Argument Pool

7/21/2019 Argument Pool

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Each Argument topic consists of a passage that presents an argumentfollowed by specific task instructions that tell you how to analyze theargument. The wording of some topics in the test might vary slightly fromwhat is presented here. Also, because there may be multiple versions of

some topics with similar or identical wording but with different taskinstructions, it is very important to read your test topic and its specific taskdirections carefully and respond to the wording as it appears in the actualtest.

Woven baskets characterized by a particular distinctive pattern havepreviously been found only in the immediate vicinity of the prehistoricvillage of Palea and therefore were believed to have been made only by thePalean people. ecently, however, archaeologists discovered such a

!Palean! basket in "ithos, an ancient village across the #rim iver fromPalea. The #rim iver is very deep and broad, and so the ancient Paleanscould have crossed it only by boat, and no Palean boats have been found.Thus it follows that the so$called Palean baskets were not uni%uely Palean.

Write a response in which you discuss what specifc evidence isneeded to evaluate the argument and explain how the evidencewould weaken or strengthen the argument.

The following appeared as part of a letter to the editor of a scientific &ournal.

!A recent study of eighteen rhesus monkeys provides clues as to theeffects of birth order on an individual's levels of stimulation. The studyshowed that in stimulating situations (such as an encounter with anunfamiliar monkey), firstborn infant monkeys produce up to twice as muchof the hormone cortisol, which primes the body for increased activity levels,as do their younger siblings. *irstborn humans also produce relatively highlevels of cortisol in stimulating situations (such as the return of a parentafter an absence). The study also found that during pregnancy, first$time

mother monkeys had higher levels of cortisol than did those who had hadseveral offspring.!

Write a response in which you discuss one or more alternativeexplanations that could rival the proposed explanation andexplain how your explanation(s) can plausibly account or theacts presented in the argument.

The following appeared as a letter to the editor from a +entral Plaza store

owner.



!ver the past two years, the number of shoppers in +entral Plaza hasbeen steadily decreasing while the popularity of skateboarding hasincreased dramatically. -any +entral Plaza store owners believe that thedecrease in their business is due to the number of skateboard users in the

plaza. There has also been a dramatic increase in the amount of litter andvandalism throughout the plaza. Thus, we recommend that the city prohibitskateboarding in +entral Plaza. f skateboarding is prohibited here, wepredict that business in +entral Plaza will return to its previously highlevels.!

Write a response in which you discuss what questions would needto be answered in order to decide whether the recommendation islikely to have the predicted result. Be sure to explain how theanswers to these questions would help to evaluate the

recommendation.

The following appeared in a letter from a homeowner to a friend.

!f the two leading real estate firms in our town/Adams ealty and *itchealty/Adams ealty is clearly superior. Adams has 01 real estateagents2 in contrast, *itch has 34, many of whom work only part$time.-oreover, Adams' revenue last year was twice as high as that of *itch andincluded home sales that averaged 5678,111, compared to *itch's

5600,111. 9omes listed with Adams sell faster as well: ten years ago listed my home with *itch, and it took more than four months to sell2 lastyear, when sold another home, listed it with Adams, and it took only onemonth. Thus, if you want to sell your home %uickly and at a good price, youshould use Adams ealty.!

Write a response in which you examine the stated andor unstatedassumptions o the argument. Be sure to explain how theargument depends on these assumptions and what theimplications are or the argument i the assumptions prove

unwarranted.

The following appeared in a letter to the editor of the Balmer IslandGazette.!n #almer sland, where mopeds serve as a popular form oftransportation, the population increases to 611,111 during the summermonths. To reduce the number of accidents involving mopeds andpedestrians, the town council of #almer sland should limit the number ofmopeds rented by the island's moped rental companies from 41 per day to34 per day during the summer season. #y limiting the number of rentals,





The following appeared in a memo from the director of student housing at#uckingham +ollege.

!To serve the housing needs of our students, #uckingham +ollege shouldbuild a number of new dormitories. #uckingham's enrollment is growingand, based on current trends, will double over the ne?t 41 years, thusmaking e?isting dormitory space inade%uate. -oreover, the average rentfor an apartment in our town has risen in recent years. +onse%uently,students will find it increasingly difficult to afford off$campus housing.*inally, attractive new dormitories would make prospective students morelikely to enroll at #uckingham.!

Write a response in which you discuss what specifc evidence is

needed to evaluate the argument and explain how the evidencewould weaken or strengthen the argument.

@ature's Way, a chain of stores selling health food and other health$relatedproducts, is opening its ne?t franchise in the town of Plainsville. The storeshould prove to be very successful: @ature's Way franchises tend to bemost profitable in areas where residents lead healthy lives, and clearlyPlainsville is such an area. Plainsville merchants report that sales ofrunning shoes and e?ercise clothing are at all$time highs. The local health

club has more members than ever, and the weight training and aerobicsclasses are always full. *inally, Plainsville's schoolchildren represent a newgeneration of potential customers: these schoolchildren are re%uired toparticipate in a fitness$for$life program, which emphasizes the benefits ofregular e?ercise at an early age.


unwarranted.

Twenty years ago, =r. *ield, a noted anthropologist, visited the island ofTertia. <sing an observation$centered approach to studying Tertian culture,he concluded from his observations that children in Tertia were reared byan entire village rather than by their own biological parents. ecentlyanother anthropologist, =r. arp, visited the group of islands that includesTertia and used the interview$centered method to study child$rearingpractices. n the interviews that =r. arp conducted with children living inthis group of islands, the children spent much more time talking about their



biological parents than about other adults in the village. =r. arp decidedthat =r. *ield's conclusion about Tertian village culture must be invalid.;ome anthropologists recommend that to obtain accurate information onTertian child$rearing practices, future research on the sub&ect should be

conducted via the interview$centered method.Write a response in which you discuss what questions would needto be answered in order to decide whether the recommendationand the argument on which it is based are reasonable. Be sure toexplain how the answers to these questions would help toevaluate the recommendation.

The council of -aple +ounty, concerned about the county's becoming

overdeveloped, is debating a proposed measure that would prevent thedevelopment of e?isting farmland in the county. #ut the council is alsoconcerned that such a restriction, by limiting the supply of new housing,could lead to significant increases in the price of housing in the county.Proponents of the measure note that +hestnut +ounty established a similar measure ten years ago, and its housing prices have increased onlymodestly since. 9owever, opponents of the measure note that Pine +ountyadopted restrictions on the development of new residential housing fifteenyears ago, and its housing prices have since more than doubled. Thecouncil currently predicts that the proposed measure, if passed, will result

in a significant increase in housing prices in -aple +ounty.

Write a response in which you discuss what questions would needto be answered in order to decide whether the prediction and theargument on which it is based are reasonable. Be sure to explainhow the answers to these questions would help to evaluate theprediction.

*ifteen years ago, mega <niversity implemented a new procedure that

encouraged students to evaluate the teaching effectiveness of all theirprofessors. ;ince that time, mega professors have begun to assignhigher grades in their classes, and overall student grade averages atmega have risen by B1 percent. Potential employers, looking at thisdramatic rise in grades, believe that grades at mega are inflated and donot accurately reflect student achievement2 as a result, mega graduateshave not been as successful at getting &obs as have graduates from nearby Alpha <niversity. To enable its graduates to secure better &obs, mega<niversity should terminate student evaluation of professors.




n an attempt to improve highway safety, Prunty +ounty last year loweredits speed limit from 44 to 04 miles per hour on all county highways. #ut thiseffort has failed: the number of accidents has not decreased, and, basedon reports by the highway patrol, many drivers are e?ceeding the speedlimit. Prunty +ounty should instead undertake the same kind of roadimprovement pro&ect that #utler +ounty completed five years ago:increasing lane widths, resurfacing rough highways, and improving visibilityat dangerous intersections. Today, ma&or #utler +ounty roads still have a 44mph speed limit, yet there were 34 percent fewer reported accidents in

#utler +ounty this past year than there were five years ago.


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

!A recent study rating B11 male and female -entian advertising e?ecutives

according to the average number of hours they sleep per night showed anassociation between the amount of sleep the e?ecutives need and thesuccess of their firms. f the advertising firms studied, those whosee?ecutives reported needing no more than 7 hours of sleep per night hadhigher profit margins and faster growth. These results suggest that if abusiness wants to prosper, it should hire only people who need less than 7hours of sleep per night.!

Write a response in which you examine the stated andor unstatedassumptions o the argument. Be sure to explain how the

argument depends on these assumptions and what theimplications are or the argument i the assumptions proveunwarranted.

The following memorandum is from the business manager of 9appyPancake 9ouse restaurants.

!ecently, butter has been replaced by margarine in 9appy Pancake9ouse restaurants throughout the southwestern <nited ;tates. This

change, however, has had little impact on our customers. n fact, only about3 percent of customers have complained, indicating that an average of C8



people out of 611 are happy with the change. *urthermore, many servershave reported that a number of customers who ask for butter do notcomplain when they are given margarine instead. +learly, either thesecustomers do not distinguish butter from margarine or they use the term

'butter' to refer to either butter or margarine.!Write a response in which you discuss one or more alternativeexplanations that could rival the proposed explanation andexplain how your explanation(s) can plausibly account or theacts presented in the argument.

n surveys -ason +ity residents rank water sports (swimming, boating, andfishing) among their favorite recreational activities. The -ason iver

flowing through the city is rarely used for these pursuits, however, and thecity park department devotes little of its budget to maintaining riversiderecreational facilities. *or years there have been complaints from residentsabout the %uality of the river's water and the river's smell. n response, thestate has recently announced plans to clean up -ason iver. <se of theriver for water sports is, therefore, sure to increase. The city governmentshould for that reason devote more money in this year's budget to riversiderecreational facilities.

Write a response in which you examine the stated andor unstated

assumptions o the argument. Be sure to explain how theargument depends on these assumptions and what theimplications are or the argument i the assumptions proveunwarranted.

The following appeared in a memorandum from the manager of WWA+radio station.

!To reverse a decline in listener numbers, our owners have decided that

WWA+ must change from its current rock$music format. The decline hasoccurred despite population growth in our listening area, but that growthhas resulted mainly from people moving here after their retirement. Wemust make listeners of these new residents. We could switch to a musicformat tailored to their tastes, but a continuing decline in local sales ofrecorded music suggests limited interest in music. nstead we shouldchange to a news and talk format, a form of radio that is increasinglypopular in our area.!





The following is a memorandum from the business manager of a televisionstation.

!ver the past year, our late$night news program has devoted increasedtime to national news and less time to weather and local news. =uring thisperiod, most of the complaints received from viewers were concerned withour station's coverage of weather and local news. n addition, localbusinesses that used to advertise during our late$night news program havecanceled their advertising contracts with us. Therefore, in order to attractmore viewers to our news programs and to avoid losing any furtheradvertising revenues, we should e?pand our coverage of weather and localnews on all our news programs.!

Write a response in which you examine the stated andor unstatedassumptions o the argument. Be sure to explain how theargument depends on these assumptions and what theimplications are or the argument i the assumptions proveunwarranted.

Two years ago, radio station W+DP in ockville decided to increase thenumber of call$in advice programs that it broadcast2 since that time, itsshare of the radio audience in the ockville listening area has increased

significantly. iven W+DP's recent success with call$in adviceprogramming, and citing a nationwide survey indicating that many radiolisteners are %uite interested in such programs, the station manager of+ in -edway recommends that + include more call$in adviceprograms in an attempt to gain a larger audience share in its listening area.

Write a response in which you discuss what questions would needto be answered in order to decide whether the recommendationand the argument on which it is based are reasonable. Be sure toexplain how the answers to these questions would help to

evaluate the recommendation.

The following is a memorandum from the business manager of a televisionstation.

