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Ajeet Khurana
Ajeet was
About.com's GMAT expert and has published books on preparing for the
GMAT through McGraw Hill. Ajeet is an expert on the MBA admissions process and a graduate of The University of Texas at Austin, McCombs School of Business |
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Analysis of an
Argument
The second section of Analytical Writing
Assessment also consists of analytical writing task and has to be
completed in the next 30 minutes. In this task, the candidate has to
analyse how logically persuasive the argument presented in the question
is?
Examples
“The owners of the Cumquat Cafe evidently made a good business decision
in moving to a new location, as can be seen from the fact that the Cafe
will soon celebrate its second anniversary there. Moreover, it appears
that businesses are not likely to succeed at the old location: since the
Cafe’s move, three different businesses - a tanning salon, an antique
emporium, and a pet-grooming shop - have occupied its former
spot.”
Discuss how well reasoned you find this argument. In your
discussion be sure to analyze the line of reasoning and the use of
evidence in the argument. For example, you may need to consider what
questionable assumptions underlie the thinking and what alternative
explanations or counterexamples might weaken the conclusion. You can also
discuss what sort of evidence would strengthen or refute the argument,
what changes in the argument would make it more logically sound, and what,
if anything, would help you better evaluate its conclusion.
Example 2
“Over the past decade, the price per pound of citrus fruit has
increased substantially each year. Eleven years ago, it was common for a
store to charge 15 cents a pound for lemons, but today stores commonly
charge over a dollar a pound. In only one of these last eleven years was
the weather unfavorable for growing citrus crops. So citrus growers must
have been unnecessarily raising the prices of citrus fruit. Therefore,
strict pricing regulations are needed in order to prevent the citrus
growers from continuing to inflate the prices.”
Discuss how well reasoned
you find this argument. In your discussion be sure to analyze the line of
reasoning and the use of evidence in the argument. For example, you may
need to consider what questionable assumptions underlie the thinking and
what alternative explanations or counterexamples might weaken the
conclusion. You can also discuss what sort of evidence would strengthen or
refute the argument, what changes in the argument would make it more
logically sound, and what, if anything, would help you better evaluate its
conclusion.
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