TestMagic Forums - View Single Post - City L was listed 14th in an annual survey

skarya · 12-01-2006, 05:50 PM

Hi All,

Please review the content and suggest the area of improvements. Thanks!

Regards,
skarya

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The following appeared as part of an article in a magazine on lifestyles.

"Two years ago, City L was listed 14th in an annual survey that ranks cities according to the quality of life that can be enjoyed by those living in them. This information will enable people who are moving to the state in which City L is located to confidently identify one place, at least, where schools are good, housing is affordable, people are friendly, the environment is safe, and the arts flourish."

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.

The above argument, which is taken from a lifestyle magazine, regarding moving to a city in a state, whose one of the city was recognized number 14 in annual survey, is very interesting. The argument looks complete and logical on the first look; however, a closer look of argument reveals many hidden assumptions that weaken the argument to such an extent that its conclusion falls apart.

The argument is not well supported. There are many hidden assumption that are made by the author to draw the conclusion. First, the validity of the survey data is in question. The survey was conducted two years ago and author assumes that data still representative. Moreover, rank 14th could mean anything and it mainly depends on how many cities are surveyed. On one hand, City L could be in top 10% of the cities if more than 140 cities were included in survey and on the other hand City L may be the last one to be ranked if only 14 cities were surveyed. Author should have provided some details on the survey details to validate the data and that would have supported the conclusion.

Second, City L is considered to represent the conditions of all the cities of the state in which City L is located. This assumption is flawed because not all cities in the certain state would be developed to same level. In addition, if city L is capital of the state and hence possibly its equipped with facilities that enhance the quality of life but this may not be the case for other cities in the same state. For example, Lucknow, capital of UP, India, is well developed where as the other cities in the same state are not. Hence the assumption that City L can represent the condition of other cities is flawed.

Third, author has not explained the difference between Quality of Life vs. Lifestyle. The Quality of life may be with respect to basic amenities required but lifestyle is not driven by these. Good schools, affordable housing, friendly people can make quality of life good but need not improve one's life style. Moreover, if a city L is modern city that has good amenities but may have higher cost of living, higher level of pollution and safety might be issue as well. Hence, it is not easy to conclude that a city equipped with certain amenities can fulfill all the requirements.

Overall, the argument is weakened because the some of the main assumptions listed above and also author did not provided enough support to the conclusion. Author should have thought more in detail regarding the survey data and using City L to represent any city in the state along with description on requirements for good Quality of life. Therefore, people who wish to move to one of the cities in the state where City L is located should not rely completely on the magazine article and should do more homework to find out what are the developments and changes over the 2 years time and then make a selection.

12-01-2006, 05:50 PM	#1 (permalink)
skarya TestMagic Guru Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 1,332	City L was listed 14th in an annual survey Hi All, Please review the content and suggest the area of improvements. Thanks! Regards, skarya -------------------------------------------------------------------- The following appeared as part of an article in a magazine on lifestyles. "Two years ago, City L was listed 14th in an annual survey that ranks cities according to the quality of life that can be enjoyed by those living in them. This information will enable people who are moving to the state in which City L is located to confidently identify one place, at least, where schools are good, housing is affordable, people are friendly, the environment is safe, and the arts flourish." 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. The above argument, which is taken from a lifestyle magazine, regarding moving to a city in a state, whose one of the city was recognized number 14 in annual survey, is very interesting. The argument looks complete and logical on the first look; however, a closer look of argument reveals many hidden assumptions that weaken the argument to such an extent that its conclusion falls apart. The argument is not well supported. There are many hidden assumption that are made by the author to draw the conclusion. First, the validity of the survey data is in question. The survey was conducted two years ago and author assumes that data still representative. Moreover, rank 14th could mean anything and it mainly depends on how many cities are surveyed. On one hand, City L could be in top 10% of the cities if more than 140 cities were included in survey and on the other hand City L may be the last one to be ranked if only 14 cities were surveyed. Author should have provided some details on the survey details to validate the data and that would have supported the conclusion. Second, City L is considered to represent the conditions of all the cities of the state in which City L is located. This assumption is flawed because not all cities in the certain state would be developed to same level. In addition, if city L is capital of the state and hence possibly its equipped with facilities that enhance the quality of life but this may not be the case for other cities in the same state. For example, Lucknow, capital of UP, India, is well developed where as the other cities in the same state are not. Hence the assumption that City L can represent the condition of other cities is flawed. Third, author has not explained the difference between Quality of Life vs. Lifestyle. The Quality of life may be with respect to basic amenities required but lifestyle is not driven by these. Good schools, affordable housing, friendly people can make quality of life good but need not improve one's life style. Moreover, if a city L is modern city that has good amenities but may have higher cost of living, higher level of pollution and safety might be issue as well. Hence, it is not easy to conclude that a city equipped with certain amenities can fulfill all the requirements. Overall, the argument is weakened because the some of the main assumptions listed above and also author did not provided enough support to the conclusion. Author should have thought more in detail regarding the survey data and using City L to represent any city in the state along with description on requirements for good Quality of life. Therefore, people who wish to move to one of the cities in the state where City L is located should not rely completely on the magazine article and should do more homework to find out what are the developments and changes over the 2 years time and then make a selection.