!ver the past year, our late$night news program has devoted increasedtime to national news and less time to weather and local news. =uring thistime period, most of the complaints received from viewers were concernedwith our station's coverage of weather and local news. n addition, local

businesses that used to advertise during our late$night news program have &ust canceled their advertising contracts with us. Therefore, in order to



attract more viewers to the program and to avoid losing any furtheradvertising revenues, we should restore the time devoted to weather andlocal news to its former level.!


The following appeared in an article written by =r. arp, an anthropologist.

!Twenty years ago, =r. *ield, a noted anthropologist, visited the island ofTertia and concluded from his observations that children in Tertia werereared by an entire village rather than by their own biological parents.9owever, my recent interviews with children living in the group of islandsthat includes Tertia show that these children spend much more time talkingabout their biological parents than about other adults in the village. Thisresearch of mine proves that =r. *ield's conclusion about Tertian villageculture is invalid and thus that the observation$centered approach tostudying cultures is invalid as well. The interview$centered method that myteam of graduate students is currently using in Tertia will establish a muchmore accurate understanding of child$rearing traditions there and in otherisland cultures.!


According to a recent report, cheating among college and universitystudents is on the rise. 9owever, roveton +ollege has successfullyreduced student cheating by adopting an honor code, which calls forstudents to agree not to cheat in their academic endeavors and to notify afaculty member if they suspect that others have cheated. roveton's honor

code replaced a system in which teachers closely monitored students2under that system, teachers reported an average of thirty cases of cheatingper year. n the first year the honor code was in place, students reportedtwenty$one cases of cheating2 five years later, this figure had dropped tofourteen. -oreover, in a recent survey, a ma&ority of roveton students saidthat they would be less likely to cheat with an honor code in place thanwithout. Thus, all colleges and universities should adopt honor codessimilar to roveton's in order to decrease cheating among students.

Write a response in which you discuss what questions would need

to be answered in order to decide whether the recommendationand the argument on which it is based are reasonable. Be sure to



explain how the answers to these questions would help toevaluate the recommendation.

The following appeared in an article written by =r. arp, an anthropologist.

!Twenty years ago, =r. *ield, a noted anthropologist, visited the island ofTertia and concluded from his observations that children in Tertia werereared by an entire village rather than by their own biological parents.9owever, my recent interviews with children living in the group of islandsthat includes Tertia show that these children spend much more time talkingabout their biological parents than about other adults in the village. Thisresearch of mine proves that =r. *ield's conclusion about Tertian villageculture is invalid and thus that the observation$centered approach to

studying cultures is invalid as well. The interview$centered method that myteam of graduate students is currently using in Tertia will establish a muchmore accurate understanding of child$rearing traditions there and in otherisland cultures.!


A recently issued twenty$year study on headaches suffered by theresidents of -entia investigated the possible therapeutic effect ofconsuming salicylates. ;alicylates are members of the same chemicalfamily as aspirin, a medicine used to treat headaches. Although manyfoods are naturally rich in salicylates, food$processing companies also addsalicylates to foods as preservatives. The twenty$year study found acorrelation between the rise in the commercial use of salicylates and asteady decline in the average number of headaches reported by study

participants. At the time when the study concluded, food$processingcompanies had &ust discovered that salicylates can also be used as flavoradditives for foods, and, as a result, many companies plan to do so. #asedon these study results, some health e?perts predict that residents of -entiawill suffer even fewer headaches in the future.




The following was written as a part of an application for a small$businessloan by a group of developers in the city of -onroe.

!A &azz music club in -onroe would be a tremendously profitableenterprise. +urrently, the nearest &azz club is 74 miles away2 thus, theproposed new &azz club in -onroe, the +$@ote, would have the localmarket all to itself. Plus, &azz is e?tremely popular in -onroe: over 611,111people attended -onroe's annual &azz festival last summer2 several well$known &azz musicians live in -onroe2 and the highest$rated radio programin -onroe is 'Fazz @ightly,' which airs every weeknight at G P.-. *inally, anationwide study indicates that the typical &azz fan spends close to 56,111per year on &azz entertainment.!


The following appeared in the summary of a study on headaches sufferedby the residents of -entia.

!;alicylates are members of the same chemical family as aspirin, amedicine used to treat headaches. Although many foods are naturally rich

in salicylates, for the past several decades, food$processing companieshave also been adding salicylates to foods as preservatives. This rise in thecommercial use of salicylates has been found to correlate with a steadydecline in the average number of headaches reported by participants in our twenty$year study. ecently, food$processing companies have found thatsalicylates can also be used as flavor additives for foods. With this new usefor salicylates, we can e?pect a continued steady decline in the number ofheadaches suffered by the average citizen of -entia.!



The following appeared in a letter to the editor of a local newspaper.

!+ommuters complain that increased rush$hour traffic on #lue 9ighwaybetween the suburbs and the city center has doubled their commuting time.The favored proposal of the motorists' lobby is to widen the highway,adding an additional lane of traffic. #ut last year's addition of a lane to the

nearby reen 9ighway was followed by a worsening of traffic &ams on it. Abetter alternative is to add a bicycle lane to #lue 9ighway. -any area



residents are keen bicyclists. A bicycle lane would encourage them to usebicycles to commute, and so would reduce rush$hour traffic rather thanfostering an increase.!


The following appeared in the summary of a study on headaches sufferedby the residents of -entia.

!;alicylates are members of the same chemical family as aspirin, amedicine used to treat headaches. Although many foods are naturally richin salicylates, for the past several decades, food$processing companieshave also been adding salicylates to foods as preservatives. This rise in thecommercial use of salicylates has been found to correlate with a steadydecline in the average number of headaches reported by participants in our twenty$year study. ecently, food$processing companies have found thatsalicylates can also be used as flavor additives for foods. With this new usefor salicylates, we can e?pect a continued steady decline in the number ofheadaches suffered by the average citizen of -entia.!

Write a response in which you examine the stated andor unstated

assumptions o the argument. Be sure to explain how theargument depends on these assumptions and what theimplications are or the argument i the assumptions proveunwarranted.

The following appeared in an editorial in a local newspaper.

!+ommuters complain that increased rush$hour traffic on #lue 9ighwaybetween the suburbs and the city center has doubled their commuting time.

The favored proposal of the motorists' lobby is to widen the highway,adding an additional lane of traffic. pponents note that last year's additionof a lane to the nearby reen 9ighway was followed by a worsening oftraffic &ams on it. Their suggested alternative proposal is adding a bicyclelane to #lue 9ighway. -any area residents are keen bicyclists. A bicyclelane would encourage them to use bicycles to commute, it is argued,thereby reducing rush$hour traffic.!

Write a response in which you discuss what questions would needto be answered in order to decide whether the recommendation

and the argument on which it is based are reasonable. Be sure to





deprivation among workers. Therefore, to reduce the number of on$the$&obaccidents at Duiot and thereby increase productivity, we should shorteneach of our three work shifts by one hour so that employees will getade%uate amounts of sleep.!


The following appeared in a memorandum from the planning department of an electric power company.

!;everal recent surveys indicate that home owners are increasingly eagerto conserve energy. At the same time, manufacturers are now marketingmany home appliances, such as refrigerators and air conditioners, that arealmost twice as energy efficient as those sold a decade ago. Also, newtechnologies for better home insulation and passive solar heating arereadily available to reduce the energy needed for home heating. Therefore,the total demand for electricity in our area will not increase/and maydecline slightly. ;ince our three electric generating plants in operation forthe past twenty years have always met our needs, construction of new

generating plants will not be necessary.!


The vice president of human resources at +limpson ndustries sent the

following recommendation to the company's president.

!n an effort to improve our employees' productivity, we should implementelectronic monitoring of employees' nternet use from their workstations.Employees who use the nternet from their workstations need to beidentified and punished if we are to reduce the number of work hours spenton personal or recreational activities, such as shopping or playing games.#y installing software to detect employees' nternet use on companycomputers, we can prevent employees from wasting time, foster a betterwork ethic at +limpson, and improve our overall profits.!




unwarranted.

The following appeared in a letter from the owner of the ;unnyside Towersapartment comple? to its manager.

!ne month ago, all the showerheads in the first three buildings of the;unnyside Towers comple? were modified to restrict ma?imum water flowto one$third of what it used to be. Although actual readings of water usagebefore and after the ad&ustment are not yet available, the change will

obviously result in a considerable savings for ;unnyside +orporation, sincethe corporation must pay for water each month. E?cept for a fewcomplaints about low water pressure, no problems with showers have beenreported since the ad&ustment. predict that modifying showerheads torestrict water flow throughout all twelve buildings in the ;unnyside Towerscomple? will increase our profits even more dramatically.!

Write a response in which you discuss what questions would needto be answered in order to decide whether the prediction and theargument on which it is based are reasonable. Be sure to explain

how the answers to these questions would help to evaluate theprediction.

The following report appeared in the newsletter of the West -eria Public9ealth +ouncil.

!An innovative treatment has come to our attention that promises tosignificantly reduce absenteeism in our schools and workplaces. A studyreports that in nearby East -eria, where fish consumption is very high,

people visit the doctor only once or twice per year for the treatment ofcolds. +learly, eating a substantial amount of fish can prevent colds. ;incecolds represent the most fre%uently given reason for absences from schooland work, we recommend the daily use of chthaid/a nutritionalsupplement derived from fish oil/as a good way to prevent colds andlower absenteeism.!




The following appeared in a recommendation from the planning departmentof the city of Transopolis.

!Ten years ago, as part of a comprehensive urban renewal program, thecity of Transopolis adapted for industrial use a large area of severelysubstandard housing near the freeway. ;ubse%uently, several factorieswere constructed there, crime rates in the area declined, and property ta?revenues for the entire city increased. To further revitalize the city, weshould now take similar action in a declining residential area on theopposite side of the city. ;ince some houses and apartments in e?istingnearby neighborhoods are currently unoccupied, alternate housing forthose displaced by this action will be readily available.!



The following appeared in a memo from the new vice president of;artorian, a company that manufactures men's clothing.

!*ive years ago, at a time when we had difficulties in obtaining reliablesupplies of high %uality wool fabric, we discontinued production of ouralpaca overcoat. @ow that we have a new fabric supplier, we should

resume production. This coat should sell very well: since we have notoffered an alpaca overcoat for five years and since our ma&or competitor nolonger makes an alpaca overcoat, there will be pent$up customer demand. Also, since the price of most types of clothing has increased in each of thepast five years, customers should be willing to pay significantly higherprices for alpaca overcoats than they did five years ago, and our companyprofits will increase.!

Write a response in which you discuss what specifc evidence isneeded to evaluate the argument and explain how the evidence

would weaken or strengthen the argument.

A recent sales study indicates that consumption of seafood dishes in #ay+ity restaurants has increased by B1 percent during the past five years. Hetthere are no currently operating city restaurants whose specialty isseafood. -oreover, the ma&ority of families in #ay +ity are two$incomefamilies, and a nationwide study has shown that such families eatsignificantly fewer home$cooked meals than they did a decade ago but atthe same time e?press more concern about healthful eating. Therefore, the

new +aptain ;eafood restaurant that specializes in seafood should be %uitepopular and profitable.




-ilk and dairy products are rich in vitamin = and calcium/substancesessential for building and maintaining bones. -any people therefore saythat a diet rich in dairy products can help prevent osteoporosis, a diseasethat is linked to both environmental and genetic factors and that causes thebones to weaken significantly with age. #ut a long$term study of a largenumber of people found that those who consistently consumed dairyproducts throughout the years of the study have a higher rate of bonefractures than any other participants in the study. ;ince bone fractures aresymptomatic of osteoporosis, this study result shows that a diet rich in dairy

products may actually increase, rather than decrease, the risk ofosteoporosis.


The following appeared in a health newsletter.

