818Argument47 求指导求拍砖！！！

risingaccord

Argument 47
题目：The following appeared in a memorandum from the owner of Movies Galore, a chain of movie-rental stores.
Because of declining profits, we must reduce operating expenses at Movies Galore's ten movie-rental stores. Raising prices is not a good option, since we are famous for our low prices. Instead, we should reduce our operating hours. Last month our store in downtown Marston reduced its hours by closing at 6:00 p.m. rather than 9:00 p.m. and reduced its overall inventory by no longer stocking any DVD released more than five years ago. Since we have received very few customer complaints about these new policies, we should now adopt them at all other Movies Galore stores as our best strategies for improving profits."
Specific Task Instruction: Write a response in which you discuss what specific evidence is needed to evaluate the argument and explain how the evidence would weaken or strengthen the argument.

正文：
The author recommends that all movie-rental stores of Movies Galore should reduce their operating expenses in order to improve their profits. In support this suggestion, the author points out that methods of reducing operating time and reducing overall inventory cause few customers' complaints in Marston which adopt these policies last month. Also, the author says that adopting these policies in all other Movies Galore stores is the best strategies for improving profits. Close scrutiny, however, reveals that the author lacks some important evidence to in this argument.

Firstly, the author needs to provide the evidence that the Marston store improved their profit because of these policies. The author does not give us evidence that Marston did increase its profit. Without this evidence, we cannot judge that whether the policies is useful in increasing the profit. Although the profit is improved, the author still has to provide such evidence that there is causal relationship between adopting these policies and profit improving. With these evidences, we could better evaluate the argument.

Secondly, the author should show us the evidence that the customer is really satisfied with theses policies. The author argues that the store receives very few customers' complaint about these new policies. But lacking complaints does not mean satisfactions of customers. Probably, many customers want to borrow DVD after supper and numerous people are fond of old DVDs which are released more than five years ago. Such policies may just have a counter effect. And those customers with dissatisfactions will remain silence and never borrow in Marston. As a result, evidence about true satisfactions with customers should be offered in order to strengthen the argument.

Thirdly, the evidence the author provides is insufficient to draw a general conclusion. The author wants to use the example of Marston store to conclude that all other Movies Galore stores should take these strategies as the best method to improve their profit. Unless it will be shown that the Marston example is representative of all other stores, we can conclude that the generalization is useful. Without such evidence, we cannot say that the single example is still useful in other circumstance.

Finally, the author ignores the analysis of benefit and cost. As we all know, profit is a factor of both benefit and cost and there are numerous things that will influence the benefit and cost. For instance, reducing operating times and overall inventory can decrease the cost of the movie-rental stores, but these policies can reduce the total benefit of stores as well. In short, the author must give us a thorough cost-benefit analysis of these policies versus other situations. Consequently, we can better evaluate the argument.

In conclusion, without the evidence that I listed above, the author's argument is logically flawed and therefore ill-founded. To bolster it, the author should provide better that the Marston store improve profit by using those policies and this single example can be generalized in other situation. Moreover, the author still has to give us evidence that the customer is satisfied with the policies and make a cost-benefit analysis for these policies.

普渡哥

To bolster it, the author should provide better that the Marston store improve profit by using those policies and this single example can be generalized in other situation.


有语法问题，不make sense.

risingaccord

啊对。。谢谢斑竹！这个检查的时候漏掉了。其他的有什么建议没？a million thx~!