GRE analytical writing solutions to the real essay topics book 3 2nd ed

GRE Analytical Writing: Solutions to the Real Essay Topics - Book Test Prep Series www.vibrantpublishers.com ***** GRE Analytical Writing: Solutions to the Real Essay Topics - Book Published by Vibrant Publishers at Smashwords Copyright 2021 Vibrant Publishers, USA Smashwords Edition, License Notes This ebook is licensed for your personal use only This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to the subject matter covered The author has made every effort in the preparation of this book to ensure the accuracy of the information However, information in this book is sold without warranty either expressed or implied The Author or the Publisher will not be liable for any damages caused or alleged to be caused either directly or indirectly by this book Vibrant Publishers books are available at special quantity discount for sales promotions, or for use in corporate training programs For more information please write to bulkorders@vibrantpublishers.com Please email feedback / corrections (technical, grammatical or spelling) to spellerrors@vibrantpublishers.com To access the complete catalogue of Vibrant Publishers, visit www.vibrantpublishers.com ***** Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (5 Star Ratings) (GRE Analytical Writing: Solutions to the Real Essay Topics Book 1) This new edition of GRE Analytical Writing by Vibrant Publishers has 60 solved AWA essays Most of the solutions are bang on! All these topics are from the official GRE essay list, so the probability of one of these essays coming in your actual GRE is very high Infact in my GRE, I was asked one of the Issue topics that was already solved in this book Having already read the solution had two advantages, 1) I had good idea of how to go about writing the essay and 2) I felt lot more confident and all my exam stress went away I will give this book stars! Great book to help prepare for the GRE essays!! Very helpful strategies and the essays are also detailed I have read through only few topics yet but will definitely read through all of them If I get the time to read all the 60 Issues and Arguments, there’ll be no looking back I am glad I made this purchase Good book Each topic is followed by multiple pointers to help you construct the essay A sample essay is also provided for reference But what I liked the most about the book is they covered over sixty writing topics Great for practice The book starts with an introduction to the analytical writing section, then explains Analyze an Issue task and Analyze an Argument task including scoring patterns for both It gives strategies for writing Issue and Argument tasks It then takes 30 Issue topics and guides us to write an essay on each of those topics - strategies include how to interpret the topic, different positions that can be taken for the topic in question, ways to support the position you take, examples and more At the end, a sample essay is also given which can be used as a benchmark After the Issue topics, 30 Argument topics are covered Again, each topic is followed by strategies and a sample essay The author has addressed many possible positions of an Issue, assumptions in an argument, evidences required and questions to be answered making the writing task look easy as pie Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (5 Star Ratings) (GRE Analytical Writing: Solutions to the Real Essay Topics Book 2) This is an excellent book for GRE Analytical Writing exams I found this book to be very comprehensive about all aspects of Analytical Writing In terms of example essays: there are some very good and well written essays, but at the same time I felt there were some first-person essays that I could have improved upon Overall, it gives you good idea about different types of writing styles and essays that are needed for passing the GRE Analytical Writing This book was a great buy, a must-read for all GRE test takers The content in the book was useful, thought provoking, and I have several ideas to work with now In addition, the content is presented well too I found very few books that focus on the GRE writing section; and of those, I prefer this book I bought this for myself and i had no problem with the Quant section of the GRE and verbal prep was not bad either I didn’t know anything about the Analytical writing section as I had kept the prep for this section towards the end Glad I made this purchase, now I feel much more confident than I was a week ago One more week for my real test, hope to see a atleast in the GRE The author has done a fantastic job The elaborate explanation of each topic helped me immensely, I could gather my thoughts, streamline them and put them into appropriate words Highly recommended Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (5 Star Ratings) (GRE Analytical Writing: Solutions to the Real Essay Topics Book 3) This small in size by large in content book is a part of the Test Prep Series published as guides to those who are preparing for Graduate Record Exams No book is going to guarantee a students passing these ominous examinations, but the writers of this series allow some of the most positive preparation techniques currently available This particular book provides analytical writing insights for the REVISED GRE general test The book is itself a test, but a test taken in the quiet of the student’s space, acclimating the student for the concepts presented in the GRE As the book states in its introduction, ‘The Analytical Writing Measure is intended to assess your ability to think critically and write effectively about a topic while following specific directions.’ Two tasks are presented: 1) Analyze an Issue and 2) Analyze an Argument The book then supplies tow portions and allows the reader/student thirty minutes to complete each It then provides a scoring guide of issue and Argument that are relevant to the revised GRE regulations and guidelines The book finishes with 10 solve essay topics with input on how to approach each topic, and finally 10 practice exercises to polish off the lessons learned Though the information here listed will probably only be understood by those preparing for taking the GRE - this is hardly an entertaining book for the non-student to read! But the careful and smoothly worded manner in which this book is written will make the material easily understood by those in preparation phases for the GRE AND the important aspect of this manual is that it takes into account all of the changes on the GRE since August 1, 2011! It would seem almost negligent not to pay attention to this new and very helpful guide ***** ***** Table of Contents Analyze an Issue Task Scoring Guide General Strategies Solved Issue Tasks with Strategies Issue Task – Funding of arts Issue Task – Competition for high grades Issue Task – Preserve wilderness area Issue Task – Those in power to step down after years Issue Task – Progress requires discussion Issue Task – Researchers to not limit investigations Issue Task – Well-being of society Analyze an Argument Task Scoring Guide General Strategies Solved Argument Tasks with Strategies Argument Task – Jazz music Argument Task – Woven baskets Argument Task – Reading habits of Waymarsh citizens Argument Task – Newsbeat magazine Argument Task – Study on headaches (evidence) Argument Task – Consuming salicylates (prediction) Implicit assumptions a) The increase in the commercial use of salicylates will be substantial b) People of Mentia consume enough products containing flavor additives c) There will be no change in the external factors responsible for causing headaches d) Large quantities of salicylates have no adverse effects iv) Explicit Assumption: Salicylates can cure headaches since they belong to the same chemical family as aspirin Implicit assumptions a) Members of a chemical family share all properties b) Members of the same chemical family have similar effectiveness After having established your assumptions, you can find the questions that are needed to evaluate the argument by rephrasing each implicit assumption Questions: a) Does the study sample population meet the minimum viability criteria for research of this nature? b) How similar are the demographics of the study participants to those of Mentia? c) Did the study participants consume any other drugs that could have been responsible for the drop-in headaches? d) Are there any other external factors that could have caused the decline in reported headaches? e) How constant was the people’s willingness to report headaches throughout the 20-year study? f) How significant was the decrease in headaches? g) How big is the expected increase in the commercial use of salicylates? h) How many products containing flavor additives does the average citizen of Mentia consume? i) What is the likely hood that the external factors responsible for causing headaches will remain constant? j) Are there any adverse effects to consuming salicylates in large quantities? k) Do members of a chemical family share all properties? l) Do members of a chemical family have similar effectiveness rates? Sample Essay Salicylates, which are similar to aspirin, will be increasingly used in commercial food productions in the coming years Studies have shown a correlation between this increase and the reduced number of headache reports Based on a twenty-year study on headaches, some health experts predict that the population of Mentia will suffer from fewer headaches in the future due to the novel discovery that salicylates can be used in food as a flavor additive As with any prediction, it is important to assess the validity of the claims being made by a thorough investigation of the premises that form its basis The health experts base their assessment of the efficiency of salicylates in treating headaches on its similarities with aspirin, a well know headache remedy This assumption begets the question if the aspirin’s properties are transferable to salicylates just on the basis that they belong to the same chemical family Should that prove to be true, then the health experts’ main assumption that increased salicylate consumption can lead to fewer headaches is greatly strengthened, provided that the quantities of salicylates to be added as flavor additives will be sufficient to be effective However, if the opposite were true, this would significantly weaken the premise that aspirin’s properties are transferable to salicylates because members of the same chemical family share all properties The answers would not invalidate the prediction that salicylates can cure headaches if the researchers have evidence of the direct effectiveness of the compound, regardless of its relation to aspirin In this vein, the health experts draw on additional evidence to support their prediction, specifically, a twenty-year study that correlates the increase of salicylates in commercial food usage with a decrease of reported headaches To evaluate the validity of this assumption, it becomes necessary to ask if there are any other external factors that could have caused the decline in reported headaches Some studies found that daily stress is the major contributor to headaches Changes in the stress