Revised GRE Argument syllabus 全部提纲.docx

ArgumentsyllabusArgument 1Woven baskets characterized by a particular distinctive pattern have previously been found only in the immediate vicinity of the prehistoric village of Palea and therefore were believed to have been made only by the Palean people.Recently,however, archaeologists discovered such a Palean basket in Lithos, an ancient village across the Brim River from Palea.The Brim River is very deep and broad, and so the ancient Paleans could have crossed itonly by boat, andno Palean boats have been found.Thus it follows that the so-called Palean baskets were not uniquely Palean.Write a response in which you discuss what specificevidenceis needed to evaluate the argument and explain how the evidence would weaken or strengthen the argument.The following appeared as part of a letter to the editor of a scientific journal.The cited fact that the Brim River is very deep and broad could never guarantee another assumption that it was so before. The assumed situation could also be analyzed from other perspectives, which include at least four possibilities. If the river was not broad or not deep or not broad and deep, plus not existing, then in these four possible scenarios the so-called Palean baskets might cross the river by many other means besides using boats. For example, a feasible approach would be that they could have swam to the opposite side of the Brim River. Therefore, the argument relies on the unfair assumption that the condition of the Brim River in ancient times was the same as that in the current times. Without ruling out these four possible scenarios, the author cannot confidently conclude that the Palean baskets were not uniquely Palean.Additionally, of course, the extreme possibility would be a circumstance in which this river was deep and broad in the prehistoric time; the author unfairly implies that Paleans could only have crossed the Brim River by boat. Though no Palean boats have been found, in fact, they could have crossed the river by other means such as when the river was frozen over in cold winter, or another route to the opposite side had been found by the ancient inhabitants. To validate his/her argument, the author would benefit from implementing a more valid archaeological and geological analysis to get rid of other possibilities.Building upon the implication that residents in Lithos or other places had not carried the Palean baskets to Lithos, the arguer invalidly suggests that people in Lithos or nearby places made the baskets themselves. However, it is highly possible that people in Lithos discovered the Palean baskets and brought them back to their village. If so, even if Palean residents were unable to provide the transportation of their baskets to Lithos, the argument that these baskets were not distinctively made within Palean would be seriously undermined. Consequently, the author fails to establish a causal relationship between the fact that Palean could not have transported their baskets to the opposite side of Brim River and the claim that Litho residents made their own baskets. This argument is unacceptable if there is no compelling evidence to support the connection between these two events.Argument 85In a study of the reading habits of Waymarsh citizens conducted by the University of Waymarsh, most respondents said they preferred literary classics as reading material. However, a second study conducted by the same researchers found that the type of book most frequently checked out of each of the public libraries in Waymarsh was the mystery novel. Therefore, it can be concluded that the respondents in the firststudy had misrepresented their reading preferences.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.The author concludes that the first study of the reading habits of Waymarsh citizens had represented citizens reading preferences erroneously, as evidenced by the result of the second study that the type of book checked out most frequently in libraries was the mystery novel. The reasoning in the argument seems plausible at first glance; however, after scrutinizing, several logical fallacies undermining its validity could be found.The first flaw in this argument is that the author mistakenly relates the type of book checked out most frequently in public libraries to the reading propensities of the citizens. The former is likely to imply another type of book that citizens in Waymarsh prefer, however it does not necessarily follow that citizens surveyed in the first study are not in favor of literary classics, even other types of book. It is possible that these citizens deem literary classics as worthy of garnering, therefore instead purchase this type of book and ruse them at home. It is also possible that the traditional reading method has given way to the electronic books and people could read them on their computers. Without ruling out these possibilities, the author is not supposed to make any conclusion about whether the second study represents more accurately the citizens reading preferences.Even though the type of book preferred is related to the one checked out in libraries, proof is lacking that the two studies the author mentioned are controlled in terms of the citizens surveyed. Perhaps the citizens in the first study are mostly adults, who are inclined to reading the classics, while the majority of citizens surveyed in the second study are teenagers, who are more likely to read mystery novels. If the data is not statistically explanatory, any conclusion made on basis of it is not convincing in essential. The author should provide detailed information about how these two studies were conducted to vindicate the argument.Granted that the author could present evidence to rule out the factors mentioned above, the conclusion is also untenable that the first study