Veritas Prep Prompt:
The following appeared as part of an article reviewing summer camps for children.
Parents, if you need a summer camp for your children look no further than Federville Farms. In a recent survey, Federville Farms ranked first in both overall camper satisfaction and in food quality, and second in the variety of outdoor activities. Federville Farms has been family owned and operated for over forty years, so you have nothing to worry about when it comes to your child's safety, and it employs more Red Cross certified lifeguards than any other camp in the state. If you seek the best camp experience for your children, Federville Farms is the best choice you can make.
Discuss how well reasoned you find this argument.
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My AWA essay:
The article above states that Federville Farms is the best choice for parents if the best camp experience for their child is a priority. The article, as it currently stands, is not well reasoned for a number of reasons. The article makes a lot of assumptions without providing evidence to support whether the assumptions are logical. Additionally, the article does not distinguish between correlation and causation when using evidence to support its conclusion. More evidence is necessary in order to improve the logic of this article.
One primary flaw in the logic of this article is the assumption that is made due to Federville Farms being family owned and operated for over forty years. The author of the article mentions this fact as evidence to support the notion that parents need not worry about their child's safety. However, there is no specific evidence or proof to support the notion that length of time is positively correlated with reduced child safety issues. It is entirely possible that the longer a camp has been family owned and operated the greater a child safety hazard will occur due to outdated protocols. In order for this fact to strengthen the article's argument, the author needs to provide additional evidence positively linking the number of years a camp has been operated to the increased likelihood of child safety.
A second issue with the above argument is that the author states that the camp employs more Red Cross certified lifeguards than any other camp in the state. This information by itself is not sufficient to prove that parents need not worry about their child's safety. It is possible that due to the high number of drowning incidents that occurred historically, the state has mandated that Federville Farms employ more Red Cross certified lifeguards than any other camp in the state. It is also possible that there are only two camps in the entire state and that Federville has 10 lifeguards while the other camp has 9 lifeguards. If either of these were the case, mentioning that Federville Farms has the most number of lifeguards in the state is not meaningful and does not strengthen the author's position. In fact it might weakens the argument.
A final flaw with the argument lies with the broad and subjective nature of the article's position. The article contends that if you seek the best camp experience for your children, Federville Farms is the best choice you can make. What does "best camp experience" mean? If a parent is looking to send their child to a summer math and science camp and Federville Farms does not offer those activities, then Federville Farms will not be the best camp experience for that child. In order to substantiate this claim, the author needs to clearly define what he or she means by the phrase "best camp experience."
In conclusion, the article is not well reasoned as it currently stands. A lot of assumptions are made, yet the author provides no specific evidence or proof to justify that those assumptions are valid. In order to strengthen this article the author should consider providing additional insights and facts.[/i]
The following appeared as part of an article reviewing summer camps for children.
Parents, if you need a summer camp for your children look no further than Federville Farms. In a recent survey, Federville Farms ranked first in both overall camper satisfaction and in food quality, and second in the variety of outdoor activities. Federville Farms has been family owned and operated for over forty years, so you have nothing to worry about when it comes to your child's safety, and it employs more Red Cross certified lifeguards than any other camp in the state. If you seek the best camp experience for your children, Federville Farms is the best choice you can make.
Discuss how well reasoned you find this argument.
-----------------------
My AWA essay:
The article above states that Federville Farms is the best choice for parents if the best camp experience for their child is a priority. The article, as it currently stands, is not well reasoned for a number of reasons. The article makes a lot of assumptions without providing evidence to support whether the assumptions are logical. Additionally, the article does not distinguish between correlation and causation when using evidence to support its conclusion. More evidence is necessary in order to improve the logic of this article.
One primary flaw in the logic of this article is the assumption that is made due to Federville Farms being family owned and operated for over forty years. The author of the article mentions this fact as evidence to support the notion that parents need not worry about their child's safety. However, there is no specific evidence or proof to support the notion that length of time is positively correlated with reduced child safety issues. It is entirely possible that the longer a camp has been family owned and operated the greater a child safety hazard will occur due to outdated protocols. In order for this fact to strengthen the article's argument, the author needs to provide additional evidence positively linking the number of years a camp has been operated to the increased likelihood of child safety.
A second issue with the above argument is that the author states that the camp employs more Red Cross certified lifeguards than any other camp in the state. This information by itself is not sufficient to prove that parents need not worry about their child's safety. It is possible that due to the high number of drowning incidents that occurred historically, the state has mandated that Federville Farms employ more Red Cross certified lifeguards than any other camp in the state. It is also possible that there are only two camps in the entire state and that Federville has 10 lifeguards while the other camp has 9 lifeguards. If either of these were the case, mentioning that Federville Farms has the most number of lifeguards in the state is not meaningful and does not strengthen the author's position. In fact it might weakens the argument.
A final flaw with the argument lies with the broad and subjective nature of the article's position. The article contends that if you seek the best camp experience for your children, Federville Farms is the best choice you can make. What does "best camp experience" mean? If a parent is looking to send their child to a summer math and science camp and Federville Farms does not offer those activities, then Federville Farms will not be the best camp experience for that child. In order to substantiate this claim, the author needs to clearly define what he or she means by the phrase "best camp experience."
In conclusion, the article is not well reasoned as it currently stands. A lot of assumptions are made, yet the author provides no specific evidence or proof to justify that those assumptions are valid. In order to strengthen this article the author should consider providing additional insights and facts.[/i]