!A ten$year nationwide study of the effectiveness of wearing a helmet whilebicycling indicates that ten years ago, appro?imately B4 percent of allbicyclists reported wearing helmets, whereas today that number is nearly81 percent. Another study, however, suggests that during the same ten$year period, the number of bicycle$related accidents has increased 311percent. These results demonstrate that bicyclists feel safer because theyare wearing helmets, and they take more risks as a result. Thus, to reducethe number of serious in&uries from bicycle accidents, the governmentshould concentrate more on educating people about bicycle safety and lesson encouraging or re%uiring bicyclists to wear helmets.!


The following is a letter to the head of the tourism bureau on the island ofTria.



!Erosion of beach sand along the shores of Tria sland is a serious threat toour island and our tourist industry. n order to stop the erosion, we shouldcharge people for using the beaches. Although this solution may annoy afew tourists in the short term, it will raise money for replenishing the sand.

eplenishing the sand, as was done to protect buildings on the nearbyisland of #atia, will help protect buildings along our shores, therebyreducing these buildings' risk of additional damage from severe storms. And since beaches and buildings in the area will be preserved, Tria's touristindustry will improve over the long term.!


The following appeared in a memorandum written by the chairperson of theWest Egg Town +ouncil.

!Two years ago, consultants predicted that West Egg's landfill, which isused for garbage disposal, would be completely filled within five years.=uring the past two years, however, the town's residents have beenrecycling twice as much material as they did in previous years. @e?t monththe amount of recycled material/which includes paper, plastic, and metal/should further increase, since charges for pickup of other household

garbage will double. *urthermore, over C1 percent of the respondents to arecent survey said that they would do more recycling in the future. #ecauseof our town's strong commitment to recycling, the available space in ourlandfill should last for considerably longer than predicted.!


The following appeared in a letter to the editor of a &ournal onenvironmental issues.

!ver the past year, the +rust +opper +ompany (+++) has purchased over 61,111 s%uare miles of land in the tropical nation of West *redonia. -iningcopper on this land will inevitably result in pollution and, since West*redonia is the home of several endangered animal species, inenvironmental disaster. #ut such disasters can be prevented if consumerssimply refuse to purchase products that are made with +++'s copperunless the company abandons its mining plans.!




unwarranted.

The following is part of a memorandum from the president of 9umana<niversity.

!"ast year the number of students who enrolled in online degree programsoffered by nearby mni <niversity increased by 41 percent. =uring thesame year, mni showed a significant decrease from prior years ine?penditures for dormitory and classroom space, most likely because

instruction in the online programs takes place via the nternet. n contrast,over the past three years, enrollment at 9umana <niversity has failed togrow, and the cost of maintaining buildings has increased along with ourbudget deficit. To address these problems, 9umana <niversity will beginimmediately to create and actively promote online degree programs likethose at mni. We predict that instituting these online degree programs willhelp 9umana both increase its total enrollment and solve its budgetproblems.!


to be answered in order to decide whether the prediction and theargument on which it is based are reasonable. Be sure to explainhow the answers to these questions would help to evaluate theprediction.

The following appeared in a health magazine published in +orpora.

!-edical e?perts say that only one$%uarter of +orpora's citizens meet thecurrent standards for ade%uate physical fitness, even though twenty years

ago, one$half of all of +orpora's citizens met the standards as then defined.#ut these e?perts are mistaken when they suggest that spending too muchtime using computers has caused a decline in fitness. ;ince overall fitnesslevels are highest in regions of +orpora where levels of computerownership are also highest, it is clear that using computers has not madecitizens less physically fit. nstead, as shown by this year's unusually lowe?penditures on fitness$related products and services, the recent decline inthe economy is most likely the cause, and fitness levels will improve whenthe economy does.!





The following appeared in a memorandum from the owner of -oviesalore, a chain of movie$rental stores.

!#ecause of declining profits, we must reduce operating e?penses at-ovies alore's ten movie$rental stores. aising prices is not a goodoption, since we are famous for our low prices. nstead, we should reduceour operating hours. "ast month our store in downtown -arston reduced itshours by closing at 7:11 p.m. rather than C:11 p.m. and reduced its overallinventory by no longer stocking any =I= released more than five years

ago. ;ince we have received very few customer complaints about thesenew policies, we should now adopt them at all other -ovies alore storesas our best strategies for improving profits.!


The following appeared in a magazine article about planning for retirement.

!+learview should be a top choice for anyone seeking a place to retire,because it has spectacular natural beauty and a consistent climate. Another advantage is that housing costs in +learview have fallensignificantly during the past year, and ta?es remain lower than those inneighboring towns. -oreover, +learview's mayor promises many newprograms to improve schools, streets, and public services. And best of all,retirees in +learview can also e?pect e?cellent health care as they growolder, since the number of physicians in the area is far greater than thenational average.!


The following is part of a memorandum from the president of 9umana<niversity.

!"ast year the number of students who enrolled in online degree programs

offered by nearby mni <niversity increased by 41 percent. =uring thesame year, mni showed a significant decrease from prior years in



e?penditures for dormitory and classroom space, most likely becauseonline instruction takes place via the nternet. n contrast, over the pastthree years, enrollment at 9umana <niversity has failed to grow and thecost of maintaining buildings has increased. Thus, to increase enrollment

and solve the problem of budget deficits at 9umana <niversity, we shouldinitiate and actively promote online degree programs like those at mni.!


An ancient, traditional remedy for insomnia/the scent of lavender flowers/has now been proved effective. n a recent study, B1 volunteers withchronic insomnia slept each night for three weeks on lavender$scentedpillows in a controlled room where their sleep was monitored electronically.=uring the first week, volunteers continued to take their usual sleepingmedication. They slept soundly but wakened feeling tired. At the beginningof the second week, the volunteers discontinued their sleeping medication.=uring that week, they slept less soundly than the previous week and felteven more tired. =uring the third week, the volunteers slept longer andmore soundly than in the previous two weeks. Therefore, the study proves

that lavender cures insomnia within a short period of time.



!#utter has now been replaced by margarine in 9appy Pancake 9ouserestaurants throughout the southwestern <nited ;tates. nly about 3percent of customers have complained, indicating that C8 people out of 611are happy with the change. *urthermore, many servers have reported thata number of customers who ask for butter do not complain when they aregiven margarine instead. +learly, either these customers cannot distinguishbutter from margarine or they use the term 'butter' to refer to either butter or margarine. Thus, to avoid the e?pense of purchasing butter and to increaseprofitability, the 9appy Pancake 9ouse should e?tend this cost$savingchange to its restaurants in the southeast and northeast as well.!




recommendation.

The following appeared in a letter from the owner of the ;unnyside Towersapartment building to its manager.

!ne month ago, all the showerheads on the first five floors of ;unnysideTowers were modified to restrict the water flow to appro?imately one$thirdof its original flow. Although actual readings of water usage before and after the ad&ustment are not yet available, the change will obviously result in a

considerable savings for ;unnyside +orporation, since the corporationmust pay for water each month. E?cept for a few complaints about lowwater pressure, no problems with showers have been reported since thead&ustment. +learly, restricting water flow throughout all the twenty floors of ;unnyside Towers will increase our profits further.!


recommendation.

The following appeared in a health magazine.

!The citizens of *orsythe have adopted more healthful lifestyles. Theirresponses to a recent survey show that in their eating habits they conformmore closely to government nutritional recommendations than they did tenyears ago. *urthermore, there has been a fourfold increase in sales of foodproducts containing kiran, a substance that a scientific study has shown

reduces cholesterol. This trend is also evident in reduced sales of sulia, afood that few of the most healthy citizens regularly eat.!


9umans arrived in the aliko slands about G,111 years ago, and withinB,111 years most of the large mammal species that had lived in the forests

of the aliko slands had become e?tinct. Het humans cannot have been afactor in the species' e?tinctions, because there is no evidence that the



humans had any significant contact with the mammals. *urther,archaeologists have discovered numerous sites where the bones of fishhad been discarded, but they found no such areas containing the bones oflarge mammals, so the humans cannot have hunted the mammals.

Therefore, some climate change or other environmental factor must havecaused the species' e?tinctions.


The following appeared in an editorial in a business magazine.!Although the sales of Whirlwind video games have declined over the pasttwo years, a recent survey of video$game players suggests that this salestrend is about to be reversed. The survey asked video$game players whatfeatures they thought were most important in a video game. According tothe survey, players prefer games that provide lifelike graphics, whichre%uire the most up$to$date computers. Whirlwind has &ust introducedseveral such games with an e?tensive advertising campaign directed atpeople ten to twenty$five years old, the age$group most likely to play video

games. t follows, then, that the sales of Whirlwind video games are likelyto increase dramatically in the ne?t few months.!


The following appeared in a memo from the vice president of marketing at=ura$;ock, nc.

!A recent study of our customers suggests that our company is wasting themoney it spends on its patented Endure manufacturing process, whichensures that our socks are strong enough to last for two years. We havealways advertised our use of the Endure process, but the new study showsthat despite our socks' durability, our average customer actually purchasesnew =ura$;ocks every three months. *urthermore, our customerssurveyed in our largest market, northeastern <nited ;tates cities, say that

they most value =ura$;ocks' stylish appearance and availability in many



colors. These findings suggest that we can increase our profits bydiscontinuing use of the Endure manufacturing process.!


The following appeared in a memo from the vice president of marketing at=ura$;ock, nc.

!A recent study of our customers suggests that our company is wasting themoney it spends on its patented Endure manufacturing process, whichensures that our socks are strong enough to last for two years. We havealways advertised our use of the Endure process, but the new study showsthat despite our socks' durability, our average customer actually purchasesnew =ura$;ocks every three months. *urthermore, our customerssurveyed in our largest market, northeastern <nited ;tates cities, say thatthey most value =ura$;ocks' stylish appearance and availability in manycolors. These findings suggest that we can increase our profits bydiscontinuing use of the Endure manufacturing process.!


The vice president for human resources at +limpson ndustries sent thefollowing recommendation to the company's president.

!n an effort to improve our employees' productivity, we should implementelectronic monitoring of employees' nternet use from their workstations.

Employees who use the nternet inappropriately from their workstationsneed to be identified and punished if we are to reduce the number of workhours spent on personal or recreational activities, such as shopping orplaying games. nstalling software on company computers to detectemployees' nternet use is the best way to prevent employees from wastingtime on the &ob. t will foster a better work ethic at +limpson and improveour overall profits.!





The following appeared in a memo from the president of #ower #uilders, acompany that constructs new homes.

!A nationwide survey reveals that the two most$desired home features area large family room and a large, well$appointed kitchen. A number of homesin our area built by our competitor =omus +onstruction have such featuresand have sold much faster and at significantly higher prices than thenational average. To boost sales and profits, we should increase the size of the family rooms and kitchens in all the homes we build and should makestate$of$the$art kitchens a standard feature. -oreover, our larger familyrooms and kitchens can come at the e?pense of the dining room, sincemany of our recent buyers say they do not need a separate dining room forfamily meals.!


The following appeared in a letter from a firm providing investment advicefor a client.

!-ost homes in the northeastern <nited ;tates, where winters are typicallycold, have traditionally used oil as their ma&or fuel for heating. "ast heatingseason that region e?perienced C1 days with below$normal temperatures,and climate forecasters predict that this weather pattern will continue forseveral more years. *urthermore, many new homes are being built in theregion in response to recent population growth. #ecause of these trends,we predict an increased demand for heating oil and recommend investmentin +onsolidated ndustries, one of whose ma&or business operations is theretail sale of home heating oil.!


The following appeared in an article in the Grandview Beacon.!*or many years the city of randview has provided annual funding for the

randview ;ymphony. "ast year, however, private contributions to thesymphony increased by 311 percent and attendance at the symphony's



concerts$in$the$park series doubled. The symphony has also announced anincrease in ticket prices for ne?t year. iven such developments, some citycommissioners argue that the symphony can now be fully self$supporting,and they recommend that funding for the symphony be eliminated from

ne?t year's budget.!Write a response in which you discuss what questions would needto be answered in order to decide whether the recommendationand the argument on which it is based are reasonable. Be sure toexplain how the answers to these questions would help toevaluate the recommendation.

