Hey, I don’t know if this has been done before on PG (if it has been, then lock this thread and bring the old one into this section :: ) the idea is that we’ll give ourselves an issue or an argument once in a week taken from the offici…
Hey,
I don't know if this has been done before on PG (if it has been, then lock this thread and bring the old one into this section 
)
the idea is that we'll give ourselves an issue or an argument once in a week taken from the official guide, and then each of us will write/post an essay on that (sincerely taking 30 min for writing....at our own convenience of course) -after that all of us can analyse the weaknesses/strengths of everybody who's posted an essay.
What do you say?? are there enough people for all this?
Hi VIBGYOR,
Sounds very interesting ,,,,,,but Can you pls elaborate a bit on it...What is the 'official guide' you are talking about? What sort of topics..
I guess there are already lots of such posts in chit chat. We have real issues of ppl falling in love, ppl who get IIM K and I and saying No I want only A (similair cases of ppl gein FMS/MDI). and yep we had some political stuff too
Then we have lots of issues. We dont need to make one issue. Just take part in any chit chat issue.
we must not think over some issue and type. let it be spontaneous, donot bother abt spelling too, then we will know where we atcually stand
xpediter.
Hi VIBGYOR,
Sounds very interesting ,,,,,,but Can you pls elaborate a bit on it...What is the 'official guide' you are talking about? What sort of topics..
i guess he is talking about GRE and the official guide is the list of probable topics that can appear for the 'analytical writing' section in GRE.
VIBGYOR, maybe it wud have helped u in getting a better response if u had put GRE in ur topic heading...
I guess there are already lots of such posts in chit chat. We have real issues of ppl falling in love, ppl who get IIM K and I and saying No I want only A (similair cases of ppl gein FMS/MDI). and yep we had some political stuff too
i'm not talkin abt things like that - what u r sayin is different - in threads like that people do analyse stuff but the way these opinions are presented isnt somethin that you'd give in a GMAT Analysis of Issue or an Analysis of Argument..
Yeah, I was talkin abt the Official Guide for GMAT Review..
Ok...i'm posting a Question from the OGR...
The following appeared in an announcement issued by the publisher of The Mercury, a weekly newspaper
"Since a competing lower priced newspaper, The Bugle, was started 5 years ago, The Mercury's circulation has declined by 10000 readers. The best way to get more people to read The Mercury is to reduce its price below that of The Bugle, at least until circulation increases to former levels. The increased circulation of The Mercury will attract more businesses to buy advertising space in the paper"
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.
VIBGYOR, maybe it wud have helped u in getting a better response if u had put GRE in ur topic heading...
I think so..
Mansoor(Iceman)!!!! Please help!!! Please post an analysis!!
Hey,
I don't know if this has been done before on PG (if it has been, then lock this thread and bring the old one into this section)
the idea is that we'll give ourselves an issue or an argument once in a week taken from the official guide, and then each of us will write/post an essay on that (sincerely taking 30 min for writing....at our own convenience of course) -after that all of us can analyse the weaknesses/strengths of everybody who's posted an essay.
What do you say?? are there enough people for all this?
well...no issues! lets roll it on and see how it works.....count me in!
-kshitij
flyingkolours SaysI guess there are already lots of such posts in chit chat. We have real issues of ppl falling in love, ppl who get IIM K and I and saying No I want only A (similair cases of ppl gein FMS/MDI). and yep we had some political stuff too
i'm not talkin abt things like that - what u r sayin is different - in threads like that people do analyse stuff but the way these opinions are presented isnt somethin that you'd give in a GMAT Analysis of Issue or an Analysis of Argument..
Hahahaha.. Seriously, flyingkolours, my heart went out for u when i saw the replies...
How did u expect them to understand if u didnt mention that GMAT word, dear... But I think, this is a brilliant idea. All GMAT takers can pitch in their arguments & it will be quite a good read. If we can actually pull this off without much intrusion, then it will be a grt reference. Ok, as a mod, I can try to keep this place clean by just keeping the arguments... & deleting unncessary stuff... what say PG??? Also, PG with his 6/6 on this can add quite some value to this thread!!! 😁 😁
Junta, u are supposed to find loop-holes in the argument. Like, Mercury is blaming its decrease in readership only due to the lower price of the other paper etc etc. It is not clear what kind/ quality of coverage these papers give etc etc. U are supposed to dissect this argument & give clear details as to what info if given, would have helped the reader make a final decision!!!
