Analyzing the argument-Task 2

1. Are the arguments even good???

No. These arguments are always flawed in some manner. Typically because they come to
conclusions based on either faulty evidence or unwarranted assumptions.

2. when I read the argument what exactly am I trying to identify?

The most important thing the first thing that you are trying to identify is the author’s main
conclusion, main assertions or overall prediction. This is basically the thrust of the author’s
argument.
You are also trying to identify the pieces of evidence and the facts that the author provides in order
to support this argument.

3. Once I have successfully identified the structure and parts of the argument then what ?

Here comes the somewhat hard part. So you have identified the author’s main point and you have
identified his or her evidence and facts that led the author to the point. But you are not finished.
You need to using that information reason out the assumptions (unstated) that the author relies upon
to make his argument.

4. Can I write now??

Once I have done the three things above (identify the conclusion, identify the evidence, reason out
the unstated assumptions), can I write now??? Yes you can
The essay typically follows a template. Or a firm formula, and once you established those above
pieces you should basically start writing.

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"Commuters complain that increased rush-hour traffic on Blue Highway between the
suburbs and the city center has doubled their commuting time. The favored proposal of the
motorists' lobby is to widen the highway, adding an additional lane of traffic. But last year's
addition of a lane to the nearby Green Highway was followed by a worsening of traffic jams
on it. A better alternative is to add a bicycle lane to Blue Highway. Many area residents are
keen bicyclists. A bicycle lane would encourage them to use bicycles to commute, and so
would reduce rush-hour traffic rather than fostering an increase."

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.

Main conclusion, main assertion, or main prediction from argument.

Opponents have proposed to add a bicycle lane to blue highway rather than adopt the motorists’
lobby proposal to widen the highway with an additional lane.

What evidence does the author provide to support the conclusion of these opponents ???

1. Last year the city widened green highway, but It led to a worsening of traffic jams on it.
2. Many area residents are keen bicyclist. A bicycle lane would encourage them to use bicycle to
commute, thereby reducing rush-hour traffic.

Analyse an Argument (Unstated Assumption)

1. The author is assuming that last year’s issues still exists today.
2. Green highway and blue highway are roughly comparable.
3. The author is assuming that if you enjoy bicycling as a hobby then you are likely to use that
mood of transportation to commute to work.
4. The author is assuming that these working locations are actually within biking distance.
5. The author is assuming that this added bicycle lane will not result in any accidents that actually
cause more traffic delays than the current setup.

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My organization:

Introduction:

1. Rephrase main conclusion from argument.

2. Identify authors evidence and or premises.
3. thesis.

Body paragraph: (3 of them)

1. First supporting idea (making sure to follow a specific task instructions)

2. Example 1 (making sure to use ‘May Be’ language.
3. Example 1 (making sure to use ‘May Be’ language.
4. Effect on author’s conclusion if examples prove true.

Conclusion:

1. Statement that argument as it stands now is flawed

2. Request for more evidence
3. Statement of how evidence will help to evaluate the argument more effectively

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First of all are green on the highway and blue highway roughly comparable??? in other words can
circumstances from one Highway be used to make generalizations and predictions about the other??
it is possible that green highway And blue highway are not similar at all. Perhaps green highway
runs through residential neighborhood whereas blue highway is located mostly in rural, unpopulated
sections of the city. Further there is a possibility that the quality of the highways is markedly
different with green highways roads falling apart and blue highways in pristine condition. If either
of these scenarios has merit hen conclusion drawn in the original argument is significantly
weekend.

Secondly do a majority of the area residence interested in biking live within biking distance of the
places of employment? The opponents in the argument prematurely assume that many of the
residents in the town will bike to work in the morning rather than drive their cars. However this
might not be the case. perhaps the average distance From home to work is over 15 miles and that‘s
why many of the residents are essentially obligated to take the highway. Even if they don‘t want to.
In an ideal world they might choose to bike to work but if the reality is such that they cannot due to
the logistics of this solutions, then only one from of transportation is possible. If the above is true,
then the argument does not hold water.

Body 3 : omitted

In conclusion the argument as it stands now is considerably flawed due to its reliance on several
unwarranted assumptions. If the author is able to answer the three questions above and offer more
evidence (perhaps in the form of systematic research study) then it will be possible to fully evaluate
the viability of the proposed recommendation to add a bike lane in the blue highway.

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 GRE issue task-1

Introduction:
 Hook (generalization, anecdote, interesting fact, trend, quote etc.)
Introduces the topic (nothing more), do not include your thesis or supporting ideas here.
 Shift to prompt
Makes your essay more cohesive; and abrupt shift to your thesis is awkward.
 Thesis (Most important part of the essay by far)
This baby is the boss that controls everything
 Outline (tell your reader how you are going to structure your essay)
Doesn’t have to be overly detailed

Body Paragraph:

 Topic sentence that introduces supporting idea

It is imperative that this introduce the overall idea of the paragraph and that it supports your
thesis.
 Examples:
You need a good example here, preferably from history, politics, economics etc. if not
possible think of a good hypothetical. I don’t want to hear about uncle Bob.
 Development explanations:
You need to develop this idea, you need to explain how your supporting idea connect to
your thesis. You need to explain why this matters.

Conclusion:
 (Strong thesis) introduce a counterpoint that someone from the other side might use to argue
against your position.
 Shut down that counterpoint and explain how it doesn’t apply and doesn’t hold water
 Rephrase thesis and wrap this baby up.

Moderate thesis explains how this issue is very complex and that there are no easy answers.
Rephrase thesis and wrap this baby up.

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 Choosing a
Thesis

Strongly Mostly
Mostly Agree Strongly Agree
Disagree Disagree

College students should be encouraged to pursue subjects that interest them rather than the
courses that seem most likely to lead to jobs.