The following appeared in a memo from the director of a large group of

hospitals.!n a laboratory study of li%uid antibacterial hand soaps, a concentratedsolution of <ltra+lean produced a 01 percent greater reduction in thebacteria population than did the li%uid hand soaps currently used in ourhospitals. =uring a subse%uent test of <ltra+lean at our hospital in Workby,that hospital reported significantly fewer cases of patient infection than didany of the other hospitals in our group. Therefore, to prevent seriouspatient infections, we should supply <ltra+lean at all hand$washing stationsthroughout our hospital system.!


The following appeared in a letter to the editor of the ParkvilleDaily newspaper.

!Throughout the country last year, as more and more children below theage of nine participated in youth$league sports, over 01,111 of these youngplayers suffered in&uries. When interviewed for a recent study, youth$leaguesoccer players in several ma&or cities also reported psychological pressuree?erted by coaches and parents to win games. *urthermore, educatione?perts say that long practice sessions for these sports take away time thatcould be used for academic activities. ;ince the disadvantages outweighany advantages, we in Parkville should discontinue organized athleticcompetition for children under nine.!





+ollectors prize the ancient life$size clay statues of human figures made onali sland but have long wondered how alinese artists were able to depictbodies with such realistic precision. ;ince archaeologists have recentlydiscovered molds of human heads and hands on ali, we can nowconclude that the ancient alinese artists used molds of actual bodies, notsculpting tools and techni%ues, to create these statues. This discoverye?plains why alinese miniature statues were abstract and entirely differentin style: molds could be used only for life$size sculptures. t also e?plainswhy few ancient alinese sculpting tools have been found. n light of this

discovery, collectors predict that the life$size sculptures will decrease invalue while the miniatures increase in value.


When ;tanley Park first opened, it was the largest, most heavily usedpublic park in town. t is still the largest park, but it is no longer heavilyused. Iideo cameras mounted in the park's parking lots last monthrevealed the park's drop in popularity: the recordings showed an average of only 41 cars per day. n contrast, tiny +arlton Park in the heart of thebusiness district is visited by more than 641 people on a typical weekday. An obvious difference is that +arlton Park, unlike ;tanley Park, providesample seating. Thus, if ;tanley Park is ever to be as popular with ourcitizens as +arlton Park, the town will obviously need to provide morebenches, thereby converting some of the unused open areas into spacessuitable for socializing.


The following appeared in a memo from the owner of a chain of cheesestores located throughout the <nited ;tates.



!*or many years all the stores in our chain have stocked a wide variety ofboth domestic and imported cheeses. "ast year, however, all of the fivebest$selling cheeses at our newest store were domestic cheddar cheesesfrom Wisconsin. *urthermore, a recent survey by Cheeses of the

World magazine indicates an increasing preference for domestic cheesesamong its subscribers. ;ince our company can reduce e?penses by limitinginventory, the best way to improve profits in all of our stores is todiscontinue stocking many of our varieties of imported cheese andconcentrate primarily on domestic cheeses.!Write a response in which you discuss what questions would needto be answered in order to decide whether the recommendation islikely to have the predicted result. Be sure to explain how theanswers to these questions would help to evaluate therecommendation.

The following appeared as part of a business plan developed by themanager of the ialto -ovie Theater.

!=espite its downtown location, the ialto -ovie Theater, a local institutionfor five decades, must make big changes or close its doors forever. tshould follow the e?ample of the new Ape? Theater in the mall outside oftown. When the Ape? opened last year, it featured a video arcade, plushcarpeting and seats, and a state$of$the$art sound system. *urthermore, in a

recent survey, over 84 percent of respondents reported that the high priceof newly released movies prevents them from going to the movies morethan five times per year. Thus, if the ialto intends to hold on to its share ofa decreasing pool of moviegoers, it must offer the same features as Ape?.!

Write a response in which you discuss what questions would needto be answered in order to decide whether the recommendation islikely to have the predicted result. Be sure to explain how theanswers to these questions would help to evaluate therecommendation.

A recent study reported that pet owners have longer, healthier lives onaverage than do people who own no pets. ;pecifically, dog owners tend tohave a lower incidence of heart disease. n light of these findings,;herwood 9ospital should form a partnership with ;herwood Animal;helter to institute an adopt$a$dog program. The program would encouragedog ownership for patients recovering from heart disease, which shouldreduce these patients' chance of e?periencing continuing heart problems

and also reduce their need for ongoing treatment. As a further benefit, thepublicity about the program would encourage more people to adopt pets



from the shelter. And that will reduce the incidence of heart disease in thegeneral population.


The following appeared in a memo from a vice president of a large, highlydiversified company.

!Ten years ago our company had two new office buildings constructed asregional head%uarters for two regions. The buildings were erected bydifferent construction companies/Alpha and Jeta. Although the twobuildings had identical floor plans, the building constructed by Jeta cost B1percent more to build. 9owever, that building's e?penses for maintenancelast year were only half those of Alpha's. n addition, the energyconsumption of the Jeta building has been lower than that of the Alphabuilding every year since its construction. iven these data, plus the factthat Jeta has a stable workforce with little employee turnover, werecommend using Jeta rather than Alpha for our new building pro&ect, eventhough Alpha's bid promises lower construction costs.!

Write a response in which you discuss what questions would needto be answered in order to decide whether the recommendationand the argument on which it is based are reasonable. Be sure toexplain how the answers to these questions would help toevaluate the recommendation.


!Ten years ago our company had two new office buildings constructed asregional head%uarters for two regions. The buildings were erected bydifferent construction companies/Alpha and Jeta. Although the twobuildings had identical floor plans, the building constructed by Jeta cost B1percent more to build. 9owever, that building's e?penses for maintenancelast year were only half those of Alpha's. *urthermore, the energyconsumption of the Jeta building has been lower than that of the Alphabuilding every year since its construction. ;uch data indicate that weshould use Jeta rather than Alpha for our contemplated new building

pro&ect, even though Alpha's bid promises lower construction costs.!




The following is a letter to the editor of the Waymarsh Times.!Traffic here in Waymarsh is becoming a problem. Although &ust three yearsago a state traffic survey showed that the typical driving commuter took 31minutes to get to work, the commute now takes closer to 01 minutes,according to the survey &ust completed. -embers of the town councilalready have suggested more road building to address the problem, but aswell as being e?pensive, the new construction will surely disrupt some ofour residential neighborhoods. t would be better to follow the e?ample ofthe nearby city of arville. "ast year arville implemented a policy that

rewards people who share rides to work, giving them coupons for free gas.Pollution levels in arville have dropped since the policy was implemented,and people from arville tell me that commuting times have fallenconsiderably. There is no reason why a policy like arville's shouldn't worke%ually well in Waymarsh.!


The following appeared as a letter to the editor of a national newspaper.

!Hour recent article on corporate downsizingK in Elthyria maintains that thema&ority of competent workers who have lost &obs as a result of downsizingface serious economic hardship, often for years, before finding othersuitable employment. #ut this claim is undermined by a recent report on theElthyrian economy, which found that since 6CCC far more &obs have beencreated than have been eliminated, bringing the unemployment rate inElthyria to its lowest level in decades. -oreover, two$thirds of these newly

created &obs have been in industries that tend to pay above$averagewages, and the vast ma&ority of these &obs are full$time.!

K=ownsizing is the process whereby corporations deliberately makethemselves smaller, reducing the number of their employees.


The following appeared on the -ozart ;chool of -usic Web site.



!The -ozart ;chool of -usic should be the first choice for parentsconsidering enrolling their child in music lessons. *irst of all, the -ozart;chool welcomes youngsters at all ability and age levels2 there is noaudition to attend the school. ;econd, the school offers instruction in nearly

all musical instruments as well a wide range of styles and genres fromclassical to rock. Third, the faculty includes some of the most distinguishedmusicians in the area. *inally, many -ozart graduates have gone on tobecome well$known and highly paid professional musicians.!


The president of rove +ollege has recommended that the collegeabandon its century$old tradition of all$female education and beginadmitting men. Pointing to other all$female colleges that e?perienced anincrease in applications after adopting coeducation, the president arguesthat coeducation would lead to a significant increase in applications andenrollment. 9owever, the director of the alumnae association opposes theplan. Arguing that all$female education is essential to the very identity of thecollege, the director cites annual surveys of incoming students in which

these students say that the school's all$female status was the primaryreason they selected rove. The director also points to a survey of rovealumnae in which a ma&ority of respondents strongly favored keeping thecollege all female.


The following appeared in a letter to the editor of a #atavia newspaper.

!The department of agriculture in #atavia reports that the number of dairyfarms throughout the country is now 34 percent greater than it was 61years ago. =uring this same time period, however, the price of milk at thelocal E?cello *ood -arket has increased from 56.41 to over 5B.11 pergallon. To prevent farmers from continuing to receive e?cessive profits onan apparently increased supply of milk, the #atavia government should



begin to regulate retail milk prices. ;uch regulation is necessary to ensurefair prices for consumers.!


The following appeared in a newsletter offering advice to investors.

!ver 81 percent of the respondents to a recent survey indicated a desireto reduce their intake of foods containing fats and cholesterol, and todaylow$fat products abound in many food stores. ;ince many of the foodproducts currently marketed by ld =airy ndustries are high in fat andcholesterol, the company's sales are likely to diminish greatly and companyprofits will no doubt decrease. We therefore advise ld =airy stockholdersto sell their shares, and other investors not to purchase stock in thiscompany.!

Write a response in which you discuss what questions would needto be answered in order to decide whether the advice and theargument on which it is based are reasonable. Be sure to explain

how the answers to these questions would help to evaluate theadvice.

The following recommendation appeared in a memo from the mayor of thetown of 9opewell.

!Two years ago, the nearby town of cean Iiew built a new municipal golfcourse and resort hotel. =uring the past two years, tourism in cean Iiewhas increased, new businesses have opened there, and cean Iiew's ta?

revenues have risen by B1 percent. Therefore, the best way to improve9opewell's economy/and generate additional ta? revenues/is to build agolf course and resort hotel similar to those in cean Iiew.!




The following appeared in a memo from the vice president of a fooddistribution company with food storage warehouses in several cities.

!ecently, we signed a contract with the *ly$Away Pest +ontrol +ompanyto provide pest control services at our fast$food warehouse in Palm +ity,but last month we discovered that over 531,111 worth of food there hadbeen destroyed by pest damage. -eanwhile, the #uzzoff Pest +ontrol+ompany, which we have used for many years, continued to service ourwarehouse in Wintervale, and last month only 561,111 worth of the foodstored there had been destroyed by pest damage. Even though the pricecharged by *ly$Away is considerably lower, our best means of savingmoney is to return to #uzzoff for all our pest control services.!



;ince those issues of Newsbeat magazine that featured political news ontheir front cover were the poorest$selling issues over the past three years,the publisher of Newsbeat has recommended that the magazine curtail itsemphasis on politics to focus more e?clusively on economics and personalfinance. ;he points to a recent survey of readers of general interestmagazines that indicates greater reader interest in economic issues than in

political ones. Newsbeat 's editor, however, opposes the proposed shift ineditorial policy, pointing out that very few magazines offer e?tensive politicalcoverage anymore.Write a response in which you discuss what questions would needto be answered in order to decide whether the recommendationand the argument on which it is based are reasonable. Be sure toexplain how the answers to these questions would help toevaluate the recommendation.

The following is taken from a memo from the advertising director of the;uper ;creen -ovie Production +ompany.

!According to a recent report from our marketing department, during thepast year, fewer people attended ;uper ;creen$produced movies than inany other year. And yet the percentage of positive reviews by moviereviewers about specific ;uper ;creen movies actually increased duringthe past year. +learly, the contents of these reviews are not reachingenough of our prospective viewers. Thus, the problem lies not with the%uality of our movies but with the public's lack of awareness that movies ofgood %uality are available. ;uper ;creen should therefore allocate a



greater share of its budget ne?t year to reaching the public throughadvertising.!


