The following appeared as part of a promotional campaign to sell advertising space in the Daily Gazette to grocery stores in the Marston area:
"Advertising the reduced price of selected grocery items in the Daily Gazette will help you increase your sales. Consider the results of a study conducted last month. Thirty sale items from a store in downtown Marston were advertised in The Gazette for four days. Each time one or more of the 30 items was purchased, clerks asked whether the shopper had read the ad. Two-thirds of the 200 shoppers asked answered in the affirmative. Furthermore, more than half the customers who answered in the affirmative spent over $100 at the store."
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.
Write the essay now!
- The following appeared in an editorial from a newspaper serving the town of Saluda:"The Saluda Consolidated High School offers more than 200 different courses from which its students can choose. A mu 33
- The following appeared in a memorandum issued by a large city's council on the arts:"In a recent citywide poll, 15 percent more residents said that they watch television programs about the visual art 100
- The following appeared in a proposal from the development office at Platonic University:"Because Platonic University has had difficulty in meeting its expenses over the past three years, we need to f
- The following appeared in a newspaper story giving advice about investments:"As overall life expectancy continues to rise, the population of our country is growing increasingly older. For example, mo
- The following appeared as part of an article in a trade magazine:"During a recent trial period in which government inspections at selected meat-processing plants were more frequent, the amount of bac 100