“The Department of Education in the state of Attra recommends that high school students be assigned homework every day. Yet a recent statewide survey of high school math and science teachers calls the usefulness of daily homework into question. In the district of Sanlee, 86 percent of the teachers reported assigning homework three to five times a week, whereas in the district of Marlee, less than 25 percent of the teachers reported assigning homework three to five times a week. Yet the students in Marlee earn better grades overall and are less likely to be required to repeat a year of school than are the students in Sanlee. Therefore, all teachers in our high schools should assign homework no more than twice a week, if at all.”
嘉文博译Sample Essay
In this argument, the arguer concludes that all teachers in his or her town’s high schools should assign homework no more than twice a week, if at all. The arguer bases the argument on a statewide survey showing that in the district of Sanlee, eighty-six percent of the teachers reported assigning homework three to five times a week while less than twenty-five percent of the teachers reported assigning homework three to five times a week. The arguer claims that despite this, students in Marlee earn better grades overall and are less likely to be required to repeat a year of school than are students in Sanlee. This argument is unconvincing because the arguer ignores several possible reasons other than the number of days that homework is assigned for these discrepancies.
First of all, the survey only contacted high school math and science teachers, not high school teachers in general. It is possible that there is a difference in homework assignments given by the two different districts because of a difference in subject emphasis. For example, perhaps Sanlee focuses more on science and math than Marlee and therefore requires more homework assignments of its students. A survey that covers only two subject areas in only two school districts is hardly convincing that all teachers should assign less homework.
Secondly, it is possible that homework assignments in Marlee are more extensive than those given in Sanlee, perhaps taking two or three days to complete. If the homework assignments take longer to complete, the teachers in Marlee would naturally assign homework less often, although the overall amount of homework completed would be the same as in Sanlee. Ignoring the length and difficulty of the homework that is assigned in the two different districts further weakens the argument. Simply assigning homework on more days does not necessarily mean that the total amount of homework is any different between the two school districts.
Furthermore, it is possible that the students themselves have differing levels of academic ability in Sanlee as opposed to Marlee. School districts can have a vastly different composition of students that directly affect overall grade results and whether students are more likely to be required to repeat a year of school. Students in the Marlee district may simply be brighter students than those in Sanlee, thus explaining the differences in overall grades and failure rates – it could have nothing to do with how much homework is assignment. Failing to address this possibility further weakens the argument.
Finally, it is also possible that the grading system itself is easier for the students in Marlee as opposed to the system in Sanlee. The students may be of equal academic skills, but Marlee’s grading system by design may give higher marks to students than Sanlee’s system. Furthermore, Marlee may have a policy that students never have to repeat a school year, regardless of their marks, while Sanlee may be stricter in this regard. Again, the number of days that homework is assigned has nothing to do with the student’s success; it is simply a function of the differing grading systems.
In summary, this argument is based on a very narrow study of only two subjects, in two school districts, with ambiguous results. To strengthen the argument, the arguer needs to directly compare all aspects of the two different districts with his or her own school district before jumping to the conclusion that all teachers in the district should assign homework no more than twice a week, if at all.
(590 words)
参考译文
Attra州教育厅建议，高中学生应该每天被布置做家庭作业。但是最近对高中数学和科学教师的一项全州范围的调查对每天做家庭作业的作用提出质疑。在三里区，百分之八十六的老师说每周布置三到五次作业，而在马里区，不到百分之二十五的老师说每周布置三到五次作业。但是马里区的学生总体成绩却比三里区的学生好而且较少需要留级。因此，我们高中所有老师如果真要给学生留作业的话，每周最多不应该超过两次。
在这一论证中，论证者说到，其城市里所有高中老师每周最多只应给学生布置两次作业，倘若真要留作业的话。他/她的论证是基于一次全州范围的调查，该调查说三里区百分之八十六的老师每周布置三到五次家庭作业，而在马里区不到百分之二十五的老师每周布置三到五次家庭作业。论证者声称，尽管这样，马里区的学生总体成绩比三里区的好，而且较少需要留级。这一论证没有说服力，因为论证者忽视了其他几个可能的原因，而仅仅列举了留家庭作业的天数作为学生差距的原因。
首先，调查只涉及高中数学和科学教师，而不是普遍的高中教师。很可能，由于两区对科目重视不同而造成家庭作业不同。例如，或许三里区比马里区更强调数学和科学，从而要求给学生布置更多的家庭作业。仅从一个或两个区两个科目的调查就得出结论，说所有教师应该少布置家庭作业，这是不能让人信服的。
第二，很可能，马里区的家庭作业比三里区的范围更广泛，或许需要花两三天才能完成。如果家庭作业需要花更长的时间完成，马里区的老师自然就会减少布置作业的次数，尽管所完成的家庭作业的总量会与三里区的相同。由于忽视两区所布置作业的数量和困难程度，该论证的力度遭到进一步削弱。仅仅留作业次数多，并不必然意味着两区的家庭作业的总量有何不同。
再者，很可能三里和马里两学区的学生学术能力程度不同。不同的学区可能具有完全不同的学生构成，这直接影响到学生的总体成绩以及学生是否更可能需要留级重读。马里区的学生可能比三里区的学生更聪明些，因此可以解释两区在总体成绩和不及格率方面的诸多差异——这些差异可能与家庭作业的数量毫无关系。由于没有探讨这种可能性，该论证显得苍白无力。
最后，还有可能马里区学生的评分标准比三里区的较为容易。学生的学习能力可能是相同的，但马里区设计的评分标准给学生评定的分数可能会比三里区的高。此外，马里区可能有一项政策，即不管学生成绩如何，都不必留级重读，而三里区在这方面可能较为严格。再一次，留作业的数量与学生的成绩无关;这只是由于不同的评分标准所致。
总之，这一论证只是以两个学区对两门课程范围很窄的调查为基础，而且其调查结果也含混不清。为了加强其论证，论证者需要将这两个不同学区的所有方面与他/她所在的学区进行直接比较，而不是简单地得出结论说，其学区所有的教师都应该每周只布置两次家庭作业，如果真要留作业的话。