The following appeared in a business magazine.

!As a result of numerous complaints of dizziness and nausea on the part ofconsumers of Promofoods tuna, the company re%uested that eight millioncans of its tuna be returned for testing. Promofoods concluded that thecanned tuna did not, after all, pose a health risk. This conclusion is basedon tests performed on samples of the recalled cans by chemists fromPromofoods2 the chemists found that of the eight food chemicals mostcommonly blamed for causing symptoms of dizziness and nausea, fivewere not found in any of the tested cans. The chemists did find smallamounts of the three remaining suspected chemicals but pointed out thatthese occur naturally in all canned foods.!


to be addressed in order to decide whether the conclusion and theargument on which it is based are reasonable. Be sure to explainhow the answers to the questions would help to evaluate theconclusion.

The following appeared in a memo from the vice president of marketing at=ura$;ocks, nc.

!A recent study of =ura$;ocks customers suggests that our company is

wasting the money it spends on its patented Endure manufacturingprocess, which ensures that our socks are strong enough to last for twoyears. We have always advertised our use of the Endure process, but thenew study shows that despite the socks' durability, our customers, onaverage, actually purchase new =ura$;ocks every three months.*urthermore, customers surveyed in our largest market/northeastern<nited ;tates cities/say that they most value =ura$;ocks' stylishappearance and availability in many colors. These findings suggest that wecan increase our profits by discontinuing use of the Endure manufacturingprocess.!





The following is a letter to the editor of an environmental magazine.

!n 6CG4 a wildlife census found that there were seven species ofamphibians in Lanadu @ational Park, with abundant numbers of eachspecies. 9owever, in 3113 only four species of amphibians were observedin the park, and the numbers of each species were drastically reduced.There has been a substantial decline in the numbers of amphibians

worldwide, and global pollution of water and air is clearly implicated. Thedecline of amphibians in Lanadu @ational Park, however, almost certainlyhas a different cause: in 6CG4, trout/which are known to eat amphibianeggs/were introduced into the park.!


The following is a letter to the editor of an environmental magazine.!Two studies of amphibians in Lanadu @ational Park confirm a significantdecline in the numbers of amphibians. n 6CG4 there were seven species of amphibians in the park, and there were abundant numbers of each species.9owever, in 3113 only four species of amphibians were observed in thepark, and the numbers of each species were drastically reduced. neproposed e?planation is that the decline was caused by the introduction oftrout into the park's waters, which began in 6CG4. (Trout are known to eatamphibian eggs.)!


n a study of the reading habits of Waymarsh citizens conducted by the<niversity of Waymarsh, most respondents said that they preferred literaryclassics as reading material. 9owever, a second study conducted by the

same researchers found that the type of book most fre%uently checked outof each of the public libraries in Waymarsh was the mystery novel.



Therefore, it can be concluded that the respondents in the first study hadmisrepresented their reading habits.


The following appeared in a memo at LHJ company.

!When LHJ lays off employees, it pays =elany Personnel *irm to offerthose employees assistance in creating r>sum>s and developinginterviewing skills, if they so desire. "aid$off employees have benefitedgreatly from =elany's services: last year those who used =elany found &obsmuch more %uickly than did those who did not. ecently, it has beenproposed that we use the less e?pensive Walsh Personnel *irm in place of=elany. This would be a mistake because eight years ago, when LHJ wasusing Walsh, only half of the workers we laid off at that time found &obswithin a year. -oreover, =elany is clearly superior, as evidenced by itsbigger staff and larger number of branch offices. After all, last year =elany'sclients took an average of si? months to find &obs, whereas Walsh's clientstook nine.!



n a study of the reading habits of Waymarsh citizens conducted by the<niversity of Waymarsh, most respondents said they preferred literaryclassics as reading material. 9owever, a second study conducted by thesame researchers found that the type of book most fre%uently checked outof each of the public libraries in Waymarsh was the mystery novel.Therefore, it can be concluded that the respondents in the first study had

misrepresented their reading preferences.


The following appeared in a memorandum written by the vice president of

9ealth @aturally, a small but e?panding chain of stores selling health foodand other health$related products.



!ur previous e?perience has been that our stores are most profitable inareas where residents are highly concerned with leading healthy lives. Weshould therefore build one of our new stores in Plainsville, which clearlyhas many such residents. Plainsville merchants report that sales of running

shoes and e?ercise e%uipment are at all$time highs. The local health club,which nearly closed five years ago due to lack of business, has moremembers than ever, and the weight$training and aerobics classes arealways full. We can even anticipate a new generation of customers:Plainsville's schoolchildren are re%uired to participate in a program called*itness for "ife, which emphasizes the benefits of regular e?ercise at anearly age.!



The following appeared in a memo at LHJ company.

!When LHJ lays off employees, it pays =elany Personnel *irm to offerthose employees assistance in creating r>sum>s and developinginterviewing skills, if they so desire. "aid$off employees have benefitedgreatly from =elany's services: last year those who used =elany found &obsmuch more %uickly than did those who did not. ecently, it has been

proposed that we use the less e?pensive Walsh Personnel *irm in place of=elany. This would be a mistake because eight years ago, when LHJ wasusing Walsh, only half of the workers we laid off at that time found &obswithin a year. -oreover, =elany is clearly superior, as evidenced by itsbigger staff and larger number of branch offices. After all, last year =elany'sclients took an average of si? months to find &obs, whereas Walsh's clientstook nine.!



The following appeared in a memorandum written by the vice president of9ealth @aturally, a small but e?panding chain of stores selling health foodand other health$related products.

!ur previous e?perience has been that our stores are most profitable in

areas where residents are highly concerned with leading healthy lives. Weshould therefore build one of our new stores in Plainsville, which clearly



has many such residents. Plainsville merchants report that sales of runningshoes and e?ercise e%uipment are at all$time highs. The local health club,which nearly closed five years ago due to lack of business, has moremembers than ever, and the weight$training and aerobics classes are

always full. We can even anticipate a new generation of customers:Plainsville's schoolchildren are re%uired to participate in a program called*itness for "ife, which emphasizes the benefits of regular e?ercise at anearly age.!


Three years ago, because of flooding at the Western Palean WildlifePreserve, 611 lions and 611 western gazelles were moved to the EastPalean Preserve, an area that is home to most of the same species thatare found in the western preserve, though in larger numbers, and to theeastern gazelle, a close relative of the western gazelle. The only differencein climate is that the eastern preserve typically has slightly less rainfall.<nfortunately, after three years in the eastern preserve, the importedwestern gazelle population has been virtually eliminated. ;ince the slight

reduction in rainfall cannot be the cause of the virtual elimination of westerngazelle, their disappearance must have been caused by the larger numberof predators in the eastern preserve.


Workers in the small town of "eeville take fewer sick days than workers in

the large city of -asonton, 41 miles away. -oreover, relative to populationsize, the diagnosis of stress$related illness is proportionally much lower in"eeville than in -asonton. According to the "eeville +hamber of+ommerce, these facts can be attributed to the health benefits of therelatively rela?ed pace of life in "eeville.




The following appeared in a memorandum from the manager of WWA+radio station.

!WWA+ must change from its current rock$music format because thenumber of listeners has been declining, even though the population in ourlistening area has been growing. The population growth has resultedmainly from people moving to our area after their retirement, and we mustmake listeners of these new residents. #ut they seem to have limitedinterest in music: several local stores selling recorded music have recentlyclosed. Therefore, &ust changing to another kind of music is not going toincrease our audience. nstead, we should adopt a news$and$talk format, aform of radio that is increasingly popular in our area.!


to be answered in order to decide whether the recommendationand the argument on which it is based are reasonable. Be sure toexplain how the answers to these questions would help toevaluate the recommendation.

The vice president of human resources at +limpson ndustries sent thefollowing recommendation to the company's president.

!A recent national survey found that the ma&ority of workers with access to

the nternet at work had used company computers for personal orrecreational activities, such as banking or playing games. n an effort toimprove our employees' productivity, we should implement electronicmonitoring of employees' nternet use from their workstations. <singelectronic monitoring software is the best way to reduce the number ofhours +limpson employees spend on personal or recreational activities. Wepredict that installing software to monitor employees' nternet use will allowus to prevent employees from wasting time, thereby increasing productivityand improving overall profits.!



!*ive years ago, at a time when we had difficulty obtaining reliable suppliesof high$%uality wool fabric, we discontinued production of our popular



alpaca overcoat. @ow that we have a new fabric supplier, we shouldresume production. iven the outcry from our customers when wediscontinued this product and the fact that none of our competitors offers acomparable product, we can e?pect pent$up consumer demand for our

alpaca coats. This demand and the overall increase in clothing prices willmake ;artorian's alpaca overcoats more profitable than ever before.!



!*ive years ago, at a time when we had difficulty obtaining reliable suppliesof high$%uality wool fabric, we discontinued production of our popularalpaca overcoat. @ow that we have a new fabric supplier, we shouldresume production. iven the outcry from our customers when wediscontinued this product and the fact that none of our competitors offers acomparable product, we can e?pect pent$up consumer demand for ouralpaca coats. =ue to this demand and the overall increase in clothing

prices, we can predict that ;artorian's alpaca overcoats will be moreprofitable than ever before.!


The following appeared in an e$mail sent by the marketing director of the+lassical ;hakespeare Theatre of #ardville.

!ver the past ten years, there has been a 31 percent decline in the size ofthe average audience at +lassical ;hakespeare Theatre productions. nspite of increased advertising, we are attracting fewer and fewer people toour shows, causing our profits to decrease significantly. We must takeaction to attract new audience members. The best way to do so is byinstituting a ';hakespeare in the Park' program this summer. Two years agothe nearby Avon epertory +ompany started a '*ree Plays in the Park'

program, and its profits have increased 61 percent since then. f we start a






The following was written as a part of an application for a small$businessloan by a group of developers in the city of -onroe.

!Fazz music is e?tremely popular in the city of -onroe: over 611,111people attended -onroe's annual &azz festival last summer, and thehighest$rated radio program in -onroe is 'Fazz @ightly,' which airs everyweeknight. Also, a number of well$known &azz musicians own homes in-onroe. @evertheless, the nearest &azz club is over an hour away. iventhe popularity of &azz in -onroe and a recent nationwide study indicating

that the typical &azz fan spends close to 56,111 per year on &azzentertainment, a &azz music club in -onroe would be tremendouslyprofitable.!


There is now evidence that the rela?ed pace of life in small towns promotesbetter health and greater longevity than does the hectic pace of life in bigcities. #usinesses in the small town of "eeville report fewer days of sickleave taken by individual workers than do businesses in the nearby largecity of -asonton. *urthermore, "eeville has only one physician for its onethousand residents, but in -asonton the proportion of physicians toresidents is five times as high. *inally, the average age of "eeville residentsis significantly higher than that of -asonton residents. These findingssuggest that people seeking longer and healthier lives should consider

moving to small communities.


The following was written as a part of an application for a small$business

loan by a group of developers in the city of -onroe.



!Fazz music is e?tremely popular in the city of -onroe: over 611,111people attended -onroe's annual &azz festival last summer, and thehighest$rated radio program in -onroe is 'Fazz @ightly,' which airs everyweeknight. Also, a number of well$known &azz musicians own homes in

-onroe. @evertheless, the nearest &azz club is over an hour away. iventhe popularity of &azz in -onroe and a recent nationwide study indicatingthat the typical &azz fan spends close to 56,111 per year on &azzentertainment, we predict that our new &azz music club in -onroe will be atremendously profitable enterprise.!

Write a response in which you discuss what questions would needto be answered in order to decide whether the prediction and theargument on which it is based are reasonable. Be sure to explainhow the answers to these questions would help to evaluate the

prediction.