misrepresented the reading preferences of the citizens. It might be true that both of the two studies are not valid in explaining the real tastes of the citizens, nevertheless it is somehow extreme to veto the first study as a whole. It is also possible that in fact the second study is wrongly representing the result. The author ought to keep his/her conclusion unbiased by presenting evidence to demonstrate that the second study is more accurate, otherwise it will be unjustifiable to make such a conclusion.In sum, the argument lacks validity in terms of its insufficient information and biased conclusion. Unless detailed information and convictive evidence, such as the methodology of the two studies, and the relationship between the preferences of citizens and the books checked out, are provided, the conclusion could not be valid as it stands.Argument 6Arctic deer live on islands in Canadas arctic regions. They search for food by moving over ice from island to island during the course of the year. Their habitat is limited to areas warm enough to sustain the plants on which they feed and cold enough, at least some of the year, for the ice to cover the sea separating the islands, allowing the deer to travel over it. Unfortunately, according to reports fromlocal hunters, the deer populations are declining. Since these reports coincide with recentglobal warming trends that have caused the sea ice to melt, we can conclude thatthe purported decline in deer populations is the result of the deers being unable to follow their age-old migration patterns across the frozen sea.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.To begin with, we must establish the meaning of the vague concept global warming. If the term were synonymous with melting of sea ice, the evidence cited would strongly support the argument. However, global warming may actually leads to climatic anomaly rather than for the sea ice to melt according to some long-term researches conducted by leading scholar. Accordingly, given that the reduction of deer population coincides with recent global warming trend, the author made a premature conclusion that they are closely related. In addition, this may have been some places, such as shallow water, where the arctic deer could swim and dive through. Again, the arguer overlooks the possibility that deer might find a new route for migration to other island. Accordingly, to signify his/her argument, the author would benefit from acknowledging and ruling out other possible explanations as stated above.Another reasoning error is that the author unfairly assumes that reports from local hunters reveal the truth concerning the change of the arctic deer population. The author fails to exclude other possibilities that the arctic deer are travelling over ice to neighboring islands. Even assuming the fact that arctic deer cannot migrate does not necessarily ensure that no food is available for them. Actually, local food such as licken and moss in cold period, and plenty of other plants in warm period. Unless the author can rule out the aforementioned possibilities, the assumption underlying this argument is gratuitous.Even if the population of the arctic deer is really declining, the author fails to establish a causal relationship between the decline in the arctic deer population and the recent global warming trends. Other relevant factors, nevertheless, may also result in the decline in the arctic deer population. Perhaps, for example, human factors such as hunting may primarily responsible for the drop of arctic deer population. To strengthen his/her argument, the author would benefit from implementing a comprehensive analysis, which is necessary to indentify the actual causes of the depopulation of arctic deer and to rule out all the other possible contributing factors, concerning the decline of arctic deer.Argument 10Twenty years ago, Dr. Field, a noted anthropologist, visited the island of Tertia. Using an observation-centered approach to studying Tertian culture, he concluded from his observations thatchildren in Tertia were reared by an entire village rather than by their own biological parents.Recently another anthropologist, Dr. Karp, visited the group of islands that includes Tertia and used the interview-centered method to study child-rearing practices. In the interviews that Dr. Karp conducted with children living in this group of islands, the children spent much more time talking about their biological parents than about other adults in the village. Dr. Karp decided that Dr. Fields conclusion about Tertian village culture must be invalid. Some anthropologists recommend that to obtain accurate information on Tertian child-rearing practices, future research on the subject should be conducted via the interview-centered method.Write a response in which you discuss whatquestionswould need to be answered in order to decide whether the recommendation and the argument on which it is based are reasonable. Be sure to explain how the answers to these questions would help to evaluate the recommendation.Citing the two studies conducted respectively by the two anthropologists-Dr. Field and Dr. Tertia, the author concluded that Dr. Tertias finding is more valid than Dr. Field. A gap of twenty-year period between these two studies, however, is unwarranted to claim that. In fact, it is highly possible that the culture of Tertia Island has changed during the last 20 years. It is highly possible that 20 years ago the entire village was responsible for children rearing in Tertia while kids are mainly reared by their own biological parents. To substantiate his/her argument, the author would benefit from implementing a more detailed research studying the extent of culture change during this twenty-year period.Next, take into account a detailed description in the survey of Dr. Karp. That