Please evaluate my AOA :)

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Please evaluate my AOA :)

by joannabanana » Sat Nov 20, 2010 7:54 am
The following appeared as part of an article in a magazine on lifestyles.

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



A magazine makes a claim that the survey conducted on quality of life in a certain group of cities will help identify a good place to live. It promises that because of the rank city L achieved in the survey people who move there will enjoy good schools, affordable housing, friendly people, a safe environment and a flourishing arts scene. Unless the magazine has some information about this survey that it has not shared in the article it is making too big a claim and promising too much about what city L would actualy be like for new residents. Based on the simple information the article has provided about this survey the broad claims and promises made by the magazine cannot be fully believed.

To begin with we have no information about how many cities participated in this survey. If it was a country wide survey and well over 100 cities participated, a 14th place ranking by city L would be very respectable. If however, it was a state wide survey for a small state, and only a few cities participated that would put city L near the bottom of the list. A 14th place finish in a survey of 15 cities would not be grounds for suggesting that city L is a place one would want to live in.

There is also no information provided about what "qualities of life" were measured in the survey. The magazine promises a list of benefits that city L provides to its citizens, however we don't know if the survey actually looked at all those things. A survey that measures quality of life may very well omit measuring how well the arts flourish or how friendly people are. People thus sould not believe the article's claims that city L has a flourishing arts scene simply because it ranked well in a survey.

Furthermore even if all the criteria mentioned by the article had in fact been measured by the survey there is no guarantee that a well-ranking city would have met ALL the criteria. Perhaps city L has excellent schools, friendly peole, a very safe environment and a great arts scene, but actually lacks affordable housing. One could still believe that this city would peform well on the survey. In this case people who follow the article's claims without question might be surprised by the housing prices in the city upon relocation.

Another flaw in the magazine article is that it makes an over-reaching claim that people looking for a place to live must move to a city. City L may truly be a great city, but that does not necessarily mean that it's the best place to live. Many people may prefer to live in a small town and might find a town that has even better shcools, even friendlier people, etc. than city L has.

It cannot be said with complete confidence that city L is a great city based simply on the fact that it ranked 14th in a survey. City L might be a great city to live in, but the magazine claiming that the survey itself will help people make a decision on where to live should expand on the details of the survey and tell readers more abou the city itself bfore its claim can be taken seriously.
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