GMAT Sample Essays 5

The following is taken from a sample essay prompt (Analytical Writing Assignment Section) of the GMAT:

The following appeared as a part of an advertisement for Adams, who is seeking reelection as governor:

"Reelect Adams, and you will be voting for proven leadership in improving the state’s economy. Over the past year alone, 70 percent of the state’s workers have had increases in their wages, 5,000 new jobs have been created, and six corporations have located their headquarters here. Most of the respondents in a recent poll said they believed that the economy is likely to continue to improve if Adams is reelected. Adams’s opponent, Zebulon, would lead our state in the wrong direction, because Zebulon disagrees with many of Adams’s economic policies."

Discuss how well reasoned . . . etc.


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Sample Essay #1

The advertisement tries to convince people to vote for Adam on the basis of his economic achievements. Further, it tries to use this reasoning to convince people that Adam's competitor Zebulon would not be able to sustain the economic growth as he disagrees with Adam's policies. The reasoning is not very convincing due to many reasons.


The reasoning attempts to present economic growth as a simplistic function of worker wages, jobs created and corporations moving to the state. Concrete figures that can be compared with other states may have been more convincing. For example if the argument would have said that the state's gross production and human development index improved at a rate reasonably ahead of other states in the country, it would have sounded more convincing and well-reasoned. Every event needs a reference or a comparison to ascertain its magnitude.

Further, one cannot rely on one of the many polls to forward the reasoning; especially when no reference is given as to who conducted the poll and how. At best this claim may be taken with a pinch of salt. If the advertisement named a polling agency known to be neutral and efficient, it would have helped the reasoning a lot.

Lastly, there may be two different and yet equally good ways to reach the same destination. So a generalistic claim that anything that does not agree with Adam's policies will be detrimental for the economy does not hold any water. If the reasoning would have tried to nail a specific example from Zebulon's economic agenda, it would have been more convincing.

Concluding, the presented reasoning falters on account of being vague and generalistic. Making it a little focused can turn it into a reasonably strong line of argument. However in its current form it is not very good.

Sample Essay #2

The following appeared as part of a newspaper editorial:

"Two years ago Nova High School began to use interactive computer instruction in three academic subjects. The school dropout rate declined immediately, and last year’s graduates have reported some impressive achievements in college. In future budgets the school board should use a greater portion of the available funds to buy more computers, and all schools in the district should adopt interactive computer instruction throughout the curriculum."

Discuss how well reasoned . . . etc.

I do not agree with the above reasoning.

Decline in school dropout rate can be due to a variety of reasons. A particular state saw its dropout percentage going down from 49% to 3% when the state government provided a wide array of scholarships and incentives to study. This included building social awareness on benefits of education. At the end of the day dropouts is more of a social and economic problem. Simply enhancing the instruction medium cannot hope to solve it alone.

Achievements of graduate students can be partly attributed to making the instruction medium more interactive. I agree that such an improvement can help the students to understand and grasp things faster. This can ultimately translate to better results. However at the end of the day the main credit goes to the students who worked hard to achieve the results and the teachers who used the medium effectively.

I believe that computers are tools. They are only as good as the people who use them. Hence using computers would entail some level of training for the people involved besides buying computers. Not all schools may be in a position to make that kind of investment and may have other priorities. So even though it may be desirable to have more computers for interactive instruction, forcing it down the throat of all district schools may not be a very good idea.

Concluding, interactive computer instructions can make a subject easier to grasp and more interesting. However attributing every positive event to one single change and forcing it on a huge group based on the back of such a weak reasoning can be counter-productive.

Sample Essay #3

"Organizations should be structured in a clear hierarchy in which the people at each level, from top to bottom, are held accountable for completing a particular component of the work. Any other organizational structure goes against human nature and will ultimately prove fruitless."

Discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the opinion expressed above. Support your point of view with reasons and/or examples from your own experience, observations, or reading.

Having a strictly hierarchical structure and having a completely flat structure are two diagonally opposite ways of handling people working for a company. In order to be able to ascertain what is better we need to have a closer look at these two styles.

Truly flat structures sound idealistic on papers and seldom, if ever, work practically. There has to be an element of individuality in order to encourage individual performance. However if all that the company needs is a regimented army of workers that follow instructions precisely with minimum innovation or conflicts, there is nothing better than a flat structure. This can be particularly useful if skilled labour is in abundance and it is difficult for one worker to significantly differentiate his work from others. Even such a mass would ultimately need a leader to direct them and take responsibility. The flattest of structures cannot escape hierarchy if they have to be successful.

Hierarchical structures put responsibility on every point in the chain of command. The clear chain of command does give incentive for individual performance and fixes accountability. However an extremely hierarchical structure can also become bureaucratic with too many leaders and too few workers. Each level of leadership may tend to pass the buck to the lower level, be close-minded to good ideas from juniors and reluctant to resist catastrophic decisions from superiors.

With these views in mind we can safely say that a hierarchical system has better chances of working when compared to a flat structure as it gives people an incentive to work. Historically systems that advocate abolition of hierarchy like socialism and communism have worked for the detriment of people despite of sounding good on papers. Hierarchical systems have their pitfalls but there is nothing that they cannot overcome. If the chain of command is not stretched unreasonably and leaders keep an open mind, the system will be successful. The basic human nature is individualistic and this system exploits this trait perfectly. Any other system may discourage creativity/hard-work and make any kind of achievement difficult. Hence I completely agree with the point of view presented.

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