All tyhe best!!
Simbaaaa
Yikes! Guess people didn't realise the thread was in the GMAT section .. It is a good idea, but flyingkolours you need start with an answer to the query yourself.
Try to post an analysis to the same and we can help you out with setting it right or pitching in with additional viewpoints 😃
The following appeared in an announcement issued by the publisher of The Mercury, a weekly newspaper
"Since a competing lower priced newspaper, The Bugle, was started 5 years ago, The Mercury's circulation has declined by 10000 readers. The best way to get more people to read The Mercury is to reduce its price below that of The Bugle, at least until circulation increases to former levels. The increased circulation of The Mercury will attract more businesses to buy advertising space in the paper"
Ok....let me grab the opportunity of making the first AOI.....quite cursory though. Please pitch in your comments on da same...
So, here's my preliminary take on it -
No newspaper can survive, or for that matter maintain a lead over its competition just by pricing advantages and it is reasonable that there have to be several other reasons, apart from pricing which could have led to the decline of circulation of The Mercury.
Hence an assumption that "its only the lower price that makes The Bugle better-footed than The Mercury" is inherently flawed.
Now looking more objectively into it, listed below are the other factors which The Mercury must consider before it endeavors to attract more business:
1] Superior content- Composition of the editorial board or the quality of news inputs supplied by The Bugle or the manner in which they are presented can be more appealing to the readers than The Mercury.
To identify this, a marketing research (MR) must be carried out focusing on the areas which are appreciated by readers vis--vis that of The Mercury.
2] Better segment targeting -A precise drop of 10000 in readership may be due to a particular segment of readers that could have switched to The Bugle due to a new section/ supplement which was absent with The Mercury.
Eg- It could be of students which may have switched to The Bugle due to a tutorial segment in it or of Businessmen due to segment like investment guide etc, or housewives due to a segment on home-dcor.
This must be identified from the MR data and must be used as an input for re-designing the paper as desired.
3] Better circulation- Wider reach, better availability and promotional schemes associated with the news-paper can also be one on the reasons.
The above factors must be taken into account before devising any price cuts otherwise the inherent in-adequacies in the newspaper the Mercury vis--vis The Bugle, if any, if not corrected, coupled with price cuts, would only make matters worse.
And the situation would resemble the classic case of Searching for a Black cat in a Dark room
hey!!! this is wonderful!!! i waited for a couple of days and since no one replied i thought the thread is as good as dead!! and then i havent been online for long coz there's a problem with the modem at home...anyways, great going kshitij!!!!!! please someone do continue this for a few more days until my modem is repaired!!
and thanx simba and PG for adding the much needed enthu!!!!!
and yeah simba, u need to delete the unnecessary stuff (and deleting this particular post of mine would be a great start )
and abt the first analysis that has been posted - i think it covered all the points, good work, but since this is an analysis of an argument, i think it is not necessary to point out what needs to be done by The Mercury, you only need to do
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.
i mean, it would be enough and correct to write "adding the result of a survey which concludes that both The Mercury and The Bugle are similar in content and presentation and that they provide the same amount of customer satisfaction to the readers would strengthen the argument that a price decrease would increase the circulation of The Mercury to former levels"
there is no need to mention that a survey has to be conducted etc etc...
and also, another point i thought abt (which can be made at the beginning of the essay) is "it is being assumed that a larger circulation itself will guarantee that more businesses will be attracted to buy advertising space. This assumption might not hold in the case of businesses which target a specific customer segment. For example, if there are a lot of local businesses targeting the youth segment, and if they find that The Mercury is not a popular paper among the youth, then they might not buy advertising space in The Mercury"
also, i think there have to be a couple of real life examples in the essay to support our point of view...we can maybe say "In India, the ABC newspaper has a very low circulation even though it is the cheapest available newspaper" - and this example can be given in the beginning of the essay - after making the first point that price is not the only factor.
anyways, all this are just my opinions and since i'm a novice in the case of GMAT, i might have made lots of blunders!!! (which is exactly why i was motivated to start this thread!!!)
