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 as part of an article in a popular arts-and-leisure magazine:"The safety codes governing the construction of public buildings are becoming far too strict. The surest way for ar
- 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 as part of an article in a magazine devoted to regional life:"Corporations should look to the city of Helios when seeking new business opportunities or a new location. Even in 90
- The following appeared as part of a letter to the editor of a local newspaper:"It makes no sense that in most places 15-year-olds are not eligible for their driver's license while people who are far
- The following appeared as part of an annual report sent to stockholders by Olympic Foods, a processor of frozen foods:"Over time, the costs of processing go down because as organizations learn how to do things better, they become more efficient. In color 90