There is now evidence that the rela?ed pace of life in small towns promotesbetter health and greater longevity than does the hectic pace of life in bigcities. #usinesses in the small town of "eeville report fewer days of sickleave taken by individual workers than do businesses in the nearby largecity of -asonton. *urthermore, "eeville has only one physician for its onethousand residents, but in -asonton the proportion of physicians toresidents is five times as high. *inally, the average age of "eeville residents

is significantly higher than that of -asonton residents. These findingssuggest that the rela?ed pace of life in "eeville allows residents to livelonger, healthier lives.


The following appeared in a memo from a vice president of amanufacturing company.

!=uring the past year, workers at our newly opened factory reported B1percent more on$the$&ob accidents than workers at nearby Panoplyndustries. Panoply produces products very similar to those produced atour factory, but its work shifts are one hour shorter than ours. E?perts saythat fatigue and sleep deprivation among workers are significantcontributing factors in many on$the$&ob accidents. Panoply's superior safetyrecord can therefore be attributed to its shorter work shifts, which allow itsemployees to get ade%uate amounts of rest.!




The following appeared in a memo from the vice president of #utler-anufacturing.

!=uring the past year, workers at #utler -anufacturing reported B1 percentmore on$the$&ob accidents than workers at nearby Panoply ndustries,where the work shifts are one hour shorter than ours. A recent governmentstudy reports that fatigue and sleep deprivation among workers aresignificant contributing factors in many on$the$&ob accidents. f we shorten

each of our work shifts by one hour, we can improve #utler -anufacturing'ssafety record by ensuring that our employees are ade%uately rested.!


The following appeared in a memo from the #oard of =irectors of #utler-anufacturing.

!=uring the past year, workers at #utler -anufacturing reported B1 percentmore on$the$&ob accidents than workers at nearby Panoply ndustries,where the work shifts are one hour shorter than ours. A recent governmentstudy reports that fatigue and sleep deprivation among workers aresignificant contributing factors in many on$the$&ob accidents. Therefore, werecommend that #utler -anufacturing shorten each of its work shifts byone hour. ;horter shifts will allow #utler to improve its safety record byensuring that its employees are ade%uately rested.!


The following appeared in a memo from the business manager of a chainof cheese stores located throughout the <nited ;tates.

!*or many years all the stores in our chain have stocked a wide variety ofboth domestic and imported cheeses. "ast year, however, all of the five






The following appeared in a memorandum from the manager of @Wradio station.

!;everal factors indicate that @W radio can no longer succeed as arock$and$roll music station. +onsider, for e?ample, that the number ofpeople in our listening area over fifty years of age has increaseddramatically, while our total number of listeners has declined. Also, musicstores in our area report decreased sales of rock$and$roll music. *inally,continuous news stations in neighboring cities have been very successful.

We predict that switching @W radio from rock$and$roll music to 30$hournews will allow the station to attract older listeners and make @W radiomore profitable than ever.!



!n order to stop the recent decline in our profits, we must reduce operatinge?penses at -ovies alore's ten movie$rental stores. ;ince we are famousfor our special bargains, raising our rental prices is not a viable way toimprove profits. "ast month our store in downtown -arston significantlydecreased its operating e?penses by closing at 7:11 P.-. rather than C:11P.-. and by reducing its stock by eliminating all movies released more than

five years ago. #y implementing similar changes in our other stores,-ovies alore can increase profits without &eopardizing our reputation foroffering great movies at low prices.!





!n order to reverse the recent decline in our profits, we must reduceoperating e?penses at -ovies alore's ten movie$rental stores. ;ince weare famous for our special bargains, raising our rental prices is not a viableway to improve profits. "ast month our store in downtown -arstonsignificantly decreased its operating e?penses by closing at 7:11 p.m.rather than C:11 p.m. and by reducing its stock by eliminating all moviesreleased more than five years ago. Therefore, in order to increase profitswithout &eopardizing our reputation for offering great movies at low prices,we recommend implementing similar changes in our other nine -oviesalore stores.!


The following is a recommendation from the personnel director to thepresident of Acme Publishing +ompany.

!-any other companies have recently stated that having their employeestake the Easy ead ;peed$eading +ourse has greatly improvedproductivity. ne graduate of the course was able to read a 411$pagereport in only two hours2 another graduate rose from an assistant managerto vice president of the company in under a year. bviously, the faster youcan read, the more information you can absorb in a single workday.-oreover, Easy ead would cost Acme only 5411 per employee/a smallprice to pay when you consider the benefits. ncluded in this fee is a three$week seminar in ;pruce +ity and a lifelong subscription to the Easy eadnewsletter. +learly, to improve productivity, Acme should re%uire all of our

employees to take the Easy ead course.!

Write a response in which you discuss what questions would needto be answered in order to decide whether the advice and theargument on which it is based are reasonable. Be sure to explainhow the answers to these questions would help to evaluate theadvice.

The following appeared in a memo from the vice president of a food

distribution company with food storage warehouses in several cities.



!ecently, we signed a contract with the *ly$Away Pest +ontrol +ompanyto provide pest control services at our warehouse in Palm +ity, but lastmonth we discovered that over 531,111 worth of food there had beendestroyed by pest damage. -eanwhile, the #uzzoff Pest +ontrol +ompany,

which we have used for many years in Palm +ity, continued to service ourwarehouse in Wintervale, and last month only 561,111 worth of the foodstored there had been destroyed by pest damage. Even though the pricecharged by *ly$Away is considerably lower, our best means of savingmoney is to return to #uzzoff for all our pest control services.!




!Ten years ago our company had two new office buildings constructed asregional head%uarters for two different regions. The buildings were erectedby two different construction companies/Alpha and Jeta. Even though thetwo buildings had identical floor plans, the building constructed by Jeta cost

B1 percent more to build, and its e?penses for maintenance last year weretwice those of the building constructed by Alpha. *urthermore, the energyconsumption of the Jeta building has been higher than that of the Alphabuilding every year since its construction. ;uch data, plus the fact that Alpha has a stable workforce with little employee turnover, indicate that weshould use Alpha rather than Jeta for our contemplated new buildingpro&ect.!




!ecently, we signed a contract with the *ly$Away Pest +ontrol +ompanyto provide pest control services at our warehouse in Palm +ity, but last

month we discovered that over 531,111 worth of food there had beendestroyed by pest damage. -eanwhile, the #uzzoff Pest +ontrol +ompany,



which we have used for many years in Palm +ity, continued to service ourwarehouse in Wintervale, and last month only 561,111 worth of the foodstored there had been destroyed by pest damage. This difference in pestdamage is best e?plained by the negligence of *ly$Away.!



!ecently, we signed a contract with the *ly$Away Pest +ontrol +ompanyto provide pest control services at our warehouse in Palm +ity, but lastmonth we discovered that over 531,111 worth of food there had beendestroyed by pest damage. -eanwhile, the #uzzoff Pest +ontrol +ompany,which we have used for many years in Palm +ity, continued to service ourwarehouse in Wintervale, and last month only 561,111 worth of the foodstored there had been destroyed by pest damage. Even though the pricecharged by *ly$Away is considerably lower, our best means of savingmoney is to return to #uzzoff for all our pest control services.!


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

!A recent study rating B11 male and female advertising e?ecutives

according to the average number of hours they sleep per night showed anassociation between the amount of sleep the e?ecutives need and thesuccess of their firms. f the advertising firms studied, those whosee?ecutives reported needing no more than si? hours of sleep per night hadhigher profit margins and faster growth. n the basis of this study, werecommend that businesses hire only people who need less than si? hoursof sleep per night.!






Evidence suggests that academic honor codes, which call for students toagree not to cheat in their academic endeavors and to notify a facultymember if they suspect that others have cheated, are far more successfulthan are other methods at deterring cheating among students at collegesand universities. ;everal years ago, roveton +ollege adopted such acode and discontinued its old$fashioned system in which teachers closelymonitored students. <nder the old system, teachers reported an average of thirty cases of cheating per year. n the first year the honor code was inplace, students reported twenty$one cases of cheating2 five years later, thisfigure had dropped to fourteen. -oreover, in a recent survey, a ma&ority of

roveton students said that they would be less likely to cheat with an honor code in place than without.


;everal years ago, roveton +ollege adopted an honor code, which calls

for students to agree not to cheat in their academic endeavors and to notifya faculty member if they suspect that others have cheated. roveton'shonor code replaced a system in which teachers closely monitoredstudents. <nder that system, teachers reported an average of thirty casesof cheating per year. The honor code has proven far more successful: inthe first year it was in place, students reported twenty$one cases ofcheating2 five years later, this figure had dropped to fourteen. -oreover, ina recent survey, a ma&ority of roveton students said that they would beless likely to cheat with an honor code in place than without. ;uch evidencesuggests that all colleges and universities should adopt honor codes similar to roveton's. This change is sure to result in a dramatic decline incheating among college students.






year period, the number of accidents caused by bicycling has increased311 percent. These results demonstrate that bicyclists feel safer becausethey are wearing helmets, and they take more risks as a result. Thus, thereis clearly a call for the government to strive to reduce the number of serious

in&uries from bicycle accidents by launching an education program thatconcentrates on the factors other than helmet use that are necessary forbicycle safety.!


The following appeared in a memo from the director of a large group ofhospitals.

!n a controlled laboratory study of li%uid hand soaps, a concentratedsolution of e?tra strength <ltra+lean hand soap produced a 01 percentgreater reduction in harmful bacteria than did the li%uid hand soapscurrently used in our hospitals. =uring our recent test of regular$strength<ltra+lean with doctors, nurses, and visitors at our hospital in Worktown,the hospital reported significantly fewer cases of patient infection (a 31

percent reduction) than did any of the other hospitals in our group.Therefore, to prevent serious patient infections, we should supply<ltra+lean at all hand$washing stations, including those used by visitors,throughout our hospital system.!


The following appeared in a health newsletter.

!A ten$year nationwide study of the effectiveness of wearing a helmet whilebicycling indicates that ten years ago, appro?imately B4 percent of allbicyclists reported wearing helmets, whereas today that number is nearly81 percent. Another study, however, suggests that during the same ten$year period, the number of accidents caused by bicycling has increased311 percent. These results demonstrate that bicyclists feel safer becausethey are wearing helmets, and they take more risks as a result. Thus thereis clearly a call for the government to strive to reduce the number of serious

in&uries from bicycle accidents by launching an education program that






The following appeared in a letter from the owner of the ;unnyside Towersapartment comple? to its manager.

!ne month ago, all the showerheads in the first three buildings of the;unnyside Towers comple? were modified to restrict ma?imum water flowto one$third of what it used to be. Although actual readings of water usagebefore and after the ad&ustment are not yet available, the change willobviously result in a considerable savings for ;unnyside +orporation, sincethe corporation must pay for water each month. E?cept for a fewcomplaints about low water pressure, no problems with showers have been

reported since the ad&ustment. +learly, modifying showerheads to restrictwater flow throughout all twelve buildings in the ;unnyside Towers comple?will increase our profits further.!


The following appeared in a letter from the owner of the ;unnyside Towers

apartment comple? to its manager.!"ast week, all the showerheads in the first three buildings of the ;unnysideTowers comple? were modified to restrict ma?imum water flow to one$thirdof what it used to be. Although actual readings of water usage before andafter the ad&ustment are not yet available, the change will obviously resultin a considerable savings for ;unnyside +orporation, since the corporationmust pay for water each month. E?cept for a few complaints about lowwater pressure, no problems with showers have been reported since thead&ustment. +learly, modifying showerheads to restrict water flow

throughout all twelve buildings in the ;unnyside Towers comple? willincrease our profits further.!





