从某种程度上讲,ETS的这段话已经毫无保留地把argument考试该做什么、不该做什么、到底怎么做已经说得极其透彻了。首先,任何一个逻辑推导,一定是以证据为起点、结论为终点。那么很自然地,弄清楚证据和结论在哪里就是必然要做的事情。
至于假定和隐含信息,我们就要联系ETS之前说的内容了:我们在研究逻辑严谨性时,ETS告诉我们有两个途径:研究其逻辑推导(line of reasoning)和证据使用(use of evidence)。如果大家能够把这个信息和这里的要求联系起来,不难发现:假定其实就是出现在逻辑推导的地方,而隐含信息恰好就是出现在证据使用的地方。也就是说,这两个要素的寻找和研究,本质上就是和逻辑严谨性研究挂钩的。
由此可以得出:找到argument中的证据和结论,是我们分析argument的起点;而找到argument中的假定和隐含信息,是我们分析argument的核心内容。
研究完这些之后,ETS告诉我们还要研究argument的逻辑结构(you should consider the structure of the argument),这是一个必然的结果。找到四个基本元素之后,必然是对文章整体的推导构架进行分析,即:思考作者是如何一步一步推出文章的最终结论的。只有弄清楚了推导步骤,才能彻底弄清楚作者的逻辑思路、为研究严谨性打下基础。
综合前面对ETS官方陈述的解读,我们可以归纳出如下一条思路:
Argument考试的任务是:从逻辑推导和证据使用两方面入手研究它的逻辑严谨性。对此,我们必须首先分清证据和结论,其次找到文章的逻辑构架,然后再开始着手研究每条逻辑背后的严谨性。
在解析完ETS对argument考试更为详尽的官方陈述后,让我们来通过一道题,来感受一下ETS给我们的做题方法到底应该如何在考题中应用起来。
(9) Nature's Way, a chain of stores selling health food and other health-related products, is opening its next franchise in the town of Plainsville. The store should prove to be very successful: Nature's Way franchises tend to be most profitable in areas where residents lead healthy lives, and clearly Plainsville is such an area. Plainsville merchants report that sales of running shoes and exercise clothing are at all-time highs. The local health club has more members than ever, and the weight training and aerobics classes are always full. Finally, Plainsville's schoolchildren represent a new generation of potential customers: these schoolchildren are required to participate in a fitness-for-life program, which emphasizes the benefits of regular exercise at an early age.
Write a response in which you examine the stated and/or unstated assumptions of the argument. Be sure to explain how the argument depends on these assumptions and what the implications are for the argument if the assumptions prove unwarranted.