GMAT Essays (AWA)

The Topic :

Over time, the costs of processing go down because as organizations learn how to do things better, they become more efficient. In color film processing, for example, the cost of a 3-by-5-inch print fell from 50 cents for five-day service in 1970 to 20 cents for one-day service in 1984. The same principle applies to the processing of food. And since Olympic Foods will soon celebrate its 25th birthday, we can expect that our
long experience will enable us to minimize costs and thus maximize profits."
Discuss how well reasoned you find this argument. In your discussion be sure to analyze the line of reasoning and the use of evidence in the argument. For example, you may need to consider what questionable assumptions underlie the thinking and what alternative explanations or counterexamples might weaken the conclusion. You can also discuss what sort of evidence would strengthen or refute the argument, what changes in the argument would make it more logically sound, and what, if anything, would help you better evaluate its conclusion.

Thanks in Advance

Hi Katherine,
Thank you for your help. Here is my AWA.

The conclusion of the argument is not an accurate one as it rests on an unwarranted assumption that the trends in the film processing industry will replicate themselves in the food processing industry. It also assumes that the only way to bring down costs is by increase in efficiency.

The argument cites a piece of evidence which compares the cost of a 3 by 5 inch print for two different years (1970 and 1984) and is an invalid one as it is being done for different time units(1 days vs 5 days). If we assume that the data given for 5 days can give us the per day cost , the cost has gone up from 10 cents/ day to 20 cents/day , which again renders the conclusion invalid.

The author assumes that the food industry will work like film processing industry . This may or may not be true. Food processing industry could go through various technological advancements vastly different from the film processing one. It could be possible that cost could go up in one and could come down in the other. For example in food processing industry machinery would do work faster but would be expensive and hence would drive costs upwards.

The conclusion is also based upon the assumption that efficiency solely determines the costs. This is a loose argument as their could be a number of factors like technology ,skill development , economic outlook of the whole industry , global economy etc which could determines costs. For example in period of recession the cost of raw materials could go up due to low production and unavailability which indeed would drive up finished goods cost.

Lastly the author also assumes that the trend from 1974 to 1980 would continue today. It is something that we cannot be sure of. The present day could be very different from 1974 to 1980 , the economy at that point could be booming and it could be recession today , forcing people to cut spending and bringing down demand for processed food.

The argument can be improved by providing some evidence about how film processing industry and food processing industry have been following similar trends and what factors are responsible for the similarity. It can also explain why other factors are not important In determining costs and if efficiency is the most important and why. Inclusion of information of evidence based on why the two scenarios would be similar ( 1974 to 1980 and 25 years before to now ) would also help in bringing out a strong argument.

Because the argument fails to address several key issues , it does not sound persuasive enough. If it could include items listed above it would make a better case for itself and sound more convincing.

Hi Katharine ,
I will watch all the video lessons. Thanks for the link. Can you come up with a number for my AWA ?
My next AWA would be a better one for sure.