!#utter has now been replaced by margarine in 9appy Pancake 9ouserestaurants throughout the southwestern <nited ;tates. nly about 3percent of customers have filed a formal complaint, indicating that anaverage of C8 people out of 611 are happy with the change. *urthermore,

many servers have reported that a number of customers who ask for butterdo not complain when they are given margarine instead. +learly, eitherthese customers cannot distinguish butter from margarine or they use theterm 'butter' to refer to either butter or margarine. Thus, to avoid thee?pense of purchasing butter, the 9appy Pancake 9ouse should e?tendthis cost$saving change to its restaurants throughout the rest of thecountry.!




!#utter has now been replaced by margarine in 9appy Pancake 9ouserestaurants throughout the southwestern <nited ;tates. nly about 3

percent of customers have complained, indicating that an average of C8people out of 611 are happy with the change. *urthermore, many servershave reported that a number of customers who ask for butter do notcomplain when they are given margarine instead. +learly, either thesecustomers cannot distinguish butter from margarine or they use the term'butter' to refer to either butter or margarine. Thus, we predict that 9appyPancake 9ouse will be able to increase profits dramatically if we e?tendthis cost$saving change to all our restaurants in the southeast andnortheast as well.!


The following appeared in a letter to the school board in the town of+enterville.

!All students should be re%uired to take the driver's education course at+enterville 9igh ;chool. n the past two years, several accidents in and



around +enterville have involved teenage drivers. ;ince a number ofparents in +enterville have complained that they are too busy to teach their teenagers to drive, some other instruction is necessary to ensure that theseteenagers are safe drivers. Although there are two driving schools in

+enterville, parents on a tight budget cannot afford to pay for drivinginstruction. Therefore an effective and mandatory program sponsored bythe high school is the only solution to this serious problem.!



!#utter has now been replaced by margarine in 9appy Pancake 9ouserestaurants throughout the southwestern <nited ;tates. nly about 3percent of customers have complained, indicating that an average of C8people out of 611 are happy with the change. *urthermore, many servershave reported that a number of customers who ask for butter do notcomplain when they are given margarine instead. +learly, either these

customers cannot distinguish butter from margarine or they use the term'butter' to refer to either butter or margarine. Thus, to avoid the e?pense ofpurchasing butter and to increase profitability, the 9appy Pancake 9ouseshould e?tend this cost$saving change to its restaurants in the southeastand northeast as well.!



!All students should be re%uired to take the driver's education course at+enterville 9igh ;chool. n the past two years, several accidents in andaround +enterville have involved teenage drivers. ;ince a number ofparents in +enterville have complained that they are too busy to teach their teenagers to drive, some other instruction is necessary to ensure that theseteenagers are safe drivers. Although there are two driving schools in

+enterville, parents on a tight budget cannot afford to pay for driving



instruction. Therefore an effective and mandatory program sponsored bythe high school is the only solution to this serious problem.!


The data from a survey of high school math and science teachers showthat in the district of ;anlee many of these teachers reported assigningdaily homework, whereas in the district of -arlee, most science and mathteachers reported assigning homework no more than two or three days perweek. =espite receiving less fre%uent homework assignments, -arleestudents earn better grades overall and are less likely to be re%uired to

repeat a year of school than are students in ;anlee. These results call into%uestion the usefulness of fre%uent homework assignments. -ost likely the-arlee students have more time to concentrate on individual assignmentsthan do the ;anlee students who have homework every day. Thereforeteachers in our high schools should assign homework no more than twice aweek.



!All students should be re%uired to take the driver's education course at+enterville 9igh ;chool. n the past two years, several accidents in andaround +enterville have involved teenage drivers. ;ince a number ofparents in +enterville have complained that they are too busy to teach their teenagers to drive, some other instruction is necessary to ensure that these

teenagers are safe drivers. Although there are two driving schools in+enterville, parents on a tight budget cannot afford to pay for drivinginstruction. Therefore an effective and mandatory program sponsored bythe high school is the only solution to this serious problem.!




While the =epartment of Education in the state of Attra recommends thathigh school students be assigned homework every day, the data from arecent statewide survey of high school math and science teachers give usreason to %uestion the usefulness of daily homework. n the district of

;anlee, 87 percent of the teachers reported assigning homework three tofive times a week, whereas in the district of -arlee, less than 34 percent ofthe teachers reported assigning homework three to five times a week. Hetthe students in -arlee earn better grades overall and are less likely to bere%uired to repeat a year of school than are the students in ;anlee.Therefore, all teachers in our high schools should assign homework nomore than twice a week.



The following appeared as an editorial in the student newspaper ofroveton +ollege.

!To combat the recently reported dramatic rise in cheating among collegestudents, colleges and universities should adopt honor codes similar to

roveton's, which calls for students to agree not to cheat in their academicendeavors and to notify a faculty member if they suspect that others havecheated. roveton's honor code replaced an old$fashioned system in whichteachers closely monitored students. <nder that system, teachers reportedan average of thirty cases of cheating per year. The honor code has provenfar more successful: in the first year it was in place, students reportedtwenty$one cases of cheating2 five years later, this figure had dropped tofourteen. -oreover, in a recent survey conducted by the roveton honorcouncil, a ma&ority of students said that they would be less likely to cheatwith an honor code in place than without.!


The following appeared in a memo from a budget planner for the city ofrandview.

!ur citizens are well aware of the fact that while the randview ;ymphony

rchestra was struggling to succeed, our city government promised annualfunding to help support its programs. "ast year, however, private



contributions to the symphony increased by 311 percent, and attendance atthe symphony's concerts$in$the$park series doubled. The symphony hasalso announced an increase in ticket prices for ne?t year. ;uchdevelopments indicate that the symphony can now succeed without funding

from city government and we can eliminate that e?pense from ne?t year'sbudget. Therefore, we recommend that the city of randview eliminate itsfunding for the randview ;ymphony from ne?t year's budget. #y doing so,we can prevent a city budget deficit without threatening the success of thesymphony.!


recommendation.

While the =epartment of Education in the state of Attra suggests that highschool students be assigned homework every day, the data from a recentstatewide survey of high school math and science teachers give us reasonto %uestion the usefulness of daily homework. n the district of ;anlee, 87percent of the teachers reported assigning homework three to five times aweek, whereas in the district of -arlee, less than 34 percent of theteachers reported assigning homework three to five times a week. Het the

students in -arlee earn better grades overall and are less likely to bere%uired to repeat a year of school than are the students in ;anlee.Therefore, we recommend that all teachers in our high schools shouldassign homework no more than twice a week.


The following appeared in a memo to the board of the randview;ymphony.

!The city of randview has provided annual funding for the randview;ymphony since the symphony's inception ten years ago. "ast year thesymphony hired an internationally known conductor, who has been able toattract high$profile guest musicians to perform with the symphony. ;incethen, private contributions to the symphony have doubled and attendanceat the symphony's concerts$in$the$park series has reached new highs. @ow



that the randview ;ymphony is an established success, it can raise ticketprices. ncreased revenue from larger audiences and higher ticket priceswill enable the symphony to succeed without funding from the citygovernment.!


9ospital statistics regarding people who go to the emergency room afterroller$skating accidents indicate the need for more protective e%uipment.Within that group of people, G4 percent of those who had accidents instreets or parking lots had not been wearing any protective clothing

(helmets, knee pads, etc.) or any light$reflecting material (clip$on lights,glow$in$the$dark wrist pads, etc.). +learly, the statistics indicate that byinvesting in high$%uality protective gear and reflective e%uipment, rollerskaters will greatly reduce their risk of being severely in&ured in an accident.


The following appeared in a memo from a budget planner for the city ofrandview.

!When the randview ;ymphony was established ten years ago, the city of randview agreed to provide the symphony with annual funding until thesymphony became self$sustaining. Two years ago, the symphony hired aninternationally known conductor, who has been able to attract high$profileguest musicians to perform with the symphony. ;ince then, private

contributions to the symphony have tripled and attendance at thesymphony's outdoor summer concert series has reached record highs. @owthat the symphony has succeeded in finding an audience, the city caneliminate its funding of the symphony.!




The citizens of *orsythe have adopted more healthful lifestyles. Theirresponses to a recent survey show that in their eating habits they conformmore closely to government nutritional recommendations than they did tenyears ago. *urthermore, there has been a fourfold increase in sales of food

products containing kiran, a substance that a scientific study has shownreduces cholesterol. This trend is also evident in reduced sales of sulia, afood that few of the healthiest citizens regularly eat.


The following appeared in a memo to the board of directors of a companythat specializes in the delivery of heating oil.

!-ost homes in the northeastern <nited ;tates, where winters are typicallycold, have traditionally used oil as their ma&or fuel for heating. "ast heatingseason, that region e?perienced C1 days with below$normal temperatures,and climate forecasters predict that this weather pattern will continue forseveral more years. *urthermore, many new homes are being built in theregion in response to recent population growth. #ecause of these trends,

we can safely predict that this region will e?perience an increased demandfor heating oil during the ne?t five years.!


The following appeared in a memo to the board of directors of a companythat specializes in the delivery of heating oil.

!-ost homes in the northeastern <nited ;tates, where winters are typicallycold, have traditionally used oil as their ma&or fuel for heating. "ast heatingseason, that region e?perienced C1 days with below$normal temperatures,and climate forecasters predict that this weather pattern will continue forseveral more years. *urthermore, many new homes are being built in theregion in response to recent population growth. #ecause of these trends,we can safely predict that this region will e?perience an increased demand

for heating oil during the ne?t five years.!




The following recommendation was made by the president andadministrative staff of rove +ollege, a private institution, to the college'sgoverning committee.

!We recommend that rove +ollege preserve its century$old tradition of all$female education rather than admit men into its programs. t is true that ama&ority of faculty members voted in favor of coeducation, arguing that itwould encourage more students to apply to rove. #ut 81 percent of thestudents responding to a survey conducted by the student government

wanted the school to remain all female, and over half of the alumnae whoanswered a separate survey also opposed coeducation. eeping thecollege all female will improve morale among students and convincealumnae to keep supporting the college financially.!



!We recommend that rove +ollege preserve its century$old tradition of all$female education rather than admit men into its programs. t is true that ama&ority of faculty members voted in favor of coeducation, arguing that itwould encourage more students to apply to rove. #ut 81 percent of thestudents responding to a survey conducted by the student governmentwanted the school to remain all female, and over half of the alumnae who

answered a separate survey also opposed coeducation. eeping thecollege all female will improve morale among students and convincealumnae to keep supporting the college financially.!





!We recommend that rove +ollege preserve its century$old tradition of all$female education rather than admit men into its programs. t is true that ama&ority of faculty members voted in favor of coeducation, arguing that itwould encourage more students to apply to rove. #ut 81 percent of thestudents responding to a survey conducted by the student governmentwanted the school to remain all female, and over half of the alumnae whoanswered a separate survey also opposed coeducation. eeping thecollege all female will improve morale among students and convincealumnae to keep supporting the college financially.!


The following appeared in a letter from a firm providing investment adviceto a client.

!9omes in the northeastern <nited ;tates, where winters are typically cold,have traditionally used oil as their ma&or fuel for heating. "ast year thatregion e?perienced C1 days with below$average temperatures, and climateforecasters at Waymarsh <niversity predict that this weather pattern willcontinue for several more years. *urthermore, many new homes have beenbuilt in this region during the past year. #ecause these developments willcertainly result in an increased demand for heating oil, we recommendinvestment in +onsolidated ndustries, one of whose ma&or businessoperations is the retail sale of home heating oil.!


#enton +ity residents have adopted healthier lifestyles. A recent survey ofcity residents shows that the eating habits of city residents conform moreclosely to government nutritional recommendations than they did ten years

ago. =uring those ten years, local sales of food products containing kiran, asubstance that a scientific study has shown reduces cholesterol, have



increased fourfold, while sales of sulia, a food rarely eaten by the healthiestresidents, have declined dramatically. #ecause of these positive changes inthe eating habits of #enton +ity residents, we predict that the obesity ratein the city will soon be well below the national average.


