Analysis of an Argument - Toothpaste

Analysis of an Argument

"Two of today's top-selling brands of whitening toothpaste,ShinyWhite and SparkleDent, are now available in extra-strength form. Dentists promote the use of regular-strength ShinyWhite 50% more than they promote the use of regular-strength SparkleDent, so people who want an effective whitening toothpaste in extra-strength form should choose ShinyWhite."

The argument is flawed in its conclusion to promote extra-strength SparkleDent based on the certification given to regular-strength SparkleDent. The argument is not comparing two things of same quality. Also, the argument retorts to the appeal of authority to substantiate its initial statement that regular-strength SparkleDent is better than regular-strength ShinyWhite.

The pamphlet does not provide the features or concrete test results between the performance of extra-strength ShinyWhite to that of SparkleDent. There is no evidence that these two toothpastes will perform the same way at different quality levels. Also, the recommendation should be personalized to different types of people. Some may not withstand an extra-strength toothpaste. For them, a statutory warning should be given as to what problems may occur due to an extra-strength toothpaste.

The pamphlet refers to the promotion of dentists who recommend the use of regular-strength ShinyWhite to that of SparkleDent. The pamphlet does not give any specifications about those doctors like their medical association affiliation, recognition by the government and the sampling is confined to a particular locality or does it talks about the country as a whole.

A certified doctor's association, which is accepted by both ShinyWhite and SparkleDent, should perform valid and concrete tests under different quantitative and qualitative levels. The tests should be done over adequate number of times to prevent any sampling error. Then the performance of these two tooth-pastes should be compared. With proper test results for regular and extra-strength category, the general public would be sane enough to choose themselves the toothpaste they would like to use.



You can rate this essay in the comments section on the scale of 0 to 6.

Analysis of an argument - Sales decline

Analysis of an argument

"The decrease in revenues that the company is experiencing coincides with declining automobile sales. This decline is due, in part, to a greater demand for energy-efficient vehicles that is not currently being met. Consider also that the manager of the department that handles research and development of energy-efficient parts does not have the background in either engineering or science. Therefore, the company should move the current research and development manager to another department, and bring in an engineer to fill the position."


The argument is flawed that the decline in automobile sales can be attributed to other factors apart from the demand of energy-efficient vehicles. Greater demand for energy-efficient vehicles is just a part of the cause. Also, there may be other companies that could provide energy-efficient vehicle parts. The report talks as if the company under consideration holds a monopoly over the energy-efficient vehicle parts which is not substantiated at all. Attributing the inefficiency of the company to meet demand for energy-efficient part to the decline in auto sales is flawed.
The report also asks for the transfer of manger taking only current report into consideration. The report does not talk about the past achievements of the manager. Also, it assumes that a manager who holds a degree in science or engineering would be more competent. However, it does not aver to the basic qualification of having expertise in energy-efficient vehicle parts.
the report does not talk about the quality of the energy-efficient vehicle parts, It does not refer to the quality being inferior. A research and development manager is accountable only to the quality and the sophistication of the product. Materials procurement, production and inventory management should be attributed to a production manager. So the request to transfer the current manager to another department is unreasonable and totally unjustified.

Analysis of an Argument - Rash driving

Analysis of an Argument

The following appeared as part of a newspaper editorial

"As public concern over the speed at which many teenagers drive has increased, local authorities have become more vigilant in their efforts to arrest drivers who exceed the posted speeds within the city limits. Many young people have consequently begun to vandalize speed limit and other traffic signs. Thus, the enforcement efforts have ironically resulted in an observed increase in vandalism."


The argument is flawed in its conclusion that the enforcement of law over speed limit has increased vandalism among teenagers. It is a pseudo-correlation between the vandalism and the enforcement of the law. However, the root cause of the vandalism is due to the improper implementation of the law.
It is highly appreciable that the local authorities have taken concern over the negligent driving of the teenagers. Generally, teenagers have the mentality to be free from any rules or obstacles and have things done on their own accord. In these cases, it is upto the old and experienced to teach them to differentiate between right and wrong. Along with passing the law, the local authorities should have tried to inculcate the evils of negligent driving to the teenagers. It is necessary to make them aware of their own wrong-doing. Instead of that, if the local authorities would simply try to manacle the teenagers, the general tendency would be to go against the law. This would explain the pseudo-correlation between passing the law and vandalism.
After having passed the law, the police should also have been more vigilant in guarding the properties of the city. Efforts should have been made to also patrol the city for any outburst against the law, atleast for the initial few weeks.
The law may have been put in place to check the teenagers legally. However, neither the teenagers were educated about the evils of negligent driving nor the police gave adequate cover to the public property. It is the implementation of the law that has failed which has led to to increased vandalism among teenagers.

You can rate this essay in the comments section on a scale of 0 to 6.