The following appeared in a proposal for a high school's annual fundraising event:
"In order to earn the most money for supplemental school programs, we will have larger and more thrilling rides at this year's School Fair, including a ferris wheel that is twice as tall as last year's ferris wheel. In addition, the game vendors will award more expensive prizes and the food stalls will showcase a variety of upscale international dishes. As a result, we will be able to charge a higher entrance fee and the dollar amount we earn via our commission on the vendors' revenues will be higher than it was last year."
Discuss how well reasoned you find this argument. Point out flaws in the argument's logic and analyze the argument's underlying assumptions. In addition, evaluate how supporting evidence is used and what evidence might counter the argument's conclusion. You may also discuss what additional evidence could be used to strengthen the argument or what changes would make the argument more logically sound.
the Essay:-
The argument says that by including a taller ferris wheel, food stalls serving upscale international dishes, and games giving expensive prizes, the school will be able to charge higher entrance fee and commission from vendors. The extra money collected will be used for supplemental school program. The argument does not look into the factors that govern higher attendance in school fair and the willingness to spend on discretionary purchases - attending fair by the locals. These flaws in the argument make it vulnerable to criticism. The following paragraphs detail the critique:-
As we all know that the city has its own water park showcasing a 50 ft high ferris wheel, about the same height of the ferris wheel the school adminstration is planning to install in the fair, is all abandoned by the visitors of the water park. Children are afraid of the height of the wheel and parents discourage their "Courageous" children to ride that wheel. So including an "UNATTRACTIVE" option in the fair does not guarantee higher attendance. A softer ride for children would have worked, but it would not have commanded higher premium.
People visit fairs not to win expensive prizes from game vendors, but to spend quality time with family. Parents do visit with their children and they discourage their children from playing such games. Hence including games with expensive prizes, which in turn will charge more money for playing the game, does guarantee that the game vendors will not see attendance in their games.
the nearby restaurant catering upscale international dishes had to wind up its business from the town. This shows that the plan of the school administration is surely going to fail to attract money from food vendors.
Since, the business case of opening stalls in the fair is in question, the school administration cannot charge premium from the vendors, and hence the plan of collecting extra money from the fair is vulnerable to criticism.
The argument is open for criticism based on the ground cited in the previous paragraphs. To strengthen its argument, The school administration should have detailed down its plan to attract visitors from outside the town so that it can negotiate with the vendors for better attendance and better margins for their offering in the fair. Visitors from outside can also be charged more for entering the fair.
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