level of the area where the study was conducted can have a significant impact on the number of reported headaches Other influencing factors can be tied to changes in the natural environment - like the reduction in air pollution due to the implementation of more ecologically friendly policies According to researchers, weather and air pollution are significant triggers of severe headaches If there are any other external changes, like the ones mentioned above, that can be responsible for the decrease in the number of headaches then the conclusions of the study would be severely weakened The same would happen to the claim of the health experts with regard to the reduction of headaches in Mentia, since their whole case rests on the validity of the twenty-year study However, should the health experts show that there were no other factors that could have contributed to the reduction in headaches, it would strengthen their claim that increased salicylate consumption in Mentia will result in fewer headaches, provided that the study participants did not take any painkillers or other drugs that can reduce headaches This is a particularly poignant issue for our current times since there has been a significant rise in self-medication over the years coupled with an equal rise of prescription drug usage This trail of thought leads us straight to the next line of inquiry tied to the health expert’s assumption that the increase of salicylate use in commercial foods is responsible for the decrease in headaches reported What the authors of the argument should ask themselves is whether the study participants consumed any other drugs that could have been responsible for the decrease in headaches If, according to the increased medicine consumption trend, the participants in the study took any drugs that could have headache curing properties like Ibuprofen, Aspirin and Valium (to name just a few), then the results of the study would be completely invalidated since the researchers would not be able to say with any degree of certainty that the salicylates, and not the other drugs, were responsible for the reduction of headaches This fact would significantly weaken the health experts' argument that an increase in salicylate consumption would result in fewer headaches in Mentia However, should the opposite be true, the authors of the argument can further strengthen their main claim If salicylates are shown to be the only headache reducing drug taken by the people in the study, then it becomes more likely that salicylates have headache curing properties The validity of the twenty-year study, on which the health experts base their prediction, is also dependent on the assumption that the headache reports present in the study are accurate This creates an interesting avenue of debate The health experts should wonder just how constant was the people’s willingness to report headaches throughout the twenty-year study Twenty years is a very long time for people to keep records If people are consistently willing to report their headaches, then the scientists would have a more accurate representation of the changes in the levels of aches experienced by the study subjects, provided that the methodology for the data collection is sound This would strengthen the claim that salicylates can be used to cure headaches if the researchers also show that there were no other factors that could have been responsible for the results However, as stated before, twenty years is a long time – if people are a lot less willing to report headaches for year after year, then it becomes very likely that the reduction in headache reports is not due to any curative properties of salicylates This idea would throw into question the whole premise that salicylates can be used to cure headaches, in which case, an increased consumption of salicylates would have little to no effect on the headache rates in Mentia When arguing that increased salicylate consumption will reduce the number of headaches in Mentia, the health experts assume that the study results are also applicable to Mentia Before making any predictions on the outcome of the increased usage of salicylates in Mentia, the authors of the statement should inquire how similar are the demographics of the study participants to those of Mentia? If the two demographics are similar, that would slightly strengthen the argument that increased salicylate usage in Mentia will reduce headaches, if people will consume the products that contain the additives based on salicylates However, if the demographics are different, then the health experts would need to determine to what extent the study findings are applicable Should the selection criteria for the participants be biased towards people that are less likely to suffer from headaches then the results would not be applicable to the whole population of Mentia For instance, if the study was conducted with young people while Mentia’s population consists mainly of elderly people (retiree towns like Florida), then it’s highly likely that the results of salicylate consumption would be different The elderly take a lot of other drugs that could interfere and are generally more prone to headaches Should the demographics of the study not match those of the town, then the health experts would need to more research before advocating for the use of salicylates However, this idea would not significantly weaken the prediction that there would be fewer headaches in Mentia, unless there is also a significant dip in effectiveness for the specific demographic categories of Mentia when compared to those of the study The health expert’s