Forum Home > GMAT > Quantitative > Problem Solving (PS)
Events & Promotions
|
|
GMAT Club Daily Prep
Thank you for using the timer - this advanced tool can estimate your performance and suggest more practice questions. We have subscribed you to Daily Prep Questions via email.
Customized
for You
Track
Your Progress
Practice
Pays
Not interested in getting valuable practice questions and articles delivered to your email? No problem, unsubscribe here.
Dec 1310:00 AM EST
-12:00 PM EST
Have you ever wondered how to score a PERFECT 805 on the GMAT? Meet Julia, a banking professional who used the Target Test Prep course to achieve this incredible feat. Julia's story is nothing short of an inspiration.
Dec 1410:00 AM EST
-12:00 PM EST
Think a 100% GMAT Verbal score is out of your reach? Target Test Prep will make you think again! Our course uses techniques such as topical study and spaced repetition to maximize knowledge retention and make studying simple and fun.
Dec 1411:00 AM IST
-01:00 PM IST
Attend this session to learn how to Deconstruct arguments, Pre-Think Author’s Assumptions, and apply Negation Test.- Dec 15
11:00 AM IST
-01:00 PM IST
Attend this free GMAT Algebra Webinar and learn how to master the most challenging Inequalities and Absolute Value problems with ease. 
Dec 1608:00 AM PST
-11:59 PM PST
GMAT Club 12 Days of Christmas is a 4th Annual GMAT Club Winter Competition based on solving questions. This is the Winter GMAT competition on GMAT Club with an amazing opportunity to win over $40,000 worth of prizes!
24 Aug 2015, 05:49
Kudos
Bookmarks
Candidate: Our city's students have suffered long enough. Over the mayor's four years in office, our district's math and science scores have hovered well below the national average, even while our average teacher's salary has increased. Our student-per-class ratio is laughable, yet he has made no progress on building a new school. He simply cannot be trusted with our children's future; if you care about education, I am the only candidate you can support.
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.
Response:
The candidate for next election claims that he is the only candidate the public should support if the public cares about education. Stated in this way the argument manipulates facts and conveys a distorted view of the situation. In addition, the argument is based on the assumptions, for which there is no clear evidence. Hence, to fully evaluate the argument, more information about certain key factors is required,
First, the author makes the error of faulty causality. What appears to be nothing more than a mere co-incidence is portrayed as the cause of student's suffering - a classic case of 'after this, therefore because of this'. The author assumes that the mayor is responsible for districts's math and science scores to be lower than national average. But, no evidence is provided to support this claim. To be more specific, the author fails to mention any factor which may prove the involvement of mayor in the downfall. For example, whether any policy that the mayor initiated led to the downfall or whether despite continuous pressure from public the mayor did not pay heed, or any such instance. Without any mention of concrete examples the claim stands void.
Another problem with this argument is that the author mentions that student-per-class ratio is laughable, yet no progress was made. Although it is understood from the claim that the author is trying to point out increasing student-per-class ratio, he fails to mention how important a factor this is. That is, whether the society laid a lot of focus on the children getting education as per the standard student-per-class ratio. It is very much possible that the author is just trying to instill a negative vibe among public, without any substantial claims up his sleeve.
Third, the author claims that if people care about education, he is the only choice. Although he may be a better choice than the current mayor, it is the 'only' choice that makes his claim false. It's rather unconvincing. Has he done any work previously supporting child education welfare. If yes, mention of such work would have strengthened the argument. And mentioning that other eligible candidates lag far behind in this area, would have helped strengthening the argument further.
In conclusion, the argument is weak and unconvincing because of the above mentioned reasons. In order to asses the merits of a situation, it is important to have full knowledge of the contributing factors. Without this information, the argument remains unsubstantiated and open to debate.
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.
Response:
The candidate for next election claims that he is the only candidate the public should support if the public cares about education. Stated in this way the argument manipulates facts and conveys a distorted view of the situation. In addition, the argument is based on the assumptions, for which there is no clear evidence. Hence, to fully evaluate the argument, more information about certain key factors is required,
First, the author makes the error of faulty causality. What appears to be nothing more than a mere co-incidence is portrayed as the cause of student's suffering - a classic case of 'after this, therefore because of this'. The author assumes that the mayor is responsible for districts's math and science scores to be lower than national average. But, no evidence is provided to support this claim. To be more specific, the author fails to mention any factor which may prove the involvement of mayor in the downfall. For example, whether any policy that the mayor initiated led to the downfall or whether despite continuous pressure from public the mayor did not pay heed, or any such instance. Without any mention of concrete examples the claim stands void.
Another problem with this argument is that the author mentions that student-per-class ratio is laughable, yet no progress was made. Although it is understood from the claim that the author is trying to point out increasing student-per-class ratio, he fails to mention how important a factor this is. That is, whether the society laid a lot of focus on the children getting education as per the standard student-per-class ratio. It is very much possible that the author is just trying to instill a negative vibe among public, without any substantial claims up his sleeve.
Third, the author claims that if people care about education, he is the only choice. Although he may be a better choice than the current mayor, it is the 'only' choice that makes his claim false. It's rather unconvincing. Has he done any work previously supporting child education welfare. If yes, mention of such work would have strengthened the argument. And mentioning that other eligible candidates lag far behind in this area, would have helped strengthening the argument further.
In conclusion, the argument is weak and unconvincing because of the above mentioned reasons. In order to asses the merits of a situation, it is important to have full knowledge of the contributing factors. Without this information, the argument remains unsubstantiated and open to debate.
