ARGUMENT ANALYSIS

The Argument-Analysis Writing Task

The Argument-Analysis writing task is designed to test your critical-reasoning skills as well as your writing skills. Your task is to critique the stated argument in terms of its cogency (logical soundness) and in terms of the strength of the evidence offered in support of the argument.

Your Argument-Analysis question will consist of two elements:
the directive: a brief instruction for responding to the argument (the directive is always the same)
the argument: a paragraph-length passage, which presents an argument (introduced as a quotation from some fictitious source)

Here's a simulated Argument-Analysis question. This question is similar to the ones on the actual GRE. Keep in mind, however, that it is not one of the official questions, so you won't see this one on the actual exam. (I'm not permitted to reproduce the actual test questions at this Website.)

Simulated Argument-Analysis
Discuss how well reasoned you find the argument below.
The following appeared in a memo from the manager of UpperCuts hair salon:

"According to a nationwide demographic study, more and more people today are moving from suburbs to downtown areas. In order to boost sagging profits at UpperCuts, we should take advantage of this trend by relocating the salon from its current location in Apton's suburban mall to downtown Apton, while retaining the salon's decidedly upscale ambiance. Besides, Hair-Dooz, our chief competitor at the mall, has just relocated downtown and is thriving at its new location, and the most prosperous hair salon in nearby Brainard is located in that city's downtown area. By emulating the locations of these two successful salons, UpperCuts is certain to attract more customers."


Now here's a sample response to this question.

As you read the response, keep in mind:

• Each one of the "body" paragraphs isolates and discusses a distinct flaw in the argument. A typical GRE argument will contain 3-4 flaws. (This simulated Argument contains 4 major flaws).
• This response is relatively simple in style and language and brief enough (410 words) to compose and type in 30 minutes.
• This response meets all the ETS criteria for a score of 6 (the highest possible score).

Sample Response (410 Words)

The manager of UpperCuts (UC) argues here that UC would improve its profitability by relocating from a suburban mall to downtown Apton. To support this argument, the manager relies in part on a certain study about demographic trends, and in part on the fact that two other similar businesses are located in downtown areas. However, the manager's reasoning rests on a series of unproven assumptions, which together undermine the argument.

One such assumption is that Apton reflects the cited demographic trend. The mere fact that one hair salon has moved downtown hardly suffices to show that the national trend applies to Apton specifically. For all we know, in Apton there is no such trend, or perhaps the trend is in the opposite direction. Thus I would need to know whether more people are in fact moving to downtown Apton before I could either accept or reject the manager's proposal.

Even assuming that downtown Apton is attracting more residents, relocating downtown might not result in more customers for UC, especially if downtown residents are not interested in UC's upscale style and prices. Besides, Hair-Dooz might draw potential customers away from UC, just as it might have at the mall. Before I can accept that UC would attract more customers downtown, the manager would need to supply clear proof of a sufficient demand downtown for UC's service.

Even if there would be a high demand for UC's service in downtown Apton, an increase in the number of patrons would not necessarily improve UC's profitability. UC's expenses might be higher downtown, in which case it might be no more, or perhaps even less, profitable downtown than at the mall. Therefore, before I could agree with the proposal, I would need to examine a comparative cost-benefit analysis for the two locations.

As for the Brainard salon, its success might be due to particular factors that don't apply to UC. For example, perhaps the Brainard salon thrives only because it is long-established in downtown Brainard. Accordingly, in order to determine whether the success of the Brainard salon portends success for UC in downtown Apton, I would need to know why the former salon is successful in the first place.

In sum, the argument relies on what might amount to two poor analogies -- between UC and two other salons -- as well as a sweeping generalization about demographic trends, which may or may not apply to Apton. As a result, without the additional information indicated above, I find the argument unconvincing at best.