GRE ISSUE TOPIC 20

Laws should be flexible enough to take account of various circumstances,

times, and places.
Write a response in which you discuss the extent to which you agree or
disagree with the statement and explain your reasoning for the position you
take. In developing and supporting your position, you should consider ways
in which the statement might or might not hold true and explain how these
considerations shape your position.

Laws are a systems of rules, set down by governments, which dictate the
criteria for acceptable behavior. When a person breaks these laws, there are
other laws governing punishment commensurate with the crime.
Should laws be immutable or should a degree of flexibility be built into them?
Consider some of the fundamental constitutional rights granted to every
citizen of a nation. Most nations have a laws granting every citizen the right
to education, the right to food and other basic human rights. Can such laws
be flexible or must they be unyielding? Are only the rich and privileged to be
afforded these rights or are all citizens to be treated equally? In this case it is
obvious that the law must treat every citizen equally, irrespective of their
circumstance.
Now consider the law which prevents automobiles from exceeding the speed
limit. Consider a case in which a person exceed the speed limit because
he/she is rushing a wounded child to the hospital. Consider another case in
which a person exceeds the speed limit simply for the thrill of speed. The
intent of the law is to prevent accidents, which are more probable at higher
speed, by limiting automobiles to a maximum speed. In both cases the
drivers increase the probability of accidents, so should they be equally
punished by the law? Or should the intent also be considered.
Consider the case where a person commits homicide to protect himself. Also
consider a case in which a person commits murder without provocation or in
self defense. In each case the end result is that another human life has been
ended. Under a rigid and immutable system of laws, each case would
warrant the same punishment. But is this morally right?

The circumstances of any situation must be taken into account before any
judgement is passed. Laws set out a general set of guidelines for appropriate
human behavior and for the punishments when these laws are broken. Any
set of laws cannot encompass the scope of all possible situations and thus it
is important that the spirit of the law be upheld rather that following the
letter of the law. This will make the possibility of grave miscarriages of justice
less probable. It is vital that when identical situations occur the law acts in
exactly the same manner, independent of any other factors.

GRE ARGUMENT TOPIC 20

Two years ago, radio station WCQP in Rockville decided to increase the
number of call-in advice programs that it broadcast; since that time, its share
of the radio audience in the Rockville listening area has increased
significantly. Given WCQP's recent success with call-in advice programming,
and citing a nationwide survey indicating that many radio listeners are quite
interested in such programs, the station manager of KICK in Medway
recommends that KICK include more call-in advice programs in an attempt to
gain a larger audience share in its listening area.
Write a response in which you discuss what questions would need to be
answered in order to decide whether the recommendation and the argument
on which it is based are reasonable. Be sure to explain how the answers to
these questions would help to evaluate the recommendation.

The arguments that the manager of KICK cites as the reason for the
proposed action do not form a cogent case, and thus cannot warrant such
action without further investigation. The proposed plan to gain a larger
audience may infact result in the desired outcome, but this cannot be
guaranteed based on the validity of the arguments above.
The first crucial factor to consider is that there is a two year time interval
between when WCQP introduced the call in advice programs and the current
proposed action by KICK. In the intervening time the popularity of call in

advice programs may have decreased. Call in advice programs may have
become so commonplace and regular, that it may no longer provide and
edge to KICK, over competitors attempting similar methods.
The causal relation implied in the argument between the introduction of call
in advice programs and the increase in radio audience numbers is not
necessarily true. Other factors could possibly account for the increase in
listeners, and this has not been considered in the argument. The type of
music may have been changed to better suit the desires of the audience, or
the popularity of radio in the Rockville area may have increased. Without
investigating other possibilities which could account for the observed trend it
is impossible to ascertain with any certainty whether the implied reasoning
in the argument is valid.
The scope and validity of the survey must be provided and without more
numerically sound data, assumptions based on this survey cannot be
considered. The argument does not mention how many participants took part
in the survey or whether it accurately represents all demographics of the
nations population. The management of KICK must consider the possibility
that the vague language cited in the survey does not lend the argument any
validity. The many radio listeners, of the survey gives no indication as to
how many, which is the crucial question. The survey specifically states that
many radio listeners would be interested in call in shows, but KICK intends to
attract a larger and new audience. To do this, the manager must consider
whether non radio listened would also be interested in such programs,
because this would be the only way to increase listeners.
A more area specific survey, limited to the Medway area would help the
managers of KICK understand how successful their proposed plan of action
would be in attracting new listeners. A nationwide survey shows trends on a
national scale but cannot include specific of small areas. Thus the results of
the national survey, even if valid, may not necessarily support the conclusion
that the managers of KICK hoped for. While the proposed action to increase
listeners may be successful, the argument above is insufficient to reach this
conclusion.