AWA ESSAYS: Analyze Argument
ESSAY QUESTION:
The following appeared in the personal finance section of a popular magazine:
"The average price of an acre of land in the United States is now 50 times what it was in 1970, and nearly 200 times what it was in 1920. The nation's population is projected to keep increasing, even as the amount of land remains constant. Therefore, people who are approaching retirement should invest heavily in real estate in order to ensure their financial security."
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.
YOUR RESPONSE:
In today's dynamic financial environment there are many ways to reach the same financial goal. There will be people who will tell you to invest heavily in real estate and others who might tell you to stay away from it, instead. The authors argument favors the side of owning it based on data from 1920 and 1970. We have to look at this generalization more subjectively. While the argument may have merit but there are issues with the argument that need to be resolved. The author's argument is based on unsubstantiated premises and assumptions. Such a generalization needs more substantiation.
The author, primarily, assumes that the prices will continue to increase. While this may be a possibility, it is not a certainty. There can be other possibilities like over supply of real estate units followed by a price drop. Many financial advisors also are of the view that owning real estate can be very expensive, sometimes even more expensive cumulatively than the actual price of the unit. Not everyone is well equipped to understand how the real estate market works. In cases like these it may be more intelligent to not invest in real estate at all, until requisite knowledge is obtained.
The secondary issue with the argument is that the premise used to generalize real estate investment is not enough. We need to recognize that there are more factors in the current economic environment to be considered before investing in real estate. Real estate investment may not suit everyone. There can be other investment tools such as mutual funds, retirement schemes, fixed deposits, etc. that suit certain individuals more that a real estate investment due to their income patterns.
Additionally, not everyone is willing to put all their investment capital in one tool. This might be too risky for some people. After all it is a well accepted norm that diversifying investments is the best way to invest.
In sum, author has generalized a complex matter based on unsubstantiated assumptions and unproven premises. The argument could have been strengthened by substantiating the premise and explicitly stating the assumptions made therein. The author could even made the applicability of the argument to a narrower population by stating that if such is the case then investing in real estate can prove to be profitable.
ESSAY QUESTION:
The following appeared in the personal finance section of a popular magazine:
"The average price of an acre of land in the United States is now 50 times what it was in 1970, and nearly 200 times what it was in 1920. The nation's population is projected to keep increasing, even as the amount of land remains constant. Therefore, people who are approaching retirement should invest heavily in real estate in order to ensure their financial security."
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.
YOUR RESPONSE:
In today's dynamic financial environment there are many ways to reach the same financial goal. There will be people who will tell you to invest heavily in real estate and others who might tell you to stay away from it, instead. The authors argument favors the side of owning it based on data from 1920 and 1970. We have to look at this generalization more subjectively. While the argument may have merit but there are issues with the argument that need to be resolved. The author's argument is based on unsubstantiated premises and assumptions. Such a generalization needs more substantiation.
The author, primarily, assumes that the prices will continue to increase. While this may be a possibility, it is not a certainty. There can be other possibilities like over supply of real estate units followed by a price drop. Many financial advisors also are of the view that owning real estate can be very expensive, sometimes even more expensive cumulatively than the actual price of the unit. Not everyone is well equipped to understand how the real estate market works. In cases like these it may be more intelligent to not invest in real estate at all, until requisite knowledge is obtained.
The secondary issue with the argument is that the premise used to generalize real estate investment is not enough. We need to recognize that there are more factors in the current economic environment to be considered before investing in real estate. Real estate investment may not suit everyone. There can be other investment tools such as mutual funds, retirement schemes, fixed deposits, etc. that suit certain individuals more that a real estate investment due to their income patterns.
Additionally, not everyone is willing to put all their investment capital in one tool. This might be too risky for some people. After all it is a well accepted norm that diversifying investments is the best way to invest.
In sum, author has generalized a complex matter based on unsubstantiated assumptions and unproven premises. The argument could have been strengthened by substantiating the premise and explicitly stating the assumptions made therein. The author could even made the applicability of the argument to a narrower population by stating that if such is the case then investing in real estate can prove to be profitable.
