[求助]AA38 请拍！

snow2007 · 发表于 2007-8-10 03:28:00

Question: AA38

The following appeared in the editorial section of a campus newspaper.

`Because occupancy rates for campus housing fell during the last academic year, so did housing revenues. To solve the problem, campus housing officials should reduce the number of available housing units, thereby increasing the occupancy rates. Also, to keep students from choosing to live off-campus, housing officials should lower the rents, thereby increasing demand."

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.

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Your Answer:

An author of a campus newspaper argued that to increase housing revenue from last academic year, the school housing officer should reduce the number of available housing units and also lower the housing rents.The author's line of reason is that reducing the available units will decrease the supply while lowering the rents will boost the demand. Therefore, through these two method, the housing occupancy rate will rise and results in the increasing of revenue. However, is it true that these two methods will be effectively increase the revenue? At first glance, the author's argument appears to be somewhat convincing. But after closely reasoning the author's reasoning and logic, we find that it omits some important concerns that should be addressed to substanciate the argument.

First, The author's solution to the problem rests on the claim that the housing occupancy rate is the only factor which results in the decreasing of housing revenue. Therefore its improvement will directly increase the housing revenue. Admittedly, if all other factors remain unchanged, it will do. However, the author also recommend to lower the rents and shrink the supply of housing units. obviously, these two methods will reversely impact the revenue growth. Hence, unless the author can convince that the revenue increased from the occupancy rate will exceed the decreasing part due to the lower rents and whole renting units, the author's argument is doubtful.

Second, the author concludes that lowering rents will bring up the demand therefore push the occupancy rate rise. However, this conclusion is far more oversimplified. Lower rents might stimulate students to move into campus, but other factors which impact students'decision should also be considered. The factors includes such as the real living quality of the campus house, the regulation and effecticveness of the housing management etc. Without considering those elements, simply lowering the rents will unnecessarily results in revenue leakage instrad of improving.

The last but not the least, the author's argument of reducing the number of housing units to increase the occupancy rate is logically unreasonable. This method only increases the occupancy rate in numbers on paper. I should frankly point out that it is just game of numbers, It will do no good to the revenue increase.

In conclusion, it is imprudent for the author to recommend lowering the rents and decreasing the availble housing units. To strengthen the conclusion, the author must establish that housing occupancy is the principal cause of the decresing revenue. Once this is shown, it must be further determined that units availablity and renting rates are the two majoy fact which will impact the housing occupancy. And the cost of lowering these two aspect will not offset the revenue increasing due to them.

rio · 发表于 2007-8-18 17:34:00

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[求助]AA38 请拍！

[求助]AA38 请拍！

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