GMAT Essays (AWA)

“Over the past decade, the restaurant industry in the country of Spiessa has experienced unprecedented growth. This surge can be expected
to continue in the coming years, fueled by recent social changes: personal incomes are rising, more leisure time is available, single-person
households are more common, and people have a greater interest in gourmet food, as evidenced by a proliferation of publications on the
subject.”

The author concludes that the growth in restaurant industry in the county of Spiessa will continue because of the recent social changes such as rise of personal income, availability of leisure time, rise in single person households and greater interest in gourmet food. This argument is unconvincing for several reasons.

First of all, the author fails to provide any evidence to show that the reasons stated in the argument will fuel the growth of restaurant industry in Speissa. For example, according to the argument, the rise of single person households is one of the reasons that the restaurant industry will continue to grow. However, there is no evidence to show how single person population impacts the restaurant growth. Rise of single household may result in single people having friends over to dine in and this may have a negative impact on the restaurant business.

Secondly, author states that as evidenced by a proliferation of publication on the subject, people have a greater interest in gourmet food and this would contribute to the growth of the restaurant industry. This is based on a questionable assumption. Proliferation of publications on the subject of gourmet food in no way indicates people’s interest in dining at gourmet restaurants. Moreover, what if there are no gourmet restaurants in Spiessa? Then the increase in the interest in gourmet food could actually mean people prefer cooking gourmet food at home since gourmet food is not available in Speissa.

In conclusion, in order to strengthen the argument that the unprecedented growth of restaurants in Speissa will continue, the author must provide more information on how the reasons cited actually contribute to this growth. Without this, it would be difficult to convince me that the growth of the restaurant industry will continue.