PG, please post your analysis of the analysis posted by kshitij
and kshitij, thanx man!! - and can you decide the question this time??? you'll find lots in the Official guide for gmat review..
flyingkolours Saysanyways, all this are just my opinions and since i'm a novice in the case of GMAT, i might have made lots of blunders!!! (which is exactly why i was motivated to start this thread!!!)
well ...interesting insights dude!....and i really think u have quite valuable inputs to share and so u not as novice u feel u r, huh?.....
neways...more the viewpoints...the better it is!...pagalguy, time for u to pitch in!
coz i really feel there ought to be more posts on this before v can switch over to the next AOA/I.
-kshitij
"Since a competing lower priced newspaper, The Bugle, was started 5 years ago, The Mercury's circulation has declined by 10000 readers. The best way to get more people to read The Mercury is to reduce its price below that of The Bugle, at least until circulation increases to former levels. The increased circulation of The Mercury will attract more businesses to buy advertising space in the paper"
The above argument presumes that the amount of advertising space purchased in the newspaper is directly proportional to its circulation. It also assumes that a lower pricing will automatically lead to a corresponding and commensurate increase in circulation.
Neither of these assumptions is correct in its entirety. Businesses pay for advertisements because they believe that their message is being conveyed to the correct potential customers. A secondary concern is the cost of advertising. We do not know from the given data whether there really has been an appreciable fall in Mercury's revenues from advertising. Neither do we know whether any of its regular clients have swithced over to advertising on the Bugle. If Mercury's ultimate objective is to increase ad-spend in its papers, it could come up with re-worked pricing for ad-space in its pages. If Mercury was insulated from competition for a long time, it is highly likely that its pricing mechanism is out of sync with reality.
We are also unaware of how the price of The Bugle compares to that of The Mercury. Another crucial figure is the comparison of the circulation figures of these two papers, and also the presence of other competition. If the circulation of the Mercury is still comparatively much larger than The Bugle, drastic measures like cutting its cover-price may not be warranted. One point to be considered in any strategy is the clinetele that has been weaned away from the Mercury to the Bugle solely due to the lower cover-price. Probably they made up the lower end of the economic strata, and many businesses may not consider them to have the purchasing power to warrant a switch-over in advertising.
To sum up, the argument presented lacks depth because it skips over some essential facts like the price differential, the price-sensitivity of the customers, and the customer profiles for the two papers.
-Shrijit
fair enough!.....
should better be. how many marks do I get ?
nice essay...i dunno how much u might get...my guess would be a 5 😃
but as people say, even a seemingly perfect essay can be improved....in this i'd advise you to check for some spelling mistakes and grammatical mistakes...for ex. you've misspelled switched, clientele, and you've written "If the circulation of the Mercury is still comparatively much larger than The Bugle"..it should have been "than that of The Bugle"
In some of the places in the essay, the ideas are not properly linked and so it might be a little difficult to easily understand what you wanted to say. And also, you should not have said things like 'we do not know' again and again....you could have used a little variety in forming the sentences...
but overall, it was very nice....and it also had some new arguments...
someone please post one more essay on the same argument!!!
Pardon the typographical errors and the oversight of the missing "that of". My fault; I didnt proof read.
where is your essay sire
Pardon the typographical errors and the oversight of the missing "that of". My fault; I didnt proof read.
yeah, i know they are typographical errors!!! but the persons who correct might not think so right??
(so i capitalized on the chance...basically i couldnt find many other faults that i know of in the essay, so i made use of your typographical errors )
where is your essay sire
my essay?? - as soon as you or kshitij post another AOA or AOI question
Here you go :
"Six months ago the region of Forestville increased the speed limit for vehicles traveling on the region's highways by ten miles per hour. Since that change took effect, the number of automobile accidents in that region has increased by 15 percent. But the speed limit in Elmsford, a region neighboring Forestville, remained unchanged, and automobile accidents declined slightly during the same six-month period. Therefore, if the citizens of Forestville want to reduce the number of automobile accidents on the region's highways, they should campaign to reduce Forestville's speed limit to what it was before the increase."
hello ppl
pardon my askin..im a complete novice... is it reasonable to assume things for eg. Forestville's highway is surrounded by forests on both sides etc.
-Che-