Sample taskSuperCorp recently moved its headquarters to Corporateville.

The recent surge in the number of homeowners in Corporateville proves that Corporateville is a superior place to live then Middlesburg, the home of SuperCorp’s current headquarters.

Moreover, Middleburg is a predominately urban area and according to an employee survey, SuperCorp has determined that its workers prefer to live in an area that is not urban.

Finally, Corporateville has lower taxes than Middlesburg, making it not only a safer place to work but also a cheaper one.

Conclusion: Therefore, Supercorp clearly made the best decision.That supercrop recently moved its headquarter tov corporteville

“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.” – ETS 

Step One – Attacking the AssumptionsDo not agree with any part of the argument. Instead, show that the argument is making a series of unwarranted assumptions by highlighting each one. Of course, you do not only want to cite what is wrong with the argument, you want to discuss also how the argument can be improved.

The first step of course is to list the assumptions (you can think of this as the brainstorming part). This step is crucial – don’t just rush into the essay. Planning before you write will, in the end, save you time.

In this post we will only be concerned with the brainstorming part. The follow up post will have a sample essay, followed by a score and feedback, including how to improve the essay.

 

Assumption #1The argument assumes that the increase in homeowners is directly correlated with improved living, or, as the argument states, “a superior place to live.” Housing could simply be cheaper, causing an influx of people. That is the increase of population does not mean that everybody wants to live in Corporateville because it is such a great place.

 

Assumption #2Even if everybody wants to move to Corporateville because it is a superior place to live, that doesn’t mean what is “superior” for residents is “superior” for a corporation. Remember working and living are two very different things.

 

Assumption #3We do not know anything about the survey. Is it really indicative of how employees feel? Perhaps the survey only asked upper management. Maybe only the engineering department was questioned. Basically, there is no way for us to know whether the sample was representative. Anyhow, the survey – even if it is representative – found that Supercorp’s workers preferred to live, not to work, in areas that are not urban.

 

Assumption #4There is nothing in the argument that says that Corporateville is not urban. Perhaps Corporateville is also somewhat urban. We do not know. And be careful not to assume that people typically leave urban areas for the suburbs. Never bring your own preconceived notions into the argument.

 

Assumption #5Towards the end, the argument mentions that Corporateville is safer. In this same sentence, you will also find mention of lower taxes. If the argument is setting out to prove that Corporateville is a superior place

to work than Middlesburg, it has to be more specific about how lower taxes will improve quality of work place.

 

Assumption #6The argument ends by saying that Supercorp clearly made the right decision. Even if Corporateville is a better place for Supercorp, to say that the company made “the best decision” is stretching it. Perhaps Supercorp could have moved to a different city, one even better suited to its needs.

AWA Argument: Sample Essay BreakdownBY CHRIS LELE ON MARCH 7, 2012 IN ARGUMENT PROMPT, GENERAL WRITING

TIPS, VERBAL, WRITING

Now that we’ve identified the assumption it is time to write the essay. However, there are a few preliminaries. One thing of note: you do not need to come up with as many assumptions as possible. Three or four is enough to build a solid essay on. And remember, you need to be persuasive, so do not simply list your assumptions without pointing out why they are assumptions and how they weaken the argument.Also, do not at any point suggest that the argument has any merits. ETS has provided an argument that is full of unstated assumptions. You are to identify these logical gaps and, per the instructions, elaborate on how these unwarranted assumptions affect the argument.

Speaking of the insructions, I think it is important to reproduce them here, before we go on with the essay:

SuperCorp recently moved its headquarters to Corporateville. The recent surge in the number of homeowners in Corporateville prove that Corporateville is a superior place to live then Middlesburg, the home of SuperCorp’s current headquarters. Moreover, Middleburg is a predominately urban area and according to an employee survey, SuperCorp has determined that its workers prefer to live in an area that is not urban. Finally, Corporateville has lower taxes than

Middlesburg, making it not only a safer place to work but also a cheaper one. Therefore, Supercorp clearly made the best decision.“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.”With that out of the way, let’s start with the Intro. The Intro should be short and sweet. In fact, the intro the Argument should really not contain any novel ideas. You simply want to say that the argument is unwarranted for a number of reasons. If you find yourself hung up on the intro, write it at the end. The key to the essay is the body, in which you identify the unwarranted assumptions. You do not want to waste precious minutes fiddling about with the Intro.

 

IntroductionThe argument makes a number of unwarranted assumptions regarding the corporation’s proposed move from Middleburg to Corporateville . Taken as a whole, these unstated assumptions render the argument highly suspect. Indeed, if these unstated assumptions do not hold true, then the argument totally falls apart.Next we have the body paragraphs, in which you will point out the unstated assumptions that render the argument invalid. You can lump all into one massive paragraph or you can—as I do here—spread them into three paragraphs, one for each unstated assumption.

 

Paragraph #1:The argument assumes that the increase in homeowners is directly correlated with improved living, or, as the argument states, “a superior place to live.” Housing could simply be cheaper, causing an influx of people. That is the increase of population does not mean that everybody wants to live in Corporateville because it is such a great

place. Indeed low-priced housing and overcrowding clearly would make Corporatville a less superior place to live.Notice how I ended the argument by referring back to what the instructions asked us to do: “Be sure to explain how the argument depends on the assumptions and what the implications are if the assumptions prove unwarranted.” 

Body Paragraph #2Another unstated assumption the argument makes is that what is superior for residents is the same as what is superior for corporations. Thus, even if everybody wants to move to Corporateville because it is a superior place to live, that doesn’t mean it is a superior place for a company to move its headquarters. For instance, perhaps Corporateville has an excellent public school system and/or natural parks. Neither of these would make Corporateville a superior place for a corporation. Unless the argument can show that there is clear reason that Corporateville is superior to Middletown for a corporation, then the corporation could be making the wrong decision in moving to Corporateville. 

Body Paragraph #3For this body paragraph, I would focus on the survey. This is probably the strongest unstated assumption remaining (the survey is a valid measure). However, you can choose to focus on taxes or urban vs. non-urban. Do not, however, try to jam all the assumptions. Your focus is to show that the essay makes many unproven assumptions and is thus invalid. Pointing out several assumptions is enough. Unless you have time, do not be exhaustive.

 

Conclusion

Like the intro, the conclusion should be short and sweet. Do not add new information; simply give a brief summary of what you’ve already said. Something along the lines of:

The argument makes a number of unstated assumptions that seriously undermine its validity. Unless these assumptions are addressed the argument falls apart, and the corporation could very well make a major mistake shifting operations from Middleburg to Corporateville. 

TakeawayThe above provides a rough template to help you create a compelling essay for the Argument portion of the Revised GRE Analytical Writing Assessment (AWA).