GMAT考试写作指导：Argument范文二五

　　85. This article concludes that businesses using commercial television to promote

　　their products will achieve the greatest advertising success by sponsoring only highly-

　　rated programs―preferably, programs resembling the highly-rated non-commercial

　　programs on public channels. Supporting this claim is a recent study indicating that

　　many programs judged by viewers to be high in quality appeared on noncommercial

　　networks, and that the most popular shows on commercial television are typically

　　sponsored by the best-selling products. This argument is weak because it depends on

　　three questionable assumptions.

　　The first of these assumptions is that non-commercial public television programs

　　judged by viewers to be high in quality are also popular. However, the study cited by the

　　author concerns viewer attitudes about the high quality of programs on

　　noncommercial public television, not about their popularity. A program might rate

　　highly as to quality but not in terms of popularity. Thus, the author unfairly assumes that

　　highly-rated public television programs are necessarily widely viewed, or popular.

　　The argument also assumes that programs resembling popular non-commercial

　　programs will also be popular on commercial television. However, the audiences for the

　　two types of programs differ significantly in their tastes. For example, a symphony

　　series may be popular on public television but not as a prime-time network show,

　　because public-television viewers tend to be more interested than commercial-television

　　viewers in the arts and higher culture. Thus, a popular program in one venue may be

　　decidedly unpopular in the other.

　　A third assumption is that products become best-sellers as a result of their being

　　advertised on popular programs. While this may be true in some cases, it is equally

　　possible that only companies with products that are already best-sellers can afford the

　　higher ad rates that popular shows demand. Accordingly, a lesser-known product from a

　　company on a smaller budget might be better off running repeated but less expensive―

　　ads on less popular shows than by running just one or two costly ads on a top-rated

　　show.

　　In conclusion, the results of the cited study do not support the author s conclusion.

　　To better evaluate the argument, we need to know the intended meaning of the phrase

　　highly-rated. To strengthen the argument, the author must limit his conclusion by

　　acknowledging that popularity in public television might not translate to popularity in

　　commercial television, and that the best advertising strategy for companies with best-

　　selling products may not be feasible for other businesses.