Powerprep argument一篇,请拍砖

The following appeared as part of an article in a magazine on lifestyles.

"Two years ago, City L was listed 14th in an annual survey that ranks cities according to the quality of life that can be enjoyed by those living in them.  This information will enable people who are moving to the state in which City L is located to confidently identify one place, at least, where schools are good, housing is affordable, people are friendly, the environment is safe, and the arts flourish."

Discuss how well reasoned you find this argument.  In your discussion be sure to analyze the line of reasoning and the use of evidence in the argument.  For example, you may need to consider what questionable assumptions underlie the thinking and what alternative explanations or counterexamples might weaken the conclusion.  You can also discuss what sort of evidence would strengthen or refute the argument, what changes in the argument would make it more logically sound, and what, if anything, would help you better evaluate its conclusion.

In the argument, the author concludes that the information in a magazine will enable people to move to the state where City L is located. To buttress his conclusion, the author points out that City L was ranked high according to the survey conducted two years ago. In addition, he cites the specific ranking that City L was listed 14th in the survey. Furthermore, he contends that City L is reputed for good school, affordable housing and other ideal conditions. At first glance, the argument appears to be plausible, but a further examination reveals how groundless it is. The argument suffers several logical flaws as follows.

First, the author commits a logic fallacy of All things are Equal. In the argument, the author reaches the conclusion based on the survey conducted two years ago. However, the current situation might be not like what it used to be. For instance, if there was a hurricane occurred just a month ago, which brought significant damage to the City L, it will no longer be suggested for living. Unless the author can provide evidence that all things keep unchanged during the past two-month, otherwise, this argument is not convincing.

Second, the author assumes that City L was a good place because it ranked 14th in the annual survey. Yet, the rank does not represent anything. For instance, if the total population of the survey is 1,000, then 14th is high enough. However, if there is a total of fourteen cities that are included in the survey, then City L ranks the last. Without providing the total population of cities in the survey, it is hard to judge whether the ranking of City L is high or low.

Third, the author only considers the positive factors of City L and omits those negative ones. It is true that good schools, affordable housing, friendly people, safe environment and flourishing arts are all attractions. However, some negative factors will significantly overweigh the positive ones. For example, City L is located at a place where natural disasters usually visit. It might also suffer government control and more taxes. Lacking in a detailed analysis of the advantages and disadvantages of the City, the argument is groundless to support that City L is an ideal place to live.

To summary, the argument is not convincing unless the author can strengthen his argument in the above-mentioned factors. 1) All conditions remain unchanged during the two years. 2) The total population of the survey is large enough to show that ranking 14th is high and 3) the positive factors of living in City L outweigh the disadvantages. Considering all these factors in the arguments, the conclusion will be more persuasive.

In the argument, the author concludes that the information in a magazine will enable people to move to the state where City L is located. To buttress his conclusion, the author points out that City L was ranked high according to the survey conducted two years ago. In addition, he cites the specific ranking that City L was listed 14th in the survey. Furthermore, he contends that City L is reputed for good school, affordable housing and other ideal conditions. At first glance, the argument appears to be plausible, but a further examination reveals how groundless it is. The argument suffers several logical flaws as follows.

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