TOPIC: ISSUE94 - "Universities should require every student to take a variety of courses outside the student's field of study because acquiring knowledge of various academic disciplines is the best way to become truly educated."
WORDS: 450 TIME: 00:45:00 DATE: 2008-4-4 21:07:51
Whether university students should take various courses, in fields outside their majors, hinges on the students' special areas. With respect to realms in which outside study is appropriate, I strongly accede to the speaker’s claim. University or college men will stand to gain in a variety of respects, provide that they enrich their specialties with experience in other academic areas.
To begin with, this statement requires qualifications in two aspects. In certain areas, there is no study to speak of outside major. This is especially true in mathematics; after all, what study outside major is there for students to engage in? In certain other academic areas, student's field of study typically involves the kind of learning of the sort that occurs outside specialty. This is particular inerrant in the study of language, which requires their participants actively engage in interacting with the real world.
Aside from these two qualifications, I strongly agree that it is worthwhile for students of universities to dabble in outside field of study in extensive realms. There are three dear benefits of doing so.
Firstly, in my experience as a student, my classmates who are actively engaged in learning all kinds of knowledge can understand principles and theories discussed in textbooks. For example, a student who studies in computer science is better able to produce a marvelous flash if he or she has been educated with necessary notions about aesthetics.
Secondly, by learning about further and broader knowledge, a student will be clearer of how to plan his or her career. For instance, a student who understands physics, music, and literature may have a deep interpretation about what the job he or she is going to find, because this student understands what these jobs of differing kinds entail. After balancing between several opportunities for career, the student may be better able to make a decision which is the best one for this student. After all, university career-planning staffers are neither equipped nor sufficient experienced to provide such professional advice for students.
The third benefit has to do with outcomes the students will ultimately contribute to society. For example, Aristotle, a pupil of Plato, mastered in a great many disciplines--such as logic, ethics, natural sciences, and poetics. It is these various respects of knowledge that catapulted Aristotle to a prominent figure in history of Ancient Greek. Another example is the discovery of alkali medals that were discovered because batteries were invented in physics and used in chemistry experiment. Therefore, students in chemistry should also study certain knowledge in physics.
To summary, aside from certain areas in which outside field of study is unavailable or unnecessary, universities should enrich students' knowledge though interspersing major with other courses.
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TOPIC: ARGUMENT180 - The following is a recommendation from the personnel director to the president of Acme Publishing Company.
"Many other companies have recently stated that having their employees take the Easy Read Speed-Reading Course has greatly improved productivity. One graduate of the course was able to read a five-hundred-page report in only two hours; another graduate rose from an assistant manager to vice president of the company in under a year. Obviously, the faster you can read, the more information you can absorb in a single workday. Moreover, Easy Read costs only $500 per employee-a small price to pay when you consider the benefits to Acme. Included in this fee is a three-week seminar in Spruce City and a lifelong subscription to the Easy Read newsletter. Clearly, Acme would benefit greatly by requiring all of our employees to take the Easy Read course."
WORDS: 440 TIME: 00:30:00 DATE: 2008-4-4 21:07:51
In this argument, the verdict given by the speaker is that Acme Publishing Company should send all of their employees to take the Easy Read course. To support this conclusion, the arguer cites the improved productivity of other companies that have stated having their staffers take the Easy Read Speed-Reading Course. Besides, by comparing the relatively low costs of the courses with the promising benefits to Acme, the speaker believes the conclusion will work. However, close scrutiny of evidence unveils that this argument actually suffers from several critical blemishes, as discussed below.
Firstly, the idea that the faster you can read, the more information you can absorb is quite ridiculous. As common sense, amount of information a person can interpret in a single day is limited by confines of the basic natural laws. It is impossible for a man or woman to understand everything he or she reads in finite time. Moreover, whether there is a need of surfing so many reports is not supported by the speaker. Perhaps a staffer in Acme merely has to view a two-page report per day.
Secondly, the reason why a graduate of the course rose from an assistant manager to vice president of a company in less than a year is not necessarily the fact that this graduate had taken the course. This quick promotion did have certain other explanations. Probably, that graduate attracted some funds from society and sharply increased the profit of that company. Therefore, this assistant manager received the reward of promotion due mainly to the funds instead of the course.
Thirdly, even though $500 per employee may be a paltry amount of money, the total expense of Acme can be extremely high. Since speaker fails to mention how many employee working in Acme, possibility that 3000 workers have to be sent to join the course, which amounts to 1,500,000 dollars. Then, Acme Company may not be able to afford so much cost. In addition, what function that the free lifelong subscription to the Easy Read newsletter will work is also left untended by the speaker. Without demonstrating that this newsletter will no doubt provide valuable information, the speaker is too cursory to arrive at his or her ultimateness.
To summary, this statement indeed suffers from a few vital fallacies as discussed above. To support the conclusion, the arguer would have to manifest that graduates of the read course have actually contribute to increasing profit of the company, and prove that Acme has sufficient money to send all its staffers to take the Easy Read course. Without considering and ruling out these potential factors, this statement would otherwise be undermined.
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