prediction that the people of Mentia will suffer from fewer headaches rests on the idea that an increase in the commercial use of salicylates can cure headaches The problem with the statement above is that it’s rather ambiguous in terms of quantities to be used by the companies including salicylates in their food additives and shopping statistics for Mentia (percentage of products containing flavor additives that are bought by the people) Two main questions would arise from this issue, namely: how big is the expected increase in the commercial use of salicylates and how many products containing flavor additives does the average citizen of Mentia consume These questions are relevant for determining whether the increase of salicylate usage for commercial purposes is also followed by a significant increase in the consumption of salicylates, enough to be considered effective Should the companies add just traces of salicylates in their additives, not enough to be considered effective, it would significantly weaken the suggestion that an increase in salicylates usage for commercial purposes will reduce the number of headaches in Mentia It would not, however, completely invalidate the conclusion, should the people of Mentia prove to be big consumers of products containing flavor additives In that case, even if an individual food portion containing salicylates might not be effective, the mass consumption of such foods will ensure that enough of the substance will be present in the people’s bodies, for it to be effective All in all, before making predictions about the health of Mentia, the health experts should take into consideration other factors that might influence the accuracy of their estimates While they are not outright suggesting that people should consume more salicylates, their position of authority in the health field lends weight to their words and people that read the short snippet might be swayed by their argument Given the potential impact, the health experts should take all adverse effects into account and consider studies that can corroborate or disprove the findings of the twenty-year study ***** Argument Task Topic The following memorandum is from the business manager of Happy Pancake House restaurants "Recently, butter has been replaced by margarine in Happy Pancake House restaurants throughout the southwestern United States This change, however, has had little impact on our customers In fact, only about percent of customers have complained, indicating that an average of 98 people out of 100 are happy with the change Furthermore, many servers have reported that a number of customers who ask for butter not complain when they are given margarine instead Clearly, either these customers not distinguish butter from margarine or they use the term 'butter' to refer to either butter or margarine." Write a response in which you discuss one or more alternative explanations that could rival the proposed explanation and explain how your explanation(s) can plausibly account for the facts presented in the argument Strategies Regardless of the approach you take, consider the following steps: a) Is there an alternative explanation for the events in question that can invalidate, either in whole or in part, the explanation given in the passage? b) How can I break the argument into its component parts to understand how they create the whole argument? c) Can I identify the line of reasoning used to create the argument? d) What does the author of the argument assume to be true for the argument to be true? e) Does the line of reasoning validate the conclusion? f) Can I imagine an example that refutes any or several of the statements in the argument? g) Am I able to evaluate the argument based on the quality of the facts and reasons presented in it? Based on your responses to all or some of these questions, you must present a well-developed evaluation of the argument You should take brief notes when you identify the arguments claims, assumptions, and conclusion Jot down as many alternative explanations as you can along with additional evidence that might support or refute the claims in the argument Finally, list the changes in the argument that would make the reasoning more solid It is more important to be specific than it is to have a long list of evidence and examples In developing your response, you are asked to develop alternative explanations that could rival the explanation in the argument and explain how your explanation can account for the facts presented in the original explanation What conclusions and assumptions are either explicit or implied in the original explanation? Assumptions: a) The writer assumes that all customers who not complain are completely satisfied b) The writer assumes that customers who not complain when given margarine when they ask for butter cannot distinguish the difference c) The writer assumes servers are accurately tracking customer reactions to the butter/margarine switch d) The writer assumes customers use the terms butter and margarine interchangeably Evidence needed to evaluate the argument: a) Evidence on customer satisfaction surveys to indicate how customers were surveyed on their butter/margarine preferences b) Information on the number of servers who have interacted with customers requesting butter and given those customers margarine c) Information on general preferences for butter and margarine d) Information on sales trends for Happy Pancake restaurants during this transitional period After completing these steps, you should have enough material to write your analysis Remember that you are not creating