its contribution to the profits. It is very likely that that the profits related to these foreign bureaus gained additional increasing when considering maintain cost increasing. Also, the author should provide the reasons for these increasing costs and think over external environment about these reasons in the past and in the future to insure there would be a continual harmful cost increasing instead of profits increasing in the future.

To sum up, the argument is not persuasive as it stands. To make it logically acceptable, the arguer would have to demonstrate that international news covers is the only reason that responsible for poor-selling performance. Additionally, the arguer must provide evidence that increasing costs of foreign bureaus have burdened the company and the situation will continue in the future.