Argument200

200.Statistics collected from dentists indicate that three times more men than women faint while visiting the dentist. This evidence suggests that men are more likely to be distressed about having dental work done than women are. Thus, dentists who advertise to attract patients should target the male consumer and emphasize both the effectiveness of their anesthetic techniques and the sensitivity of their staff to nervous or suffering patients.
(483 words)
In this argument, the author concludes that dentists who advertise to attract patients should target the male consumer and emphasize both the effectiveness of their anesthetic techniques and the sensitivity of their staff to nervous or suffering patients. To support this recommendation, the author cites a statistics which indicates that three men than women faint while visiting the dentist. This argument rests on a series of unsubstantiated assumptions, and is therefore unpersuasive as it stands.
First of all, the author didn't mention the number of male or female visiting the dentist. Just because of the plain fact that three times more men than women faint while visiting the dentist, we can't conclude that the men are more likely to be faint than women. If the number of women who visit the dentist is four times more than men, then the female are more likely to be faint instead. Without accounting these and other possible situations, the author can't convince me that that the possibility is higher for men to faint than women.
Secondly, even if the men are more likely to be distressed while visiting the dentist. We don't konw whether they are more likely to be distressed about having dental work. Maybe they faint just for their worrying about the capability of the dentist, thus while the operation begin, they know that the dentist is competent, most of men calm down instead. Meanwhile, the women still feel nervous, thus the rate of women who are distressed about having dental work is higher than men. I will insist my suspection upon the conclusion until the author can offer more details.
Finally, even if men are more likely to be distressed about having dental work done than women, there is no evidence that the dentistd should target the male consumers, for that maybe the earnings from the women are more than from men, thus such a target may make women angry, along with the declining of the revenues. For the similar reason, the conclusion that the dentist should emphasize both the effectiveness of their anesthetic techniques and the sensitivity of their staff to nervous or suffering patients in order to attract patients is unconvincing. It is highly possible that doing such a job can actually lessen the patients, maybe some other ways are better. Meanwhile, it is also possible that the patients are suffering other pains besides nervous, which need the focus of the dentists more.
In sum, to support the recommendation, the author should make sure that men are more likely to be distressed about having dental work than women are. Simultaneously, the author should prove that targeting on men and emphasizing both the effectiveness of their anesthetic techniques and the sensitivity of their staff to nervous or suffering patients can be helpful to make the patients easy, and in this way, the dentists can attract more patients to come, thus more revenues.