GRE寫作官方題庫高頻ARGUMENT題目滿分范文分享：install low-flow showerheads

　　The following appeared in a letter from the owner of the Sunnyside Towers apartment building to its manager:

　　"One month ago, all the showerheads on the first five floors of Sunnyside Towers were modified to restrict the water flow to approximately 1/3 of its original force. 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. Clearly, restricting water flow throughout all the 20 floors of Sunnyside Towers will increase our profits further."

　　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.

　　【滿分范文賞析】

　　In this letter, the owner of an apartment building concludes that low-flow showerheads should be installed in showers on all 20 floors of the building in order to increase profits. To support this conclusion, the owner cites the fact that since installing low-flow heads in showers on the bottom five floors only a few tenants have complained about low water pressure, and that no other problems with showers have been reported. However, this evidence provides little credible support for the owner's argument.

　　【本段結構】

　　本文采用了標準的Argument開頭段結構，即C—A—F的開頭結構。本段首先概括原文的Conclusion，之后簡要提及原文為支持其結論所引用的一系列Assumption及細節(jié)，最后給出開頭段到正文段的過渡句，指出原文的Flaw，即這些Assumption無法讓原文邏輯上沒有問題。

　　【本段功能】

　　作為Argument開頭段，本段具體功能就在于發(fā)起攻擊并概括原文的結論，即為了提高利潤，公寓樓所有的水龍頭都應該采用節(jié)水淋浴噴頭。本段接下來提到了原文中為支持之前的Conclusion所提供的證據(jù)，包括在安裝了這些淋浴噴頭之后僅有很少的房客抱怨，同時這些淋浴噴頭沒有出現(xiàn)問題。文章提及這些信息，為是在正文段中對這些Assumption即將進行的具體攻擊做鋪墊。

　　In the first place, the argument depends on the assumption that installation of low-flow heads on the first five floors has resulted in lower water costs for the owner. However, this need not be the case. It is equally possible that tenants on these floors compensate for lower flow by either taking longer showers, which would cause the overall water use to stay the same, or even increase. It is even possible that during the month since installation many of the tenants on the bottom five floors have been absent from the building. This could explain why, if it is true, that less water has been used over this brief period. And it would also explain why few tenants have complained.

　　【本段結構】

　　本段采用了標準的Argument正文段結構，即先是提及原文的第一個邏輯錯誤，之后分析該邏輯錯誤的原因，接下來，進一步分析這樣的錯誤為什么讓原文的Conclusion不成立。

　　【本段功能】

　　作為正文第一段，本段攻擊原文所犯的第一個重要邏輯錯誤——因果類錯誤。原文當中假設，得益于這些節(jié)水淋浴噴頭，用水量能夠減少。但是，可能存在其他因素使得這一結果不會發(fā)生，甚至用水量會上升?；蛘撸幢阌盟康拇_下降了，這也可能是因為其他因素而非節(jié)水淋浴噴頭所導致。因此原文的這個假設是不成立的。

　　In the second place, the owner ignores possible indirect consequences of installing low-flow showerheads on all 20 floors. For example, the more low-flow installations there are, the more likely that one or more tenants will become disgruntled and vacate as a result. In fact, the owner has admitted that at least a few tenants have complained about these new showerheads. High tenant turnover might very well serve to increase the owner's overall operating costs.

　　【本段結構】

　　本段采用了標準的Argument正文段結構，即先是提及原文的第二個邏輯錯誤，之后分析該邏輯錯誤的原因，接下來，進一步分析這樣的錯誤為什么讓原文的Conclusion不成立。

　　【本段功能】

　　作為正文第二段，本段攻擊原文所犯的第二個重要邏輯錯誤——類比類錯誤。原文假設目前為止很少有人抱怨，這代表在今后所有的樓層都安裝了這種淋浴噴頭后，也會很少有人抱怨，然而事實可能恰好相反。因此，原文的這個假設是沒有說服力的。

　　In the third place, in order to reasonably conclude that low-flow heads will reduce total water usage in the building the owner must assume that other water uses will remain constant in the future. However, this will not necessarily be the case. Perhaps the water supplier will raise rates, or perhaps other tenants who use more water will replace current tenants. Without ruling out such possibilities the owner cannot justifiably conclude that his total water costs will decrease after installing low-flow heads in every shower.

　　【本段結構】

　　本段采用了標準的Argument正文段結構，即先是提及原文的第三個邏輯錯誤，之后分析該邏輯錯誤的原因，接下來，進一步分析這樣的錯誤為什么讓原文的Conclusion不成立。

　　【本段功能】

　　作為正文第三段，本段攻擊原文所犯的第三個重要邏輯錯誤——因果類錯誤。原文假設因為這種淋浴噴頭能夠節(jié)省用水，將所有的樓層都更換了這種噴頭后，整個樓層的用水量就會下降。但是，原文作者忽略了其他的可能導致用水量上升的因素。所以，原文的這個觀點是不能讓人信服的。