Passage
The following appeared in a recommendation from the planning department of the city of Transopolis.
"Ten years ago, as part of a comprehensive urban renewal program, the city of Transopolis adapted for industrial use a large area of severely substandard housing near the freeway. Subsequently, several factories were constructed there, crime rates in the area declined, and property tax revenues for the entire city increased. To further revitalize the city, we should now take similar action in a declining residential area on the opposite side of the city. Since some houses and apartments in existing nearby neighborhoods are currently unoccupied, alternate housing for those displaced by this action will be readily available."
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.
Answer
The author needs evidence that relocation to industrial area can led to several advantages over the past decade. Among the advantages are: reduced crime rates and increased property tax revenue. The decline in crime rates may be due to actions taken by the police to suppress crime. In addition, it can also be caused by the high level of public legal awareness.
The author has mentioned the increase in the property tax for the entire city. This statement is baseless, because the author can't assume that the increase in property tax was due to the contribution of taxes from factory area. The increase in taxes could be due to other sources of income such tourism, restaurants, hotels or other business.
Even if success is due to the use of industrial area, the author needs to provide evidence that the same plan will work on the other area of city. It is possible that the success of the first industrialization was due to the absence of a major industrial section in the city. The secondary areas may not see the same trend. Even if industry comes, they are prone to make pollution. The establishment of industry in the new area may cause a lot of complaints and protests to the government.
In conclusion, the author fails to make his recommendation acceptable. The argument lacks the several vital evidence. The author needs to present more relevant evidence to support of his argument and must present some new measures compared to the plan adopted ten years ago.
Thank You
Passage
The following appeared in a letter from the owner of the Sunnyside Towers apartment complex to its manager.
"One month ago, all the showerheads in the first three buildings of the Sunnyside Towers complex were modified to restrict maximum water flow to one-third of what it used to be. Although actual readings of water usage before and after the adjustment are not yet available, the change will obviously result in a considerable savings for Sunnyside Corporation, since the corporation must pay for water each month. Except for a few complaints about low water pressure, no problems with showers have been reported since the adjustment. I predict that modifying showerheads to restrict water flow throughout all twelve buildings in the Sunnyside Towers complex will increase our profits even more dramatically."
Write a response in which you discuss what questions would need to be answered in order to decide whether the prediction and the argument on which it is based are reasonable. Be sure to explain how the answers to these questions would help to evaluate the prediction.