AWA ESSAYS: Analyze Argument
ESSAY QUESTION:
The following appeared in a market research report examining consumer perceptions of a chain of clothing stores:
"A recent survey commissioned by the market research department of XY Gen Stores indicated a high level of recognition among consumers of the brand and the nature of the apparel sold in XY Gen Stores. However, the survey also indicated that approximately 60% of those surveyed that recognized the name of XY Gen Stores had never shopped at one of the company's stores. Because of this result, XY Gen Stores executives should launch a significant rebranding and marketing campaign to change the company's image and thereby bring new consumers into the stores.
Discuss how well reasoned you find this argument. Point out flaws in the argument's logic and analyze the argument's underlying assumptions. In addition, evaluate how supporting evidence is used and what evidence might counter the argument's conclusion. You may also discuss what additional evidence could be used to strengthen the argument or what changes would make the argument more logically sound.
Based on a survey conducted by the market research department of XY Gen Stores, the author concluded that XY Gen Stores should launch a new rebranding and marketing campaign to attract new consumers into the company's stores. While the author has some merit to his argument, the author's conclusion is not justified with substantive evidence. In other words, the author does not provide valid reasoning to demonstrate that the consumers surveyed represented an accurate representation of the targeted demographics of XY Gen Stores' products. Furthermore, no evidence was provided that the campaign will be able to bring in new consumers to the stores.
The author's argument was based entirely on the results of the survey conducted by the market research department of XY Gen Stores. However, it was not stated explicitly who were being surveyed. If the sample population that was surveyed included a majority of demographics outside of the targeted demographics, the results of the survey would be certainly skewed. For example, if the targeted consumers for XY Gen Stores were teenagers, having a majority of survey respondents who are adults would likely result in a survey that would show a majority of survey respondents who could be aware of the brand but had never shopped at the company's stores. As a result, this inaccurate information would provide an invalid premise to the author's conclusion.
The author's assumption that a launch of a rebranding and marketing campaign would be able to attract new consumers to the store lacks valid reasoning as well. The author does not provide any evidence or research to show that this cause and effect relationship can occur. In addition, if the campaign were successful in attracting new consumers to the stores, no information is provided on how current consumers of the stores would react to the campaign. If the campaign were to result in an addition of new consumers and a decline in present consumers, then the marketing campaign would have been a disaster to the company's revenues.
While the author has some merit to his argument, the author's reasoning presents flaws that weaken the conclusion. The argument can be further strengthen if the author provided evidence to support the premises in his argument such as presenting evidence that shows that the sampling data is representative of the targeted demographics and evidence that supports the cause and effect relationship shown in the author's conclusion.
ESSAY QUESTION:
The following appeared in a market research report examining consumer perceptions of a chain of clothing stores:
"A recent survey commissioned by the market research department of XY Gen Stores indicated a high level of recognition among consumers of the brand and the nature of the apparel sold in XY Gen Stores. However, the survey also indicated that approximately 60% of those surveyed that recognized the name of XY Gen Stores had never shopped at one of the company's stores. Because of this result, XY Gen Stores executives should launch a significant rebranding and marketing campaign to change the company's image and thereby bring new consumers into the stores.
Discuss how well reasoned you find this argument. Point out flaws in the argument's logic and analyze the argument's underlying assumptions. In addition, evaluate how supporting evidence is used and what evidence might counter the argument's conclusion. You may also discuss what additional evidence could be used to strengthen the argument or what changes would make the argument more logically sound.
Based on a survey conducted by the market research department of XY Gen Stores, the author concluded that XY Gen Stores should launch a new rebranding and marketing campaign to attract new consumers into the company's stores. While the author has some merit to his argument, the author's conclusion is not justified with substantive evidence. In other words, the author does not provide valid reasoning to demonstrate that the consumers surveyed represented an accurate representation of the targeted demographics of XY Gen Stores' products. Furthermore, no evidence was provided that the campaign will be able to bring in new consumers to the stores.
The author's argument was based entirely on the results of the survey conducted by the market research department of XY Gen Stores. However, it was not stated explicitly who were being surveyed. If the sample population that was surveyed included a majority of demographics outside of the targeted demographics, the results of the survey would be certainly skewed. For example, if the targeted consumers for XY Gen Stores were teenagers, having a majority of survey respondents who are adults would likely result in a survey that would show a majority of survey respondents who could be aware of the brand but had never shopped at the company's stores. As a result, this inaccurate information would provide an invalid premise to the author's conclusion.
The author's assumption that a launch of a rebranding and marketing campaign would be able to attract new consumers to the store lacks valid reasoning as well. The author does not provide any evidence or research to show that this cause and effect relationship can occur. In addition, if the campaign were successful in attracting new consumers to the stores, no information is provided on how current consumers of the stores would react to the campaign. If the campaign were to result in an addition of new consumers and a decline in present consumers, then the marketing campaign would have been a disaster to the company's revenues.
While the author has some merit to his argument, the author's reasoning presents flaws that weaken the conclusion. The argument can be further strengthen if the author provided evidence to support the premises in his argument such as presenting evidence that shows that the sampling data is representative of the targeted demographics and evidence that supports the cause and effect relationship shown in the author's conclusion.
