GMAT Essays (AWA)

The following is a recommendation from the Board of Directors of Monarch Books.

"We recommend that Monarch Books open a café in its store. Monarch, having been in business at the same location for more than twenty years, has a large customer base because it is known for its wide selection of books on all subjects. Clearly, opening the café would attract more customers. Space could be made for the café by discontinuing the children's book section, which will probably become less popular given that the most recent national census indicated a significant decline in the percentage of the population under age ten. Opening a café will allow Monarch to attract more customers and better compete with Regal Books, which recently opened its own café."

Write a response in which you discuss what questions would need to be answered in order to decide whether the recommendation is likely to have the predicted result. Be sure to explain how the answers to these questions would help to evaluate the recommendation.



Response:

True, the cafe business is getting limelight and becoming beneficial day by day. But the book store is individually having its own importance and necessity. In the stated argument, author claims that " we recommend that Monarch Books open a cafe in its store." Although the author recommended a cafe for the book store but without thoroughgoing for the analysis of evidentiary support, we will not be able to decide weather the predicted result will be beneficial or not. It could depend on the customers weather they would like to have coffee with books or they wouldn't. Though, according to author, Monarch will attract customers better compete with Regal books, which have recently opened its own cafe. Might be possible that the Regal books have planned for cafe business instead of continuing the book store.One of the statement seen in the argument is that " Monarch, having been in business at the same location for more than twenty years,has a large customer base because it is known for its wide selection of books on all subjects" Also the store is having large number of customers. It means that the book lovers are happy with the environment of the book store. So, needs to analyze more for the good results of recommended cafe.

Primarily, What if customers, following the book store more than twenty years, is not interested in cafe? The reason, many customers like the silent atmosphere while finding the books in the book store or while reading the book in the book store itself. If the Monarch will have cafe too then definitely there will be the presence of college going students, youngsters, friend circles etc., which will definitely cause disturbance for the readers. So, while keeping in mind the recommendation of the author for cafe, it must be needed to have a survey details, specially from the regular customers of the book store, and from potential customers. If the majority is favorable then the predicted results will be beneficial, for sure.

Secondly, It is stated in the argument that "Opening a café will allow Monarch to attract more customers and better compete with Regal Books, which recently opened its own café." What if they have planned for the cafe business rather than continuing the book store ahead? The worthy competition is, when it would held between the equal entities. We are not sure, for the opinion of the regal books' owner while they will be stinging with their present business or will switch ahead. Dependency on their views, takes place an important role for the Monarch cafe, and is highly required. If they have planned to switch their business, then it would probably become the auspicious scenario for the benefits of the recommended idea.

Thirdly, though the author has given many evidentiary support for the recommended idea, but we cannot accept them thoroughly until they doesn't have the veritable proofs. It is stated in the argument that "Monarch, having been in business at the same location for more than twenty years, has a large customer base because it is known for its wide selection of books on all subjects." In the guidance of preceding statement, it can be inferred that the large number of customers following the same book store for more than twenty years, somehow, are agree with the present environment of the store. Otherwise the customers could have moved to some other book store come cafe or to Regal books. But if the Monarch books having that much of customers, then definitely there would be something that is making them consistent for the same book store, either by good collection of all the kinds of books or by the environment, anything could be possible. So, there may be several reasoning for to go with the recommendation of the author, but this content should also observed by the author, which could improve his argument significantly.

In sum, If author solely hope for the good results from the recommendation of the cafe, he would have to restructure the argument. Though author has present several key evidence in the favor for opening cafe with the book store, he would have to do more research and survey for convincing that the predicted result will be truly beneficial. Without having the survey over precedented content, it would be hardly possible to have good results from cafe. And this would have affect the argument premises and its evidentiary support, which is very well presented by the author. In all, to have the predicted results, the author would have to gather more evidences and definitely would have a survey for the most important evidentiary support.