Could you please review my first AWA essay?

"The following appeared as part of an annual report sent to stockholders by Olympic Foods, a processor of frozen foods:

"Over time, the costs of processing go down because as organizations learn how to do things better, they become more efficient. In color film for example, the cost of a 3-by-5-inch print fell from 50 cents for five-day service in 1970 to 20 cents for one-day service in 1984. The same principle applies to the processing of food. since Olympic Foods will soon celebrate its 25th birthday, we can expect that our long experience will enable us to minimize costs and thus maximize profits. "

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 you can also discuss what sort of evidence would encourage 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 argument is flawed for several reasons. Primarily, the argument is based on the unwarranted assumption that the cost of processing decreases over a given period of time can be credited to the organizations learning how to do things more efficiently. Stated in this way the argument fails to mention several key factors on which it could be evaluated. The assumptions rely on no clear evidence and render its main conclusion, that the soon to be 25 year old Olympic Foods, can expect to minimize its costs and maximize profits, invalid.

First, the argument readily assumes that the only reason behind the fall in the costs of processing is the increase in the efficiency of the organization. This statement is a stretch and not substantiated in any way. There are several other factors that can influence processing costs incurred by an organisation such as technological improvements, skilled workers, administrative measures and market conditions. Not taking these key factors into consideration, the fallacious assumption leaves the entire argument without basis.

Second, the argument claims that since there has been a significant decrease in the cost of a 3-by-5 color film, the same effect can be seen in the output of food processing industry. This is again a very weak and unsupported claim as the argument does not demonstrate any correlation between the color film processing and the food processing organisations. It can even be argued that this seems to be a case of hasty generalization. The factors that influence the price of a color film might not exhibit the same influence on the fluctuation of cost prices in the food processing industry. There are several factors such as weather, resource availability, transportation costs and storage which can affect the price of a given food item. If the argument had provided sufficient evidence of the advancements that have taken place in the food processing industry from 1970 to 1984, then the argument would have been a lot more convincing.

Finally, the argument concludes with the case of Olympic Foods. Since Olympic Foods will soon celebrate its 25th birthday, it hopes that its long experience will enable them to maximize profits and minimize costs. This conclusion is a slippery slope and also a case mistaken of cause and effect. Not only is the term "long experience" vague but also the assumption that having a long experience will result in profitability, without taking other subtle nuances into consideration, is wrongful . Without the organisational details, the financial background of Olympic Foods and relevant financial data, one is left with the impression that the claim is more of a wishful thinking rather than substantive evidence.

In summary, the argument is flawed and therefore unconvincing. It could be considerably strengthened if the author clearly mentioned all the relevant facts which would help in establishing a correlation between the decrease in cost processing and time. In order to assess the merits of a certain situation, it is essential to have full knowledge of all contributing factors.