Write a response in which you discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the
recommendation and explain your reasoning for the position you take. In developing and supporting
your position, describe specific circumstances in which adopting the recommendation would or
would not be advantageous and explain how these examples shape your position.

The joy of one’s college major is not a trivial one. In fact, it is not uncommon for entering students
to ruminate on this decision for months perhaps years and then, once a decision has been made
immediately begin to second guess it. The prompt recommends that students are not be labored this
point too long and simply choose a path that conforms most closely to their interests and skills. In
my opinion I strongly agree with this suggestion and argue that the student look inward rather than
outward when choosing college courses for two reasons.
To begin, the job market is ever shifting and one decade’s hot job is another decade’s dying
one. Thus, to choose one is profession based solely on the availability of work is to take a shot term
perspective one that we likely backfire. For instance, in the 1950’s through the 1980’s nuclear
engineering was a rapidly growing field as many of the most powerful nations on earth were not
only designing and manufacturing nuclear weapons but hundreds of nuclear power plant as well.
Consequently, nuclear engineering graduate were able to find a high paying work almost
immediately upon graduation because of issues related to NIMBY (not in my back yard) and recent
nuclear accidents like the well publicized fukushima disaster many countries are moving away from
nuclear power in favor of other green technologies. Students who choose nuclear engineering in the
1970’s because of the abundant job prospects were certainly facing a different job market in the
1990’s- and this market has only worsened through the 2000’s. the above example illustrates that
the job market is highly contingent upon unpredictable factors and that if one assumes it is static he
or she is likely to get burned at some point in the future. It seems absurd to think of now during the
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current technological boom, but will the software engineering industry still possess dizzying job
prospects in the future? History tells us that it will not.
Further, even if we assume that the job market is not dynamic that is as unchanging as
gravity; one should still pursue his or her interest because our happiness level plays a crucial role in
how effectively we work. for instance, if a student who is passionate about horse training
pragmatically, choose the path of computer programming because of the plethora of lucrative job
opportunities, she runs the risk of finding herself in a field she abhors and a job she finds no
satisfaction in. She might go to work each day, sit at her desk and stare at her computer screen with
the horse wallpaper wondering what would have been and the career path she could have chosen.
She might complete her programming tasks haphazardly and submit paper work. Research has
consistently demonstrated that perhaps above all other factors, happiness has the most direct causal
effect on work efficiency. In other words, workers who find personal satisfaction in their craft not
only work faster but also produce higher quality products and services as well. Thus, on a macro
scale government should encourage their population to pursue their passion because long-term,
doing so leads to a more smoothly functioning economy not begged down by worker’s
discontentment. One needs to only look at government to regimes from the past that forced many of
the citizens to work on farms for the collective good. The vast majority of this worker had no
interest in being on the farm and agricultural output plummeted as a result. This phenomenon can
infect an entire economy if people choose fields of the study based solely on the promise of work
and income.
Of course some argue that our increasingly globalized economic competition for jobs has
skyrocket and does it is imperative that we pursue practical path. However isn’t that precisely why
we should follow our interest??? If we do so we are likely to do the best job possible. We are likely
to compete at the highest level, we are likely to carve out a niche for ourselves in this increasingly
globalized world. People who ignore their inner voices do so at their own peril.

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 Argument Essay-Example

The following recommendation was made by the president and administrative staff of Grove
College, a private institution, to the college's governing committee.

"We recommend that Grove College preserve its century-old tradition of all-female education
rather than admit men into its programs. It is true that a majority of faculty members voted
in favor of coeducation, arguing that it would encourage more students to apply to Grove. But
80 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. Keeping the college all female will improve morale among
students and convince alumnae to keep supporting the college financially."

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.

In the memo the president of Grove College concludes that the school should retain its all-
female student’s body because it will enhance morale and persuade alumni to continuing their
financial support of the industry. However, while the conclusion drawn by the president might hold
water, it rests on several unfounded assumptions that, if not substantiated dramatically weaken the
persuasiveness of the argument. Thus the following three questions must be addressed.
First, was the survey of the student body conducted scientifically? It is possible that the
survey was completed with a non representative sample of the student body. Perhaps the survey
organizers only asked students in a feminine empowerment class, thus skewing the result to the all-
female body opinion. It is also possible that the survey was conducted online and only the most
ardent supporters of an all-female student’s body took the time to fill it out. If either of these
scenarios proves true, then the assertion of the president is significantly hampered.
Second, do the alumni who voted in the survey regarding co-education contribute significant
funds to the university? There is the potential that those alumni who responded are the ones who
least contributes to Drove college. Perhaps most of the funds from alumni derive from a very select
few wealthy individuals who donate millions of dollars each year, and the vast majority of graduate
of Grove College do not provide any funding to the school. If this is the case then the president
should instead conduct a survey of those who donate the most funds to the school, not the alumni in
general. Doing so would substantially increase the credibility of the argument.
Finally, if the school remains all female, will some of the faculty in favor of co-education
become disillusioned with the university and look for other jobs? It is possible that the current stock
of professors will begin to look for other employment opportunities at other universities if the

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policy is not changed. If this occurs, the school might lose many of its most qualified professors
suffer in the rankings have fewer students apply, and thus be considerably hurt in terms of both
reputations and funding (the majority of which comes from student’s tuition fees). If it is true that
the professor’s fell passionately about this topic, then ignoring their majority vote might not be in
the best interest of the university and the contention from the president could actually do more
damage to the institution.
In conclusion, while the president may have come to a sound conclusion regarding the
makeup of the student’s body, more data is needed before a firm conclusion is reached. If the
president answer the above three questions it will be possible to fully evaluate the validity of the
argument.

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