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mike22629
- Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts
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- GMAT Score:710
Question:
The Following Appeared in an article in a consumer-products magazine:
"Two of today's best-selling brands of full-strength prescription medication for the relief of excess stomach acid, Acid-Ease and Pepticaid, are now available in milder nonprescription forms. Doctors have written 76 million more prescriptions for full-strength Acid-Ease than for full-strength Pepticaid. So people who need an effective but milder nonprescription medication for the relief of excess stomach acid should choose Acid-Ease.:
Discuss how well reasoned.....
Two companies have recently converted their prescription drugs that relieve excess stomach acid to over-the-counter drugs. This passage claims that since more doctors chose to prescribe the prescription drug Acid-Ease, its over-the-counter drug must be more effective. This argument makes many assumptions that must be addressed in order to determine the validity of the argument. Firstly, the argument assumes that the conversion process of prescription to non-prescription did not alter the results and sides effects of the drugs. Secondly, the argument does not provide any medical reasoning for why the doctors chose Acid-Ease. And lastly, the argument assumes that 76 million people is a significant number.
Firstly, this passage implies that since doctors prescribed more Acid-Ease, it is more effective at relieving stomach acid. However, it fails to mention that quite often doctors are given incentives to prescribe certain drugs. Perhaps, the drug company has a deal with them to provide a particular kickback for every prescription.
Secondly, the passage fails to go into more detail regarding the statistics. Although it may seem that 76 million is an overwhelming number, it may not be. Companies often construct statistics in a certain way to make themselves look better. For example, if both products are world-wide, then the market consists of roughly 6 billion people, making the 76 million rather insignificant.
In order for the argument to better address which drug is more effective, it must include more information. The passage should include medical evidence and testing that proves that Acid-Ease is more effective. Perhaps, an experiment in which people are given either Acid-Ease or Pepticaid would be more convincing evidence. Furthermore, the number of people tested would provide a better understanding of how significant 76 million is. And lastly, the passage should address if any changes were made to the drug when converting it to an over-the-counter drug. Performing an experiment testing the effects before and after the conversion would help to answer this question.
In conclusion, although it is very possible that Acid-Ease is more effective than Pepticaid, the evidence provided is incomplete. The passage must explain why doctors made the decisions that they did and provide more medical evidence backing their claim.
P.S.
Writing has always been my weak point and I did do these under timed conditions. Any general pointers on grammar and how to speed things up would be appreciated. An opinion on its rating would be appreciated as well.
Thanks!
The Following Appeared in an article in a consumer-products magazine:
"Two of today's best-selling brands of full-strength prescription medication for the relief of excess stomach acid, Acid-Ease and Pepticaid, are now available in milder nonprescription forms. Doctors have written 76 million more prescriptions for full-strength Acid-Ease than for full-strength Pepticaid. So people who need an effective but milder nonprescription medication for the relief of excess stomach acid should choose Acid-Ease.:
Discuss how well reasoned.....
Two companies have recently converted their prescription drugs that relieve excess stomach acid to over-the-counter drugs. This passage claims that since more doctors chose to prescribe the prescription drug Acid-Ease, its over-the-counter drug must be more effective. This argument makes many assumptions that must be addressed in order to determine the validity of the argument. Firstly, the argument assumes that the conversion process of prescription to non-prescription did not alter the results and sides effects of the drugs. Secondly, the argument does not provide any medical reasoning for why the doctors chose Acid-Ease. And lastly, the argument assumes that 76 million people is a significant number.
Firstly, this passage implies that since doctors prescribed more Acid-Ease, it is more effective at relieving stomach acid. However, it fails to mention that quite often doctors are given incentives to prescribe certain drugs. Perhaps, the drug company has a deal with them to provide a particular kickback for every prescription.
Secondly, the passage fails to go into more detail regarding the statistics. Although it may seem that 76 million is an overwhelming number, it may not be. Companies often construct statistics in a certain way to make themselves look better. For example, if both products are world-wide, then the market consists of roughly 6 billion people, making the 76 million rather insignificant.
In order for the argument to better address which drug is more effective, it must include more information. The passage should include medical evidence and testing that proves that Acid-Ease is more effective. Perhaps, an experiment in which people are given either Acid-Ease or Pepticaid would be more convincing evidence. Furthermore, the number of people tested would provide a better understanding of how significant 76 million is. And lastly, the passage should address if any changes were made to the drug when converting it to an over-the-counter drug. Performing an experiment testing the effects before and after the conversion would help to answer this question.
In conclusion, although it is very possible that Acid-Ease is more effective than Pepticaid, the evidence provided is incomplete. The passage must explain why doctors made the decisions that they did and provide more medical evidence backing their claim.
P.S.
Writing has always been my weak point and I did do these under timed conditions. Any general pointers on grammar and how to speed things up would be appreciated. An opinion on its rating would be appreciated as well.
Thanks!
