AWA Evaluation RequestDear
Sajjad1994, it would be very helpful if you could please grade my AWA attempt.
Prompt:
The following appeared in a magazine article on trends and lifestyles.
"In general, people are not as concerned as they were a decade ago about regulating their intake of red meat and fatty cheeses. Walk into the Heart's Delight, a store that started selling organic fruits and vegetables and whole-grain flours in the 1960's, and you will also find a wide selection of cheeses made with high butterfat content. Next door, the owners of the Good Earth Café, an old vegetarian restaurant, are still making a modest living, but the owners of the new House of Beef across the street are millionaires."
Discuss how well reasoned . . . etc.
My Response :
The argument claims that people are not as concerned as they were a decade ago about regulating their intake of red meat and fatty cheeses. Stated in this way, the argument manipulates facts and displays a distorted view of the situation. It also fails to mention several key factors, on the basis of which it could be evaluated. The conclusion also makes several assumptions for which there is no clear evidence. Due to this, the argument has several flaws and is very unconvincing.
First, the argument readily assumes that the only reason that the owners of the Good Earth Café are still making a modest living and not billions like the owners of the new House of Beef across the street is that people are not as concerned as they were a decade ago about regulating their intake of red meat and fatty cheeses. This statement is a stretch as there could be several other reasons that contribute to this disparity in the financial status of the two cafés. For instance, it’s quite possible that recent studies have shown that the health benefits of red meats and fatty cheeses when consumed in moderation outweigh those of not including them in the diet at all. It is also possible that the Good Earth Café hasn’t changed much in it’s décor or menu, leading to the customers getting bored. The argument would have been much clearer if it explicitly stated the reasons behind the Good Earth Café not doing as well as the House of Beef.
Second, the argument claims that one will find a wide selection of cheeses made with high butterfat content in Heart's Delight as a reason to substantiate the claim that people are not as concerned as they were a decade ago about regulating their intake of red meat and fatty cheeses. This is again an unwarranted claim as the article does not demonstrate the correlation between the availability of a wide range of cheeses and people’s concern about the regulation of their intake of fatty cheeses. To illustrate, it is quite possible that the cheese section of Heart's Delight is not contributing to the revenue as much as healthier alternatives are. It is also probable that the only reason that this section was introduced, was to lure the customers to spend more.
If the article stated the clear relation between the introduction of this section and people’s concern on their health, it would have been more compelling. It could’ve been further strengthened if the customer demand for such a section is what caused Heart's Delight to introduce it.
Finally, the article concludes that people are not as concerned as they were a decade ago about regulating their intake of red meat and fatty cheeses. Stated in this way, it is unclear how the author arrived at this conclusion without any evidence. If this conclusion is based on the sole reason that the sale of red meat and fatty cheeses has increased, then it fails to consider other key factors such as the increase in population, change in palette, new discoveries on health benefits, the eating habits of the people. Without answers to these questions, one is left with the impression that this is more of wishful thinking than substantive evidence. Due to this, the conclusion has no legs to stand on.
In conclusion, the article is has several flaws and is unconvincing due to the reasons stated above. It could have been strengthened if the author clearly mentioned all the evidence and assumptions based on which he/she arrived at the conclusion. In the evaluation of the merit of a situation , it is imperative to have all the information on the key factors. In this case, the change in population from 1660’s to the present, the reasons behind the success of the House of Beef, and modest earnings of the Good Earth Café and the cause of introduction and success of the cheese section in Heart's Delight. Without this information, the argument is very unsubstantiated and open to debate.