GRE (GRADUATE RECORD EXAMINATIONS) WRITING TASK:
ANALYTICAL WRITING
-Analyze an issue
-Analyze an argument
Intro
SAMPLE
ISSUE TOPIC:
1.The
best ideas arise from a passionate interest in commonplace things.
Discuss the extent to
which you agree or disagree with the statement above and explain your reasoning
for the position you take. In developing and supporting your position, you
should consider ways in which the statement might or might not hold true and
explain how those considerations shape your position.
2. As people rely
more and more on technology to solve problems, the ability of humans to think
for themselves will surely deteriorate.
Write a response in which you discuss
the extent to which you agree or disagree with the statement and explain your
reasoning for the position you take. In developing and supporting your
position, you should consider ways in which the statement might or might not
hold true and explain how these considerations shape your position.
3. A nation should require all of its students to study the same national
curriculum until they enter college.
Write a response in which you discuss
the extent to which you agree or disagree with the recommendation and explain
your reasoning for the position you take. In developing and supporting your
position, describe specific circumstances in which adopting the recommendation
would or would not be advantageous and explain how these examples shape your
position.
4. “The best
way to teach is to praise positive actions and ignore negative ones.”
Write
a response in which you discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with
the recommendation and explain your reasoning for the position you take. In
developing and supporting your position, describe specific circumstances in
which adopting the recommendation would or would not be advantageous and
explain how these examples shape your position.
5. "Important truths begin as
outrageous, or at least uncomfortable, attacks upon the accepted wisdom of the
time."
7. Originality does not mean
thinking something that was never thought before; it means putting old ideas
together in new ways.
8. Laws should not be rigid or
fixed. Instead, they should be flexible enough to take account of various
circumstances, times, and places.
9. It is always an individual who
is the impetus for innovation; the details may be worked out by a team, but
true innovation results from the enterprise and unique perception of an
individual.
SAMPLE ARGUMENT TOPIC:
The argument to be analyzed is as follows:
Hospital statistics regarding people who go to the
emergency room after roller-skating accidents indicate the need for more
protective equipment. Within that group of people, 75 percent of those who had
accidents in streets or parking lots had not been wearing any protective
clothing (helmets, knee pads, etc.) or any light-reflecting material (clip-on
lights, glow-in-the-dark wrist pads, etc.). Clearly, the statistics indicate
that by investing in high-quality protective gear and reflective equipment,
roller skaters will greatly reduce their risk of being severely injured in an
accident.
Write a response in which you examine the unstated assumptions of the
argument above and explain how the
argument depends on the assumptions and what the implications are if the
assumptions prove unwarranted.
2. In surveys Mason City residents
rank water sports (swimming, boating, and fishing) among their favorite recreational
activities. The Mason River flowing through the city is rarely used for these
pursuits, however, and the city park department devotes little of its budget to
maintaining riverside recreational facilities. For years there have been
complaints from residents about the quality of the river's water and the
river's smell. In response, the state has recently announced plans to clean up
Mason River. Use of the river for water sports is, therefore, sure to increase.
The city government should for that reason devote more money in this year's
budget to riverside recreational facilities.
Write a response in which you examine the stated and/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.
3.The following is a memorandum from the business manager
of a television station.
"Over the past year, our
late-night news program has devoted increased time to national news and less
time to weather and local news. During this time period, most of the complaints
received from viewers were concerned with our station's coverage of weather and
local news. In addition, local businesses that used to advertise during our
late-night news program have just canceled their advertising contracts with us.
Therefore, in order to attract more viewers to the program and to avoid losing
any further advertising revenues, we should restore the time devoted to weather
and local news to its former level."
Write a response in which you discuss
what specific evidence is needed to evaluate the argument and explain how the
evidence would weaken or strengthen the argument.
4. The argument to be
analyzed is as follows:
The following appeared
in an article written by Dr. Karp, an anthropologist. “Twenty years ago, Dr.
Field, a noted anthropologist, visited the island of Tertia and concluded from
his observations that children in Tertia were reared by an entire village
rather than by their own biological parents. However, my recent interviews with
children living in the group of islands that includes Tertia show that these
children spend much more time talking about their biological parents than about
other adults in the village. This research of mine proves that Dr. Field’s
conclusion about Tertian village culture is invalid and thus that the
observation-centered approach to studying cultures is invalid as well. The
interview-centered method that my team of graduate students is currently using
in Tertia will establish a much more accurate understanding of child-rearing
traditions there and in other island cultures.”
Write
a response in which you discuss what specific evidence is needed to evaluate
the argument and explain how the evidence would weaken or strengthen the
argument.
5. Argument
topic:
Woven baskets
characterized by a particular distinctive pattern have previously been found
only in the immediate vicinity of the prehistoric village of Palea and therefore
were believed to have been made only by the Palean people. Recently, however,
archaeologists discovered such a “Palean” basket in Lithos, an ancient village
across the Brim River from Palea. The Brim River is very deep and broad, and so
the ancient Paleans could have crossed it only by boat, and no Palean boats
have been found. Thus it follows that the so-called Palean baskets were not
uniquely Palean.
Write a response in which you discuss what specific
evidence is needed to evaluate the argument and explain how the evidence would
weaken or strengthen the argument.
6. A recent study shows
that people living on the continent of North America suffer 9 times more
chronic fatigue and 31 times more chronic depression than do people living on
the continent of Asia. Interestingly, Asians, on average, eat 20 grams of soy
per day, whereas North Americans eat virtually none. It turns out that soy
contains phytochemicals called Isoflavones, which have been found to possess
disease-preventing properties. Thus, North Americans should consider eating soy
on a regular basis as a way of preventing fatigue and depression.
7. "In order to save a considerable
amount of money, Rockingham's century-old town hall should be torn down and
replaced by the larger and more energy-efficient building that some citizens
have proposed. The old town hall is too small to comfortably accommodate the
number of people who are employed by the town. In addition, it is very costly
to heat the old hall in winter and cool it in summer. The new, larger building
would be more energy efficient, costing less per square foot to heat and cool
than the old hall. Furthermore, it would be possible to rent out some of the
space in the new building, thereby generating income for the town of
Rockingham."
8. Claitown University needs both
affordable housing for its students and a way to fund the building of such
housing. The best solution to this problem is to commission a famous architect
known for experimental and futuristic buildings. It is common knowledge that
tourists are willing to pay money to tour some of the architect's buildings, so
it can be expected that tourists will want to visit this new building. The
income from the fees charged to tourists will soon cover the building costs.
Furthermore, such a building will attract new students as well as donations
from alumni. And even though such a building will be much larger than our
current need for student housing, part of the building can be used as office
space.
9. As a result of numerous consumer
complaints of dizziness and nausea, Promofoods requested that eight million
cans of tuna be returned for testing last year. Promofoods concluded that the
cans did not, after all, contain chemicals that posed a health risk. This
conclusion is based on the fact that the chemists from Promofoods tested
samples of the recalled cans and found that, of the eight chemicals most
commonly blamed for causing symptoms of dizziness and nausea, five were not
found in any of the tested cans. The chemists did find that the three remaining
suspected chemicals are naturally found in all other kinds of canned foods.
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READING
vocabulary
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