McGraw-Hill Education GRE 2019

Here is a sample Analyze an Argument task:

Ever since our company downsized in 2009 by reducing the number of

customer support staff, we have seen a decrease in revenue. Customers have

expressed frustration over the lack of available staff members, and customer

surveys have shown that these customers wish we were available to help them

outside of normal business hours. The obvious solution to our problem of

decreasing revenues is to increase the size of the customer support staff to

what it was before we downsized in 2009.

Write a response in which you examine the stated or unstated assumptions of

the argument. Be sure to explain how the argument depends on the assumptions

and what the implications are if the assumptions prove unwarranted.

Here’s how to tackle the Analyze an Argument task. Again, spending the

amount of time indicated next to each step will help you pace yourself for each

assignment.

Step 1: Read the Argument and Identify the Claim and Evidence (2 Minutes)

When reading the argument, your goal is to identify the main conclusion the

author draws and the evidence that he or she uses to support this conclusion. It is

essential that you identify the claim, because without doing so, you will not be able

to analyze the cogency of the author’s argument. In the preceding example, the

claim is, The obvious solution to our problem of decreasing revenues is to increase the

size of the customer support staff to what it was before we downsized in 2009.

Step 2: Identify the Major Assumptions and Create Your Outline (3 Minutes)

Your next step is to think about the assumptions of the argument. An assumption

is an unstated piece of information that must be true for an argument to be valid.

The more assumptions the author makes, the more open to scrutiny the argument

is. In the preceding example, some major assumptions are:

■ The loss in revenue was not caused by factors other than the decrease in

customer support.

■ Customer service is an important consideration that potential clients make

when using the business.

■ Repeat business is an important source of revenue for the business.

■ The previous customer support staff was available outside of business hours.

■ Any new customer support staff the business adds would provide a level of

service comparable to that of the old staff.

Once you have identified the assumptions, draft your outline. In the outline, you

should list the key assumptions you will address. A typical outline might look like

the following:

Paragraph 1: Argument flawed b/c many assumptions. Not obvious that

more cust. supp. = more revenue

CHAPTER 3 ■ THE ANALYTICAL WRITING MEASURE 85

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