劉文勇GRE寫作Argument題庫 Day 85

Day 85 In a study of the reading habits of Waymarsh citizens conducted by the University of Waymarsh, most respondents said that they preferred literary classics as reading material

In a study of the reading habits of Waymarsh citizens conducted by the University of Waymarsh, most respondents said that they preferred literary classics as reading material. However, a second study conducted by the same researchers found that the type of book most frequently checked out of each of the public libraries in Waymarsh was the mystery novel. Therefore, it can be concluded that the respondents in the first study had misrepresented their reading habits.

Write a response in which you discuss what specific evidence is needed to evaluate the argument and explain how the evidence would weaken or strengthen the argument.

五問：

（1）“Therefore, it can be concluded that the respondents in the first study had misrepresented their reading habits”是結(jié)論，其余部分是事實，值得反駁嗎？

（2）本題與調(diào)查研究相關(guān)，請大家先回顧基礎(chǔ)理論的部分：到底什么樣的調(diào)查研究才是合理的？具備哪些要素才能使一項調(diào)查研究更加有效？

（3）兩項調(diào)查研究分別選取了兩個不同的途徑來呈現(xiàn)研究對象的閱讀習慣：前者采用“most respondents said”的方式，而后者采用“most frequently checked out of each of the public libraries”的方式，你能說說看，這兩個途徑可能存在的問題分別是哪些？（比如：對于前者來說，說出來的情況就一定屬實嗎？會不會出現(xiàn)被調(diào)查者因為顧及面子或是其他原因而不愿意說真話的情況？而對于后者來說，可能民眾并不愿意到圖書館去借書看——看書的主要途徑可能是買書——因此圖書館的情況并不能很好地反映閱讀習慣。）

（4）在信息不充分的情況下，我們能否簡單地認定，第二次調(diào)查研究比第一次更有效，更有代表性？原文中如果能提供哪方面的信息，就能讓我們得出扎實的結(jié)論？例如：提供第二次調(diào)查的時間范圍，排除人們愛讀推理小說是由于某部剛上映的推理電影而一時產(chǎn)生興趣的可能；或者提供圖書館借閱數(shù)據(jù)以證明其真實性等。

（5）你能否嘗試描述一種情形：兩個調(diào)研由于著重點不同，雖然各自并不存在什么缺陷，卻得出了不同的結(jié)論？第一個調(diào)研是調(diào)查 Waymarsh citizens的閱讀習慣，而第二個調(diào)研調(diào)查的是圖書館里哪一種圖書的借閱率最高，可見兩個調(diào)研的著重點并不相同。