GRE高频作文及参考范文_GRE写作

GRE高频作文及参考范文

　　The second piece of data used in the authors argument is even worse. Dispensing with numbers altogether, they put forward a weakly worded claim that many servers reported a number of customers do not complain when given margarine after asking for butter. The errors here are essentially the same as those in the preceding discussion, just more grievous. To begin with, how many data points were used? What constitutes many servers? The sample size was likely too small to generate a valid statistic, so instead we are left with this nebulous phrasing. Perhaps only a handful of servers in a couple of restaurants reported this; we cannot know. Maybe they only looked for feedback in poorly performing restaurants where customer expectations were already low; again, we cannot know.

　　Furthermore, even if they were able to get a wide sample of restaurants and customers, it is possible that customers are reluctant to complain directly to servers because of the awkwardness it might cause. It also might be the case that butter and margarine are relatively unimportant to customers in comparison to the overall quality of their meal. We cannot assume their silence betokens a failure to distinguish butter from margarine, or that they must use the word butter to refer to both spreads. Without some type of a control, this piece of data is essentially meaningless.

　　Customer complaints can be a useful form of feedback, but the author fails to use them reasonably in their argument. Eliminating butter from their restaurants may very well be an effective long-term business strategy for Happy Pancake House. However, the pieces of data provided are not persuasive enough to advise that course of action.