GMAT考试写作指导：Argument范文八五

　　5. A newspaper publisher is recommending that the price of its paper, The Mercury,

　　be reduced below the price of a competing newspaper, The Bugle. This

　　recommendation responds to a severe decline in circulation of The Mercury during the

　　5-year period following the introduction of The Bugle. The publishers line of reasoning

　　is that lowering the price of The Mercury will increase its readership, thereby increasing

　　profits because a wider readership attracts more advertisers. This line of reasoning is

　　problematic in two critical respects.

　　While it is clear that increased circulation would make the paper more attractive to

　　potential advertisers, it is not obvious that lowering the subscription price is the most

　　effective way to gain new readers. The publisher assumes that price is the only factor

　　that caused the decline in readership. But no evidence is given to support this claim.

　　Moreover, given that The Mercury was the established local paper, it is unlikely that

　　such a mass exodus of its readers would be explained by subscription price alone.

　　There are many other factors that might account for a decline in The Mercurys

　　popularity. For instance, readers might be displeased with the extent and accuracy of its

　　news reporting, or the balance of local to other news coverage. Moreover, it is possible

　　The Mercury has recently changed editors, giving the paper a locally unpopular political

　　perspective. Or perhaps readers are unhappy with the papers format, the timeliness of

　　its feature articles, its comics or advice columns, the extent and accuracy of its local

　　event calendar, or its rate of errors.

　　In conclusion, this argument is weak because it depends on an oversimplified

　　assumption about the causal connection between the price of the paper and its

　　popularity. To strengthen the argument, the author must identify and explore relevant

　　factors beyond cost before concluding that lowering subscription prices will increase

　　circulation and, thereby, increase advertising revenues.