Intern
Joined: 13 Oct 2012
Posts: 6
Location: India
Concentration: Marketing, Human Resources
GMAT Date: 05-04-2014
GPA: 2.79
WE:Engineering (Telecommunications)
Kndly review my AWA( 1st attempt ) and rate !
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24 Sep 2014, 05:35
In surveys Mason City residents rank water sports (swimming, boating, and fish-ing) among their favorite recreational activities. The Mason River flowing through the city is rarely used for these pursuits, however, and the city park department devotes little of its budget to maintaining riverside recreational facilities. For years there have been complaints from residents about the quality of the river’s water and the river’s smell. In response, the state has recently announced plans to clean up Mason River. Use of the river for water sports is, therefore, sure to increase. The city government should for that reason devote more money in this year’s budget to riverside recreational facilities.
Write a response in which you examine the stated and/or unstated assumptions of the argument. Be sure to explain how the argument depends on the assumptions and what the implications are if the assumptions prove unwarranted
The Argument claims that the use of Mason River for water sports is sure to increase with the clean up of the river as some surveys suggest that Mason city residents rank water sports among their favorite recreational activities, however, they rarely use Mason river for these pursuits only because of the river's poor water quality. Therefore, the city government should devote more money in this year's budget to riverside recreational facilities. Stated this way, the argument fails to address several key issues on the basis of which it is evaluated. The conclusion relies on assumptions for which there is no clear evidence. The argument is weak and unconvincing and has several flaws.
First, the argument does provide any information about the source of the surveys. It assumes that the findings are accurate and unbiased and reflects the verdict of the whole demography. However, it is possible that the findings are inaccurate or biased or only represent a particular age group. For instance, the age group of 20-30 who likes to play water sports frequently.
Second, the argument assumes that there are no factors involved other than Mason river's poor water quality for the city residents' neglect towards the river for water sports. This assumption is weak as the argument does not provide any evidence to substantiate it. There could be numerous other reasons; for instance, the turbulent nature of flow of river water or the threatening aquatic life that hinders residents' will to use the river for water sports.
Because the argument leaves out several key issues, it is flawed and unsound. If it included the concerns discussed above, it would have been more compelling and comprehensive.