hi anu, could you post it in this forum:

 GMAT AWA discussions

You will probably get more responses there.  

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Hi Anu,

 Here is my analysis of the situation. I don't claim to be pundit but I wrote this as if I am writing an exam and this is what came to my mind. Hope this helps and gets me a 4 in AWA !!!!

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In this argument the author concludes from a survey that by providing free gourmet lunches in company the average number of hours worked by most Company Z employees increased dramatically and the Company's profits also increased substantially. While this argument tries to convince that the experiment done by company actually worked which to me is not a valid argument.

To begin with, the argument interlinks the employee productivity to his penchant for food. The food program might have been implemented during harsh weather conditions which might force an employee to stay back at office. There might be some other external factors like food safety concerns issued by government and asking its citizens not to consume food in local joints.

Secondly to correlate lunch program to profit increase does not sound convincing enough. It is possible that some larger company wide phenomenon is responsible for increase in profits. There could have been change in top management or some factors beyond the control of the company. Overall, the author could be overlooking lot of factors which might be responsible for such a change.

In conclusion, I am not persuaded by this author’s line of reasoning. The argument would be strengthened if the author were to consider and rule out other significant factors that might have caused the increase in profits and increase in productivity.

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Regards,

tintinusa

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The following appeared in a newspaper editorial.
“As violence in movies increases, so do crime rates in our cities. To combat this
problem we must establish a board to censor certain movies, or we must limit
admission to persons over 21 years of age. Apparently our legislators are not
concerned about this issue since a bill calling for such actions recently failed to
receive a majority vote.”
Discuss how well reasoned... etc.

Based upon a correlation between increases in movie violence and crime rates in cities, the author argues that to combat crime in cities
we must either censor movies that contain violence or prohibit people who are under 21 years of age from viewing them. The author
further argues that because legislators failed to pass a bill calling for these alternatives, they are not concerned with the problem of
crime in our cities. The author’s reasoning is unconvincing, since it suffers from two critical problems.

To begin with, the author’s solution to the problem rests on the claim that portrayals of violence in movies are the cause of crime in the
cities. However, the evidence offered is insufficient to support this claim. A mere positive correlation between movie violence and city
crime rates does not necessarily prove a causal relationship. In addition, all other prospective causes of city crime such as poverty or
unemployment must be ruled out. As it stands, the author’s solution to the problem is based upon an oversimplified analysis of the
issue.

Another problem with the argument is that the author’s solution assumes that only persons under 21 years of age are adversely
affected by movie violence. Ultimately, this means that the author is committed to the view that, for the most part, the perpetrators of
crime in cities are juveniles under 21. Lacking evidence to support this view, the author’s solution cannot be taken seriously.

In conclusion, the best explanation of the failure of the bill calling for the actions proposed in this argument is that most legislators were
capable of recognizing the simplistic analysis of the problem upon which these actions are based. Rather than providing a demonstration
of a lack of concern about this issue, the legislators’ votes reveal an understanding of the complexities of this problem and an
unwillingness to accept simple solutions.

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Hi tintin

 But are we supposed to present our real life examples in Analysis of Argument Essays? I would think otherwise. The Analysis of an Issue essay tells us that we can present our experience and examples from real life.

But in Analysis of the Argument Esssay we have to check the method of reasoning and the use of evidence provided in the stimulus. However we can bring in assumptions from outside to either make or brake the argument.

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