Hi 
I just wrote an argument essay for practice. Here is the prompt:
“Recently, there have been discussions about ending Grove College’s century-old tradition of all-female education by admitting male students into our programs. At a recent faculty meeting, a majority of faculty members voted in favor of coeducation, arguing that it would encourage more students to apply to Grove. However, Grove students, both past and present, are against the idea of coeducation. Eighty percent of the students responding to a survey conducted by the student government wanted the school to remain all female, and over half of the alumnae who answered a separate survey also opposed coeducation. Therefore, we recommend maintaining Grove College’s tradition of all-female education. We predict that keeping the college all-female will improve morale among students and convince alumnae to keep supporting the college financially.”
I came across 3 different types of argument prompts, which are as follows:
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Write a response in which you discuss what questions would need to be answered in order to decide whether the recommendation is likely to have the predicted result. Be sure to explain how the answers to these questions would help to evaluate the recommendation. (I GOT THIS ONE)
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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.
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Write a response in which you discuss what specific evidence is needed to evaluate the argument and explain how the evidence would weaken or strengthen the argument.
Here is my essay: (I’d be really happy if someone provides feedback on it. Thanks!)
In the recommendation, the president and staff of Grove College suggest that the college should continue to exclusively admit female students and state that this would boost the students’ motivation and encourage the past students to provide monetary help to the college. They do so by citing the responses of surveys filled by the students and the alumni, and the results of a voting among the faculty members. Although the advised measures could prove to be beneficial in the future, the author needs to answer three questions in order to judge whether these steps would have the desired results.
The first question that needs to be answered is regarding the manner in which the surveys were conducted. Perhaps, these were done in a non-scientific manner and considered only a small subset of the total population of the current and former students, which might not be representative of all the people in the category. It is also possible that the distributed questionnaire had limited choices for the questions, and the questions were framed in a way that the respondents were left with no choice but to answer them in favor of an all-female policy. If it is true that the survey was organized in a non-empirical manner, then it seriously undermines the efficacy of the suggestion.
Secondly, what are the issues being faced by the college by restricting them to an education available only to girls? It is possible that the college is losing out on a greater revenue by refusing to accept male students. Moreover, the college could also be missing out on bright students by following this procedure. Such issues are not visible to the students and the alumnae, since they are not aware about the financials of the institution. Therefore, this perspective would not be reflected in the surveys conducted on them. If this is the case, the college management should certainly reconsider its decision, since a greater revenue would lead to better development of the institution.
Thirdly, what changes to the number of applicants could be seen if the institution begins to accept boys as well? The faculty members of Grove College voted in favor of coeducation based on the reason that it would encourage more students to apply. If the number is expected to increase by a significant percentage, then the staff should reconsider their decision, since more applications would result in a higher reputation and a better ranking for the college, which would be extremely beneficial in the long run. Moreover, the professors are bound to have more experience than the students, and their view should be given more importance.
Summarizing the questions stated above, the president and staff of Grove College need to enlighten the readers about the implications of restricting their education to girls, the method in which the survey was held and the expected increase in applications if the college shifts to coeducation. The answers to the above questions would certainly help the readers to make an informed decision about the recommendation.
QUESTION: What would you write if you were asked for assumptions or evidence in the same prompt?
Cheers!