Sample Response with a Score of 6The author claims that the experience of Herald’s Hardware is obvious evidence
that advertising on the radio will make your business more profitable. This claim
is based on the fact that Herald’s revenues increased by 13% since it began radio
advertising. The author’s claim is not sound, because it relies on two problematic
assumptions. Information pertaining to the store’s advertising, sales, and costs
would help to strengthen or weaken the argument.
The first problematic assumption of the argument is the idea that radio
advertising alone is responsible for the increase in Herald’s revenues. In reality, the
increases could have been caused by other factors. Perhaps the radio advertising
coincided with other forms of advertising that Herald’s launched at the same
time. It might have occurred during the spring or summer seasons, in which
homeowners are likely to do more maintenance, thus leading to an increase in
hardware sales. The neighborhood around Herald’s might have experienced
weather-related problems, such as damage from hail or flooding, that could
have required residents to buy more supplies. Until we’ve analyzed other factors
thoroughly, we can’t assume that radio advertising alone helped boost Herald’s
sales.
The second problematic assumption of the argument is the idea that revenue
increases equate to increases in profits. This assumption is not true. Profit is not
simply a matter of the revenues earned by a company; it is calculated by subtracting
costs from sales. Based on what the author has told us, we can’t know whether
the store’s profits increased after the radio campaign began. Profits might have
increased, if the store’s overall costs remained stable or decreased and revenues
improved. But if the radio advertising was expensive, and it increased costs for the
store, Herald’s profit might have declined.
Additional information could help to strengthen or weaken the author’s
argument, by providing more detail on advertising, sales, and costs. The argument
would be strengthened if it could be shown that the advertising campaign was
conducted only over radio, and that no other types of advertising occurred that
might have boosted Herald’s sales. This argument could also be strengthened if it
were shown that advertising was the only significant factor that might have affected
revenues during the time period in question, and that all other factors remained
constant. Finally, the argument would gain strength if cost data showed that
business expenses for the store remained level or even decreased while sales went
up. This data would document that Herald’s did in fact experience increased profit.
Contrary to the information that might strengthen the argument, certain pieces
of information might also weaken it. Looking again at Herald’s advertising, if it
turned out that radio advertising was conducted simultaneously with advertising in
other media, this would weaken the author’s claim. Regarding sales, if other factors
such as weather or seasonal changes could in fact account for the store’s increase
in revenue, the author’s claim would be further weakened. Similarly, if cost data
showed that the store’s business expenses increased during this time period due to
the advertising itself or other factors, leading to reduced profit for the store despite
increased sales, this would weaken the author’s argument as well.CHAPTER 16 ■ PRACTICE TEST 2 56305-GRE-Test-2018_463-582.indd 563 12/05/17 12:14 pm