Software Architect: Company executives argue that migrating our entire infrastructure to the new cloud platform will immediately reduce operational costs. But this migration will actually increase our expenses in the short term. Transitioning legacy databases requires significant refactoring, which demands hundreds of hours of costly specialized labor. Furthermore, running redundant systems during the transition period doubles our hosting fees for at least six months. Therefore, the board should delay the full migration until next fiscal year.
What is the precise structural role of each of the following excerpted statements within the software architect's argument?
- "Company executives argue that migrating our entire infrastructure to the new cloud platform will immediately reduce operational costs."A claim made by others that the argument attempts to refute.
- "this migration will actually increase our expenses in the short term."An intermediate conclusion that supports the argument's final recommendation.
- "Transitioning legacy databases requires significant refactoring, which demands hundreds of hours of costly specialized labor."A premise provided to support an intermediate conclusion about the effects of a proposed action.
- "the board should delay the full migration until next fiscal year."The main conclusion of the argument advocating for a specific course of action.
Answer
The first excerpt is the opposing claim, the second is the intermediate conclusion, the third is a premise supporting the intermediate conclusion, and the fourth is the main conclusion.
The argument follows a complex but classic structure: it introduces an opposing view, rejects it with an intermediate conclusion, supports that intermediate conclusion with premises, and finally draws a main conclusion based on the intermediate claim. Thus, each excerpted statement maps cleanly to these distinct logical functions.
Step-by-Step Solution
Key Concept
Determining Statement Roles