The following appeared in a memo written by a dean at Buckingham College:

　　“To serve the housing needs of our students, Buckingham College should build a new dormitory. Buckingham’s enrollment is growing and, based on current trends, should double over the next fifty years, thus making existing dormitories inadequate. Moreover, the average rent for an apartment in our town has increased in recent years. Consequently, students will find it increasingly difficult to afford off-campus housing. Finally, an attractive new dormitory would make prospective students more likely to enroll at Buckingham.”

　　【满分范文赏析】

　　In this memo a dean at Buckingham College recommends that in order to meet expected enrollment increases the college should build an additional dormitory. To support this recommendation the dean points out that rental rates for off-campus apartments have been increasing, thus making it more difficult for students to afford this housing option. The dean also points out that a new dormitory would attract prospective students to the college. This argument is problematic in several respects.

　　【本段结构】

　　本段采用了标准的Argument开头段结构，即C—E—F的开头结构。段落首先概括原文的Conclusion，接下来概括原文为支持其结论所引用的一系列evidence，最后给出开头段到正文段的过渡句，指出原文的Flaw，即其在多个方面存在问题。

　　【本段功能】

　　本段作为Argument开头段，具体功能就在于发起攻击并概括原文的结论，即Buckingham学院应新建一栋宿舍楼以应对预期的注册学生数目增长。本段接下来分布列举了原文为支持其结论所引用的证据——校外公寓的房租在增长以及一栋新的宿舍楼将吸引未来的学生来到学院。这些信息的归纳为正文段中即将进行的具体攻击作铺垫。

　　A threshold problem with the argument involves the statistical reliability of the reports about off-campus rental rates. The dean indicates only that “student leaders” reported these statistics; the dean provides no information about how these students collected their data. It is entirely possible that the report was based on an insufficiently small sample or a sample that was unrepresentative of the town’s overall student rental market.

　　【本段结构】

　　本段采用了标准的Argument正文段结构，即：概括第一个逻辑错误的错误类型和其在原文中出现的位置，接下来给出合理的理由和他因来反驳原文。

　　【本段功能】

　　本段作为正文第一段，攻击原文中出现的第一个重要逻辑错误——调查类错误。原文的开端问题涉及到其关于校外房租的报告的统计学可靠性。院长仅指出这些统计数据是由“学生领袖”提供的，并没有针对这些数据是如何收集的提供更多信息。该报告完全可能是基于一个不充分的小样本或一个不能代表该市总体学生租房市场的样本得到的。

　　Secondly, the dean assumes that this current trend in rental rates will continue in the future; yet the dean offers no evidence to substantiate this assumption. These rates are a function of supply and demand, and it is entirely possible that construction of apartment houses will increase in the future, thereby reducing rental rates along with the need for an additional dormitory. Without considering this possible scenario, the dean cannot justifiably conclude that an additional dormitory is needed to meet future demand.

　　【本段结构】

　　本段采用了标准的Argument正文段结构，即：概括第二个逻辑错误的错误类型和其在原文中出现的位置，接下来给出合理的理由和他因来反驳原文。

　　【本段功能】

　　本段作为正文第二段，攻击原文中出现的第二个重要逻辑错误——错误假设。

　　原文中，院长假设目前房租的趋势将在未来延续，但他并未提供证据证明此假设。

　　房租是供求量的函数，公寓住房的建设在未来完全可能增加，从而将使房租连同对一栋额外宿舍楼的需求一起降低。本段最后指出如果没有考虑这一可能情景，院长不能有理由地推断学院需要一栋额外的宿舍楼以应对未来的需求。

　　Thirdly, the dean assumes that as enrollment increases the demand for student housing will also increase. While this might be the case, the dean ignores the possibility that the increased enrollment will be the result of an increase in the number of students commuting to Buckingham from their parents’ homes. This scenario, if true, would render the dean’s argument for building a new dormitory untenable.

　　【本段结构】

　　本段采用了标准的Argument正文段结构，即：概括第三个逻辑错误的错误类型和其在原文中出现的位置，接下来给出合理的理由和他因来反驳原文。

　　【本段功能】

　　本段作为正文第三段，攻击原文中出现的第三个重要逻辑错误——因果类错误。在原文中，院长假设对学生住房的需求会随着注册学生数目的增加而提高。虽然事实可能的确如此，院长忽视了注册学生数目的增加将由走读生数目的增加而导致这一可能性。如果此情景成立，院长对于修建新宿舍楼的论证将是站不住脚的。

　　Yet another problem with the argument involves the dean’s final claim that an attractive new dormitory would attract prospective students to Buckingham. Even assuming students in fact choose colleges on this basis, by relying on this evidence the dean essentially provides an argument against building the new dormitory. If an attractive new dormitory would increase demand for dormitory space, this fact would only serve to undermine the dean’s conflicting claim that the new dormitory would help meet increasing demand for dormitory space.

　　【本段结构】

　　本段采用了标准的Argument正文段结构，即：概括第四个逻辑错误的错误类型和其在原文中出现的位置，接下来给出合理的理由和他因来反驳原文。

　　【本段功能】

　　本段作为正文第四段，攻击原文中出现的第四个重要逻辑错误——矛盾假设。院长在原文中最后声明一栋新的宿舍楼将吸引未来的学生来到Buckingham学院。即使假设学生们的确以此为依据选择学校，院长基于此证据本质上提出了一个反对修建新宿舍楼的论断。如果一栋吸引人的新宿舍楼将提高对住宿空间的需求，院长关于新宿舍楼将帮助应对住宿空间需求的提高这一矛盾的论断将被削弱。