Please grade on a scale of 4-6

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Please grade

a. 6
1
50%
b. 5
1
50%
c. 4
0
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Please grade on a scale of 4-6

by kriti87 » Wed Nov 23, 2011 9:09 pm
The following advice was given to a politician by his political consultant: "Mayor Switzer has been the mayor of Auburn for the last year and a half. In the last year, crime rates have gone up, unemployment has increased and many businesses have moved out of town. Voting mayor Switzer out will help solve Switzer's crime problem, will help create jobs and will prevent businesses from having to move."

Describe how well reasoned you find this argument. In the discussion be sure to analyze the line of reasoning and the use of evidence in the argument. For example, you may need to consider what questionable assumptions underlie the thinking and what alternative explanations or counterexamples might weaken the argument's conclusion. You may also address possible changes in the argument that would make it more logically sound, and what, if anything, would help you better evaluate its conclusion.

Essay :

In the above argument, the author draws the conclusion that voting Mayor Switzer out will help solve many of the town's problems. In drawing this conclusion, the consultant makes some unwarranted assumptions and hence, this argument is weak and inconclusive.

To begin with, the political consultant points out that ever since Switzer has been the mayor, the crime rates in Auburn have gone up considerably. Here, his reasoning is faulty. He does not take into account that there might be an alternate explanation for the crime rates to go up. It is highly possible that the police department of Auburn is ineffective or that there is a shortage of able policemen, who can monitor the security situation in the town. Moreover, it is also possible that the residents of the town may have become more negligent when it comes to their personal safety. Therefore, no causal relationship can be established between Switzer becoming the mayor and crime rates going up.

In addition, the consultant also states that unemployment has increased. Unemployment may be on the rise because there is a dearth of good jobs in the town or the youth is under-qualified. Both these reasons are not considered by the consultant when he draws his conclusion. The youth of the town of Auburn may not be interested in securing jobs in the town and may want to move out to the bigger cities. Hence, they are unemployed of their own free will. Even if there is a dearth of highly paying jobs in the town, it cannot be decisively concluded that this is the fault of Mayor Switzer. The problem of the lack of jobs could have been existing since his predecessor's tenure.

Furthermore, the consultant also mentions to the politician that during Switzer's tenure as mayor, many businesses have moved out. This trend may be due to the fact that businesses expect more high paying customers and may be their customer base is not so strong in Auburn. It is also possible that the products being sold by these businesses may not have their target consumers in Auburn. Additionally, the businesses themselves may want to move out to greener pastures.

Without logically establishing a relationship between each of these events and mayor Switzer's tenure, the argument is weak and unconvincing. However, the argument could be strengthened if the author established the causal relationship by providing substantial evidence for the same. As it stands, the argument is inconclusive.

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by throughmba » Thu Nov 24, 2011 1:07 am
Its very well written.

Keep Practicing though.
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