a position of your own; you are evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of the existing argument You not have to include all of the points that you have created in your prewriting In fact, during the process of drafting your analysis, other ideas may come to mind, and, if they strengthen your analysis, you should include them Sample Essay The business manager of Happy Pancake Restaurants reports that butter has been replaced with margarine at restaurants throughout the southwest Customers have not been informed of the change, and, in fact, when customers of Happy Pancake request butter, they are given margarine instead Based on what he concludes is a dearth of negative customer feedback, the business manager has determined that Happy Pancake customers either cannot distinguish butter from margarine, or that they use the two terms interchangeably However, the manager’s conclusion may not be the only explanation for the observations noted First, the manager notes that only 2% of customers complained, and concludes, based on this figure, that 98% of customers are happy That is not necessarily the case It may be that 98% of customers are less than satisfied, but not dissatisfied to the degree that they feel it necessary to lodge a complaint If a customer has enjoyed his breakfast, found his pancakes fluffy, his coffee strong, and his fruit fresh, and the only disappointment was a pat of processed margarine where he expected sweet, creamy butter, he might not be motivated to fill out a complaint card or summon a restaurant manager to engage in a lengthy diatribe He might, however, tell a friend or neighbor, the next time they are discussing where to have breakfast that Happy Pancake seems to be “going downhill” and doesn’t even serve “real butter” anymore The business manager will remain under the impression that this, and 98% of his customers are happy, but they are, in fact, growing slowly disillusioned with their once-favored breakfast spot Second, the manager points out that “a number of customers” who ask for butter not complain when they receive margarine instead That suggests that “a number of customers,” in fact, complain, when they receive margarine What is the difference between these two numbers? Are servers tracking these complaints and reporting them to the business manager, or is he basing this on anecdotal observations? Without more concrete information on the number of people who reject margarine when they’ve requested butter, the business manager cannot use this information to support his claim Based on the vague notion of “a number of customers” who not react negatively to being duped when requesting butter and receiving margarine, the business manager has drawn two possible conclusions The first is that people cannot tell the difference between the two substances That may well be the case Or, it may be the case that people simply cannot be bothered to recall a server, who may also appear very busy in a breakfast rush at a busy restaurant, to correct her error Customers may assume the server has made an error in bringing them margarine In some cases, that error may result in customers tipping their servers less The business manager’s second conclusion is that customers use the terms butter and margarine interchangeably to refer to either butter or margarine This is perhaps the most far-fetched of his assumptions He provides no evidence to suggest that Happy Pancake customers, in particular, are unable to distinguish between these two spreads, and since the colors and textures of the two foods are typically dissimilar, it seems unlikely that would be the case While the business manager may be trying to make a case to support discontinuing serving butter in Happy Pancake restaurants without impacting customers, he has not successfully shown that would be the case What is more likely is that busy people are less likely to complain about a small part of their meal, such as butter or margarine, and that complaints made to servers are not being tracked accurately The business manager would be better served to study this issue more closely before taking further action ***** Argument Task Topic When Stanley Park first opened, it was the largest, most heavily used public park in town It is still the largest park, but it is no longer heavily used Video cameras mounted in the park's parking lots last month revealed the park's drop in popularity: the recordings showed an average of only 50 cars per day In contrast, tiny Carlton Park in the heart of the business district is visited by more than 150 people on a typical weekday An obvious difference is that Carlton Park, unlike Stanley Park, provides ample seating Thus, if Stanley Park is ever to be as popular with our citizens as Carlton Park, the town will obviously need to provide more benches, thereby converting some of the unused open areas into spaces suitable for socializing 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 these assumptions and what the implications are for the argument if the assumptions prove unwarranted Strategies Regardless of the approach you take, consider the following steps: a) Is there an alternative explanation for the events in question that can invalidate, either in whole or in part, the explanation given in the passage? b) How can I break the argument into its component parts to understand how they create the whole argument? c) Can I identify the line of reasoning used to create the argument? d) What does the author of the argument assume to be true for the argument to be true? e) Does the line of reasoning validate the conclusion? f) Can