is children, the speaker mentions, are spending much more time talking about their biological parents than about adults in the village. The cited fact is assumed to indicate that these children are correspondingly reared by their parents, an assumption that is however based on an oversimplified analysis of the consequences of children rearing method and the presumptuous correlation which is accordingly is unacceptable. Although children might mention the people who take care of them, this leaves open other alternative explanations that questions of the interviews leads them to talking more about their biological parents, and that they are missing their parents. In addition, common sense tells us that if children were reared by village, they might doubt where their parents were.Another weakness worth pointing out is that the author provides no substantial evidence to support the assumption that the observation-centered approach to studying cultures is invalid and his own approach of interview-centered method is more reasonable to study the issue. As a matter of fact, the arguer fails to convince us that the result of Dr. Karps study is more valid than Dr. Fields. Furthermore, the author fails to point out how the interview was conducted. For example, if these questions were leading, people might respond with expected answers, thus the results would be unconvincing. Additionally, the author is presenting a false dilemma by imposing an either-or choice between two courses of action that need not be mutually exclusive. Actually, common sense informs us that in studying human habits the combination of observation and interview approach is better than one of them alone.Argument 22According to a recent report, cheating among college and university students is on the rise. However, Groveton College has successfully reduced student cheating by adopting an honor code, which calls for students to agree not to cheat in their academic endeavors and to notify a faculty member if they suspect that others have cheated. Grovetons honor code replaced a system in which teachers closely monitored students; under that system, teachers reported an average of thirty cases of cheating per year. In the first year the honor code was in place, students reported twenty-one cases of cheating; five years later, this figure had dropped to fourteen. Moreover, in a recent survey, a majority of Groveton students said that they would be less likely to cheat with an honor code in place than without. Thus,all colleges and universitiesshould adopt honor codes similar to Grovetons in order to decrease cheating among students.Write a response in which you discuss whatquestions would need to be answered in order to decide whether the recommendation and the argument on which it is based are reasonable. Be sure to explain how the answers to these questions would help to evaluate the recommendation.The author falsely depends on the gratuitous assumption that Groveton students are just as capable of detecting cheating as faculty monitors, and that these students are just as likely to report cheating whenever they observe it. Actually, this is not necessarily the case. For example, it is most likely that the students simply do not have time to detect cheating when they are doing the exam. The purpose of examination is to evaluate the students learning outcome, which requires their hundred percentage concentration on answering the questions. It is also possible that reported cheating is not cheating, while cheating not reported is real cheating. Therefore, this argument is unwarranted without ruling out such possibilities.Moreover, the author unfairly assumes that during the five-year period all other conditions possibly affecting the reported incidence of cheating at Groveton remained unchanged. Perhaps, for example examination became easier or students became more capable of dealing with the examination which both would reduce the incidence of cheating. Besides, while it is true that the number of reported cheating decreased, it is also likely that the decline in number may mean the rise in ratio. So telling us the amount of students in recent year turns out to be the threshold thing. Therefore, we cannot safely infer that the condition of cheating was better from the mere fact that the decreasing reported cheating.The recent survey conducted by the Groveton honor council is too vague to be informative. On the one hand, the author fails to prove that the surveys respondents are representative of all college students, and does not indicate how the survey was conducted. On the other hand, the survey results rely largely on the honesty and integrity of the respondents. In other words, regarding a survey about cheating, it is easy for surveyors to ask but it is difficult for respondents to confess. Until these questions are answered, the results are worthless as evidence for improved examination monitoring system.Whats more, another egregious reasoning error in this argument is that the author uses evidence pertaining to a general group on the basis of the particular Groveton, even if the reasoning may be sound in general sense, the particular situation in which Groventon is involved may not be representative of the entire general group. It is possible that Groveton is not typical in ways relevant to the incidence of cheating. If this is the case, the claim that all the institutions should follow Grovetons example is ill founded.Argument 25The following was written as a part of an application for a small-business loan bya group of developersin the city of Monroe.A jazz music club in Monroe would be a tremendously profitable enterprise. Currently, thenearest jazz club is 65 miles away; thus, the proposed new jazz club in Monroe, the C-Note, would have thelocal marketall to itself. Plus,jazz is extremely popular in