27 Aug 2015, 12:20
Kudos
Bookmarks
Hey,
I find your argument very well reasoned. The word length and the flow of the argument is good, and the inclusion of your individual observations using the prescribed template for a good AWA essay(you'll find this on a separate thread on the GMAT club AWA forum) is spot on.
There are a few minor grammatical errors which I noticed, though a couple of extra minutes spent on editing the essay will surely minimise this error, and make the argument even more coherent.
I would say the essay should get a rating of 5, a pretty decent score!
Hope the feedback helps, and Kudos if you liked it!
I find your argument very well reasoned. The word length and the flow of the argument is good, and the inclusion of your individual observations using the prescribed template for a good AWA essay(you'll find this on a separate thread on the GMAT club AWA forum) is spot on.
There are a few minor grammatical errors which I noticed, though a couple of extra minutes spent on editing the essay will surely minimise this error, and make the argument even more coherent.
I would say the essay should get a rating of 5, a pretty decent score!
Hope the feedback helps, and Kudos if you liked it!
01 May 2022, 22:50
Kudos
Bookmarks
Candidate: Our city's students have suffered long enough. Over the mayor's four years in office, our district's math and science scores have hovered well below the national average, even while our average teacher's salary has increased. Our student-per-class ratio is laughable, yet he has made no progress on building a new school. He simply cannot be trusted with our children's future; if you care about education, I am the only candidate you can support.
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.
*****************************************************************************************************************************
The aforementioned argument made by the candidate that the student have suffered under the incumbent mayor at a first glance, appears to be fairly convincing. However, on a closer look of the argument and it's structure, a number of flaws become evident. Among the most pivotal shortcomings of the arguments are the inability to address it's assumptions and the lack of information to substantiate it's claims.
Firstly, the argument mentions that the district's math and science scores have hovered well below the national average. This statement does not mention how the grades were before the mayor's term. It is possible that the scores were even lower before and due to the incumbent mayor's efforts, have increased instead. The statement also suffers from selection bias where it only considers scores in two subjects. It is also possible that the students performed exceptionally well in Arts and History during the mayor's term. Thus, the fact that students have suffered cannot be concluded.
Second, the arguments mentions that the average teacher's salary has increased. The argument mentions nothing about the total amount spent on teachers salary and also nothing about the total budget. It is possible that external factors, such as inflation was the cause of the increase. It is also possible that the total GDP and the budget of the increased, which lead to the increase in the average. The candidate also mentions the student-per-teacher ratio to be laughable, but dos not mention if it was even higher earlier, in which case, the ratio has actually improved. We also do not know if student-per-teacher ratio is an important factor on which the quality of education depends. If this isn't the case, and students are in fact receiving quality education, then there is also a decreased need for a new school.
Additionally, the candidate also mentions that the incumbent mayor cannot be trusted with the children's future; if the people care about education, he is the only candidate that should be supported. This reasoning is vulnerable to a number of flaws. We do not know if the candidate and the mayor are the only one contesting for the elections. There may be other candidates as well, and we have no information to judge if the candidate is the best among all that deserves support. The candidate also as mentioned nothing about how the candidate is better than the current mayor, and how electing him would improve the current state of the city's education. The candidate only attacks the mayor and does not try to garner support using self merits.
Thus, the argument in it's current state is flawed in abundant ways, the most blatant of which are discussed above. The candidate must address these in order to reinforce it's persuasive ability and the legitimacy of it's claims. However, in the current state, the statements by the candidate can be considered to be no more than a biased opinion relying on incomplete assumptions and unsubstantiated opinions.
*****************************************************************************************************************************
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.
*****************************************************************************************************************************
The aforementioned argument made by the candidate that the student have suffered under the incumbent mayor at a first glance, appears to be fairly convincing. However, on a closer look of the argument and it's structure, a number of flaws become evident. Among the most pivotal shortcomings of the arguments are the inability to address it's assumptions and the lack of information to substantiate it's claims.
Firstly, the argument mentions that the district's math and science scores have hovered well below the national average. This statement does not mention how the grades were before the mayor's term. It is possible that the scores were even lower before and due to the incumbent mayor's efforts, have increased instead. The statement also suffers from selection bias where it only considers scores in two subjects. It is also possible that the students performed exceptionally well in Arts and History during the mayor's term. Thus, the fact that students have suffered cannot be concluded.
Second, the arguments mentions that the average teacher's salary has increased. The argument mentions nothing about the total amount spent on teachers salary and also nothing about the total budget. It is possible that external factors, such as inflation was the cause of the increase. It is also possible that the total GDP and the budget of the increased, which lead to the increase in the average. The candidate also mentions the student-per-teacher ratio to be laughable, but dos not mention if it was even higher earlier, in which case, the ratio has actually improved. We also do not know if student-per-teacher ratio is an important factor on which the quality of education depends. If this isn't the case, and students are in fact receiving quality education, then there is also a decreased need for a new school.
Additionally, the candidate also mentions that the incumbent mayor cannot be trusted with the children's future; if the people care about education, he is the only candidate that should be supported. This reasoning is vulnerable to a number of flaws. We do not know if the candidate and the mayor are the only one contesting for the elections. There may be other candidates as well, and we have no information to judge if the candidate is the best among all that deserves support. The candidate also as mentioned nothing about how the candidate is better than the current mayor, and how electing him would improve the current state of the city's education. The candidate only attacks the mayor and does not try to garner support using self merits.
Thus, the argument in it's current state is flawed in abundant ways, the most blatant of which are discussed above. The candidate must address these in order to reinforce it's persuasive ability and the legitimacy of it's claims. However, in the current state, the statements by the candidate can be considered to be no more than a biased opinion relying on incomplete assumptions and unsubstantiated opinions.
*****************************************************************************************************************************