I imagine an example that refutes any or several of the statements in the argument? g) Am I able to evaluate the argument based on the quality of the facts and reasons presented in it? Based on your responses to all or some of these questions, you must present a well-developed evaluation of the argument You should take brief notes when you identify the arguments claims, assumptions, and conclusion Jot down as many alternative explanations as you can along with additional evidence that might support or refute the claims in the argument Finally, list the changes in the argument that would make the reasoning more solid It is more important to be specific than it is to have a long list of evidence and examples In developing your response, you are instructed to examine the stated and/or unstated assumptions of the argument, explain how the argument depends on these assumptions, and what the implications are for the argument if the assumptions prove unwarranted Assumptions: a) All users of Stanley Park arrive by car b) Each car parked at Stanley Park represents a single user of the park c) Stanley Park will draw the same population as Carlton Park d) Park users are attracted primarily by the number of benches available for seating e) The best measurement of Stanley Park’s usage is measured by weekday usage Evidence needed to evaluate the argument: a) Location of Stanley Park relative to the business district b) The number of cars parked in the lot for Carlton Park (or, does Carlton Park have a lot at all) c) The number of people who typically arrive in each car at Stanley Park d) Information that shows the current 50 cars per day in the lot represents a decline from a time in the past when there were more cars e) Information about weekend usage at Stanley Park f) Information from users of Stanley Park on the interest in additional seating g) Information on how open spaces at Stanley Park are currently used After completing these steps, you should have enough material to write your analysis Remember that you are not creating a position of your own; you are evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of the existing argument You not have to include all of the points that you have created in your prewriting In fact, during the process of drafting your analysis, other ideas may come to mind, and, if they strengthen your analysis, you should include them Sample Essay Based on the number of cars observed parked in the parking lot of Stanley Park on weekdays, the writer makes the argument that usage of Stanley Park has declined, and that installing more seating in the open spaces of the park will lead to an increase in the number of users Both the claim, that the number of users has declined, and the solution, that additional seating will increase usage, are flawed, and are based on unsupported assumptions Initially, the writer assumes, first, that all users of the park arrive by car, and that every car parked in the parking lot represents a single user of the park If each car represents a group of users, for example, a family with six children, the estimated number based solely on the number of cars is significantly lower than the actual number of people in the park If people travel to the park by means other than cars, for example, by walking or bicycling, there is additional attendance that is not accounted for by simply counting cars in the parking lots Furthermore, the writer is counting only the cars in the Stanley Park lot on weekdays in order to make a comparison to the usage of Carlton Perhaps Carlton Park is a small park located near the business district and is frequented by workers on weekdays, while Stanley Park is a suburban park that sees most of its usership on weekends It could be that Stanley Park’s parking lots overflow on weekends with families attending little league games, picnicking, or hiking through the park, while Carlton Park is completely empty on Saturday and Sunday Without information on both weekday and weekend parking lot usage for parking lots for both parks, there is no way to make an accurate comparison In suggesting additional seating will increase users in the Stanley Park the writer assumes that park visitors use the two parks for the same reasons It may be that Carlton Park offers ample seating convenient to offices and businesses in the center of the city, and is popular with workers taking lunch breaks, who look for seating Stanley Park, however, might be more popular with groups who want to play organized sports such as baseball or soccer, and therefore prefer large open spaces In that case, putting seating in the open spaces would likely decrease the number of people who use the park as there would be less space for playing these types of games Finally, even if all of the writer’s observations are accurate, he has not shown that there is a decline in attendance at Stanley Park, only that the attendance at Stanley Park is less than that at Carlton Park In order to show a decline at Stanley Park the writer would need to include information about past observations of the Stanley Park parking lots, indicating the average number of cars observed in the past to compare to the average number of cars currently observed Before going forward with any plan to alter the seating or availability of open spaces in Stanley Park the writer should request additional information For example, he should learn more about usage of Stanley Park throughout the week, how the open spaces are utilized, and find out how users of the park reach the park There is currently not enough information to make an informed decision ####