The following appeared in a memo to the board of directors of #argain#rand +ereals.

!ne year ago we introduced our first product, #argain #rand breakfastcereal. ur very low prices %uickly drew many customers away from thetop$selling cereal companies. Although the companies producing the topbrands have since tried to compete with us by lowering their prices andalthough several plan to introduce their own budget brands, not once havewe needed to raise our prices to continue making a profit. iven oursuccess in selling cereal, we recommend that #argain #rand now e?pandits business and begin marketing other low$priced food products as %uicklyas possible.!


The following appeared in a memo to the board of directors of #argain#rand +ereals.

!ne year ago we introduced our first product, #argain #rand breakfastcereal. ur very low prices %uickly drew many customers away from thetop$selling cereal companies. Although the companies producing the topbrands have since tried to compete with us by lowering their prices andalthough several plan to introduce their own budget brands, not once havewe needed to raise our prices to continue making a profit. iven oursuccess in selling cereal, we recommend that #argain #rand now e?pandits business and begin marketing other low$priced food products as %uicklyas possible.!






!ecently, there have been discussions about ending rove +ollege'scentury$old tradition of all$female education by admitting male students intoour programs. At a recent faculty meeting, a ma&ority of faculty membersvoted in favor of coeducation, arguing that it would encourage morestudents to apply to rove. 9owever, rove students, both past andpresent, are against the idea of coeducation. Eighty percent of the studentsresponding to a survey conducted by the student government wanted theschool to remain all female, and over half of the alumnae who answered aseparate survey also opposed coeducation. Therefore, we recommendmaintaining rove +ollege's tradition of all$female education. We predict

that keeping the college all$female will improve morale among students andconvince alumnae to keep supporting the college financially.!


The following appeared in a memo from the marketing director of Top =ogPet ;tores.

!*ive years ago *ish Emporium started advertising in the magazine EoticPets !onthly . Their stores saw sales increase by 64 percent after theirads began appearing in the magazine. The three *ish Emporium stores inulf +ity saw an even greater increase than that. #ecause Top =og Pet;tores is based in ulf +ity, it seems clear that we should start placing ourown ads in Eotic Pets !onthly . f we do so, we will be sure to reversethe recent trend of declining sales and start making a profit again.!


The following appeared in a memo from the marketing director of Top =ogPet ;tores.

!*ive years ago, *ish Emporium started advertising in the magazine EoticPets !onthly . Their stores saw sales increase by 64 percent. The three



*ish Emporium stores in ulf +ity saw an even greater increase than that.#ecause Top =og has some of its largest stores in ulf +ity, it seems clearthat we should start placing our own ads in Eotic Pets !onthly . f we doso, we will be sure to reverse the recent trend of declining sales and start

making a profit again.!Write a response in which you discuss what specifc evidence isneeded to evaluate the argument and explain how the evidencewould weaken or strengthen the argument.

The following appeared in a letter to the editor of the Balmer IslandGazette.!The population on #almer sland increases to 611,111 during the summermonths. To reduce the number of accidents involving mopeds and

pedestrians, the town council of #almer sland plans to limit the number ofmopeds rented by each of the island's si? moped rental companies from 41per day to B1 per day during the summer season. "ast year, theneighboring island of Torseau enforced similar limits on moped rentals andsaw a 41 percent reduction in moped accidents. We predict that puttingthese limits into effect on #almer sland will result in the same reduction inmoped accidents.!

Write a response in which you discuss what questions would needto be answered in order to decide whether the prediction and the

argument on which it is based are reasonable. Be sure to explainhow the answers to these questions would help to evaluate theprediction.

The following appeared in a recommendation from the President of the Amburg +hamber of +ommerce.

!"ast ctober, the city of #elleville installed high$intensity lighting in itscentral business district, and vandalism there declined almost immediately.

The city of Amburg, on the other hand, recently instituted police patrols onbicycles in its business district. 9owever, the rate of vandalism hereremains constant. ;ince high$intensity lighting is clearly the most effectiveway to combat crime, we recommend using the money that is currentlybeing spent on bicycle patrols to install such lighting throughout Amburg. fwe install this high$intensity lighting, we will significantly reduce crime ratesin Amburg.!

Write a response in which you discuss what questions would needto be answered in order to decide whether the recommendation islikely to have the predicted result. Be sure to explain how the





The following memo appeared in the newsletter of the West -eria Public9ealth +ouncil.

!An innovative treatment has come to our attention that promises tosignificantly reduce absenteeism in our schools and workplaces. A studyreports that in nearby East -eria, where consumption of the plant beneficiais very high, people visit the doctor only once or twice per year for thetreatment of colds. +learly, eating a substantial amount of beneficia canprevent colds. ;ince colds are the reason most fre%uently given forabsences from school and work, we recommend the daily use of nutritionalsupplements derived from beneficia. We predict this will dramaticallyreduce absenteeism in our schools and workplaces.!


to be answered in order to decide whether the recommendation islikely to have the predicted result. Be sure to explain how theanswers to these questions would help to evaluate therecommendation.

The following was written by a group of developers in the city of -onroe.

!A &azz music club in -onroe would be a tremendously profitableenterprise. At present, the nearest &azz club is over 71 miles away from

-onroe2 thus, our proposed club, the + @ote, would have the local marketall to itself. n addition, there is ample evidence of the popularity of &azz in-onroe: over 611,111 people attended -onroe's &azz festival last summer,several well$known &azz musicians live in -onroe, and the highest$ratedradio program in -onroe is 'Fazz @ightly.' *inally, a nationwide studyindicates that the typical &azz fan spends close to 56,111 per year on &azzentertainment. We therefore predict that the + @ote cannot help but makemoney.!


to be answered in order to decide whether the prediction and theargument on which it is based are reasonable. Be sure to explainhow the answers to these questions would help to evaluate theprediction.

9umans arrived in the aliko slands about G,111 years ago, and withinB,111 years most of the large mammal species that had lived in the forestsof the aliko slands were e?tinct. Previous archaeological findings havesuggested that early humans generally relied on both fishing and hunting

for food2 since archaeologists have discovered numerous sites in the alikoslands where the bones of fish were discarded, it is likely that the humans



also hunted the mammals. *urthermore, researchers have uncoveredsimple tools, such as stone knives, that could be used for hunting. The onlyclear e?planation is that humans caused the e?tinction of the variousmammal species through e?cessive hunting.


The following memo appeared in the newsletter of the West -eria Public9ealth +ouncil.

!An innovative treatment has come to our attention that promises tosignificantly reduce absenteeism in our schools and workplaces. A studyreports that in nearby East -eria, where fish consumption is very high,people visit the doctor only once or twice per year for the treatment ofcolds. This shows that eating a substantial amount of fish can clearlyprevent colds. *urthermore, since colds are the reason most fre%uentlygiven for absences from school and work, attendance levels will improve.Therefore, we recommend the daily use of a nutritional supplement derivedfrom fish oil as a good way to prevent colds and lower absenteeism.!


The following appeared in a memo from a vice president of Alta-anufacturing.

!=uring the past year, Alta -anufacturing had thirty percent more on$the$ &ob accidents than nearby Panoply ndustries, where the work shifts areone hour shorter than ours. E?perts believe that a significant contributingfactor in many accidents is fatigue caused by sleep deprivation amongworkers. Therefore, to reduce the number of on$the$&ob accidents at Alta,we recommend shortening each of our three work shifts by one hour. f wedo this, our employees will get ade%uate amounts of sleep.!






The following is a letter that recently appeared in the "ak City Gazette, alocal newspaper.!The primary function of the +ommittee for a #etter ak +ity is to advisethe city government on how to make the best use of the city's limitedbudget. 9owever, at some of our recent meetings we failed to makeimportant decisions because of the foolish ob&ections raised by committeemembers who are not even residents of ak +ity. People who work in ak+ity but who live elsewhere cannot fully understand the business andpolitics of the city. After all, only ak +ity residents pay city ta?es, andtherefore only residents understand how that money could best be used to

improve the city. We recommend, then, that the +ommittee for a #etter ak+ity vote to restrict its membership to city residents only. We predict that,without the interference of non$residents, the committee will be able tomake ak +ity a better place in which to live and work.!


The following appeared in a memo from the mayor of #rindleburg to the citycouncil.

!Two years ago, the town of ;easide Iista opened a new municipal golfcourse and resort hotel. ;ince then, the ;easide Iista Tourism #oard hasreported a 31M increase in visitors. n addition, local banks reported asteep rise in the number of new business loan applications they receivedthis year. The amount of ta? money collected by ;easide Iista has also

increased, allowing the town to announce plans to improve ;easide Iista'sroads and bridges. We recommend building a similar golf course and resorthotel in #rindleburg. We predict that this pro&ect will generate additional ta?revenue that the city can use to fund much$needed public improvements.!




The following appeared in a memo from the vice president of a companythat builds shopping malls around the country.

!The surface of a section of oute 616, paved &ust two years ago by oodntentions oadways, is now badly cracked with a number of dangerouspotholes. n another part of the state, a section of oute 01, paved by Appian oadways more than four years ago, is still in good condition. n ademonstration of their continuing commitment to %uality, Appian oadwaysrecently purchased state$of$the$art paving machinery and hired a new%uality$control manager. Therefore, recommend hiring Appian oadwaysto construct the access roads for all our new shopping malls. predict thatour Appian access roads will not have to be repaired for at least fouryears.!


The following appeared as a letter to the editor from the owner of a skateshop in +entral Plaza.

!Two years ago the city voted to prohibit skateboarding in +entral Plaza.They claimed that skateboard users were responsible for the litter andvandalism that were keeping other visitors from coming to the plaza. n thepast two years, however, there has only been a small increase in thenumber of visitors to +entral Plaza, and litter and vandalism are stillproblematic. ;kateboarding is permitted in -onroe Park, however, andthere is no problem with litter or vandalism there. n order to restore +entralPlaza to its former glory, then, we recommend that the city lift its prohibitionon skateboarding in the plaza.!


The following appeared in a recommendation from the president of Amburg's +hamber of +ommerce.

!"ast ctober the city of #elleville installed high$intensity lighting in itscentral business district, and vandalism there declined within a month. The



city of Amburg has recently begun police patrols on bicycles in its businessdistrict, but the rate of vandalism there remains constant. We should installhigh$intensity lighting throughout Amburg, then, because doing so is a moreeffective way to combat crime. #y reducing crime in this way, we can

revitalize the declining neighborhoods in our city.!Write a response in which you discuss what specifc evidence isneeded to evaluate the argument and explain how the evidencewould weaken or strengthen the argument.

The following appeared in a letter to the editor of the Balmer IslandGazette.!The population on #almer sland doubles during the summer months.

=uring the summer, then, the town council of #almer sland shoulddecrease the ma?imum number of moped rentals allowed at each of theisland's si? moped and bicycle rental companies from 41 per day to B1 perday. This will significantly reduce the number of summertime accidentsinvolving mopeds and pedestrians. The neighboring island of Torseauactually saw a 41 percent reduction in moped accidents last year whenTorseau's town council enforced similar limits on moped rentals. To helpreduce moped accidents, therefore, we should also enforce theselimitations during the summer months.!


A recent sales study indicates that consumption of seafood dishes in #ay+ity restaurants has increased by B1 percent during the past five years. Hetthere are no currently operating city restaurants whose specialty is

seafood. -oreover, the ma&ority of families in #ay +ity are two$incomefamilies, and a nationwide study has shown that such families eatsignificantly fewer home$cooked meals than they did a decade ago but atthe same time e?press more concern about healthful eating. Therefore, thenew +aptain ;eafood restaurant that specializes in seafood should be %uitepopular and profitable.

Write a response in which you discuss what questions would needto be addressed in order to decide whether the conclusion and theargument on which it is based are reasonable. Be sure to explain



how the answers to the questions would help to evaluate theconclusion.

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Argument Pool