GMAT考试写作指导：Argument范文二九

　　89. This advertisement for How to Write a Screenplay... concludes that a writer is

　　more likely to be successful by writing original screenplays than by writing books. The

　　ads reasoning is based on two claims: the average film tends to be more profitable

　　than even best-selling books, and film producers are more likely to make movies

　　based on original screenplays than on books because in recent years the films that have

　　sold the most tickets have usually been based on original screenplays. I find the ad

　　unconvincing, on three grounds.

　　First, the mere fact that ticket sales in recent years for screenplay-based movies

　　have exceeded those for book-based movies is insufficient evidence to conclude that

　　writing screenplays now provides greater financial opportunity for writers. Ticket-sale

　　statistics from only a few recent years are not necessarily a good indicator of future

　　trends. It is possible that fees paid by movie studios for screenplays might decrease in

　　the future relative to those for book rights. Moreover. the argument is based on number

　　of ticket sales, not on movie-studio profits or writers Sees. It is possible that studio

　　profits and writer fees have actually been greater recently for book-based movies than

　　for those based on original screenplays.

　　Another problem with the ad is that it assumes a writer must make an either-or

　　choice from the outset between writing books and writing screenplays. The argument

　　fails to rule out the possibility that a writer engage in both types of writing as well as

　　other types. In fact. a writer may be more successful by doing so. Writing in various

　　genres might improve ones effectiveness in each of them. Also, writing a book may be

　　an effective first step to producing a screenplay. In any event, the ad provides no

　　justification for the mutually exclusive choice it imposes on the writer.

　　A third problem with the ad is its ambiguous use of the word successful. The

　　argument simply equates success with movie ticket sales. However, many writers may

　　define writing success in other terms, such as intellectual or artistic fulfillment. The ads

　　advice that writing screenplays is the best way to achieve writing success ignores other

　　definitions of success.

　　In conclusion, this quick pitch for a book is based on simplistic assumptions about

　　ticket sales and writer fees, and on an overly narrow definition of success in writing. To

　　better evaluate this argument, at the very least we would need to know the number of

　　years the cited statistic was based on, and the extent to which ticket sales reflect movie

　　studio profits and writer fees.