essay - GMAT: Argument 10

Question:

The following appeared in the editorial section of a local newspaper:

“This past winter, 200 students from Waymarsh State College traveled to the state capitol building to protest against proposed cuts in funding for various state college programs. The other 12,000 Waymarsh students evidently weren’t so concerned about their education: they either stayed on campus or left for winter break. Since the group who did not protest is far more numerous, it is more representative of the state’s college students than are the protesters. Therefore the state legislature need not heed the appeals of the protesting students.”

Discuss how well reasoned . . . etc.

Answer:
The author concludes that the state legislature need not heed the appeals of the protesting students by referring the numeric comparison between the number of students gathering at state capitol building to protest, 200, and the number of the other students, 12,000. The logic is that since 12,000 is much bigger than 200, most students don't protest the proposed cuts. Therefore, the state can ignore the 200. However, this argument has significant flaws, leading to a wrong decision.


First and foremost, although the author judge that 12,000 students don't protest against the new legistlation, but there's no proof. The 12,000 students just didn't go to the state capiton, and this doesn't necessariliy mean that these students don't protest against the cuts. Some of them just couldn't attend the demonstration because of other appointments they already had. This irrational inferance damages the argument fervently.


Then, although the auther concludes the state legstrature don't need to heed the appeals of the protesting students just based on the fact that the number of students was just 200, this reasoning has a serious flaw. A legistrator should see the contents, not the number.

(To be continued.)