[题库与范文] GreBible给出的4篇AW范文 [复制链接]

robinii
UID：136348

元老版主

Rank: 11

声望: 173
寄托币: 13742
注册时间: 2003-6-6
精华: 12
帖子: 27

楼主

发表于 2004-4-18 09:46:42 |只看该作者

argument171

from www.grebible.com
（下同）

GreBible's GRE Success Guide - 2
AWA - Argument171
The following appeared in a memo from the marketing director of "Bargain Brand" Cereals.

One year ago we introduced our first product, "Bargain Brand" breakfast cereal. Our very low prices quickly drew many customers away from the top-selling cereal companies. Although the companies producing the top brands have since tried to compete with us by lowering their prices, and although several plan to introduce their own budget brands, not once have we needed to raise our prices to continue making a profit. Given our success selling cereal, Bargain Brand should now expand its business and begin marketing other low-priced food products as quickly as possible.

      Obviously, the marketing director is enthusiastic about Bargain Brand Cereals' success in selling low-priced breakfast cereal. The marketing director states that over one year, the very low prices of the cereal took many customers away from the top-selling cereal companies and that despite the top brand cereal companies reducing their prices and planning to introduce budget brands, Bargain Brand has never had to raise its prices to continue making a profit. The marketing director then comes to the conclusion that the company should expand the business and start selling other low-priced foods as soon as possible. At first glance, the marketing director would appear to have a good idea, but upon closer inspection one can see that more research should be done before such products are launched in the marketplace.

      In the first place, Bargain Brand Cereals' low-priced breakfast cereals have only been on the market for one year - a very short time in terms of analyzing the overall success or failure of a product. With such a short history, it is impossible to evaluate the long-term viability of the product in the marketplace, particularly with respect to the actions and reactions of competitors. The marketing director even mentions in his or her memo that the top brands have already tried to compete by lowering prices. It is likely still too early to tell what effect that will have on the future sales of Bargain Brands cereal. Additionally, the marketing director states that several of the companies producing the top-selling brands plan to introduce their own budget brands, indicating that they have not yet done so. He or she also states that Bargain Brands has never had to raise its prices to continue making a profit. Although that may be true because the competition has not yet fully reacted, the other companies are organizing a direct attack on the Bargain Brands cereal - companies which likely have tremendous funds available for launching these new bargain products, possibly even selling them at or below cost to try to drive Bargain Brands cereal out of the market. Faced with these current and upcoming battles, the marketing director's conclusion that they should launch other low-priced food products as quickly as possible might be foolish rather than wise. The company may need to save its funds to try to survive in their current market rather than extending itself out into more fields of competition.

      Secondly, the marketing director assumes that low prices are what attracted consumers to Bargain Brands cereal. It is possible that it was not price that attracted customers - rather the package, promotion or the fact that the other cereals were not as good as Bargain Brands cereal. The company may have some special advantage with its cereal that others do not have - and that it cannot duplicate in any other types of foods. Success in selling low-priced cereal does not indicate the chances for success with other low-priced foods. Indeed, there may be some industry-specific factors in cereal marketing that have allowed Bargain Brands to succeed in the short-term. Bargain Brands may have some special expertise with cereal that they cannot duplicate with other types of food products. The marketing director presents no direct evidence or market research to indicate that Bargain Brands can successfully expand its business into other food areas. Without such information, the marketing director's argument is unconvincing.

      In summary, without detailed market research showing the true reason why Bargain Brands cereal has been successful, without knowing the likelihood of its continued success, and without showing how it can translate that success to other areas, the marketing director's argument is based on speculation and faulty logic. To strengthen his or her argument, market research should be conducted to determine how the marketplace is reacting to the competition's strategies in the cereal market, and whether there is a demand in any other particular areas for low-priced food products. Additionally, the marketing director must show that Bargain Brands has some type of competitive advantage that it can successfully apply to its strategies in the low-priced food product market.

修路的

使用道具举报

robinii
UID：136348

元老版主

Rank: 11

声望: 173
寄托币: 13742
注册时间: 2003-6-6
精华: 12
帖子: 27

沙发

发表于 2004-4-18 09:50:13 |只看该作者

issue153

issue153
"Students should bring a certain skepticism to whatever they study. They should question what they are taught instead of accepting it passively."

         The unquestioned role of a student is to learn as much as possible through whatever means it takes to ingrain that knowledge in the individual student. Teachers and professors are human beings and are therefore not perfect. No one knows the correct answer to every question even when you limit the questions to a certain field of study. Having a certain skepticism about what they are being taught can help students to make the teachers and professors even better by clarifying correct answers or correcting mistakes and misinformation.

         Students certainly have a huge role in their own abilities to learn. Teaching faculty should act more as guides along the way rather than trying to force each student to learn whatever it is that they are studying. The best teachers in the world cannot teach an unmotivated student. If the teacher, for whatever reason, cannot motivate the student, then the student must somehow find a way to motivate him or herself. One od of doing this is by become an active rather than a passive student. The more the student involves him or herself in the act of studying, the better he or she can learn. One of the best ways to become more active is simply to ask the teacher or professor questions. Students who passively sit in a classroom and take everything that the teacher says for granted are not fully using their mental capacities to learn. Better education comes from teachers who are able to get their students to think about a subject rather than merely absorb a certain amount of information. Having a healthy skepticism can improve a student's ability to both think and absorb knowledge in a learning situation.

         Students should practice a certain amount of skepticism in the classroom as a means of fostering better communication between the teacher and the students. To sit passively receiving and digesting information from a teacher or professor would be to assume that everything that the teacher says is absolutely correct. Teachers are human beings and no one is one hundred percent right all of the time, even in a classroom situation. No professor or teacher is infallible. Perhaps a teacher would simply unconsciously say the wrong word or pass on some misinformation that the teacher truly believed was correct. Simply asking a question by the student could prevent an entire classroom from becoming confused or misinformed.

         In my own education, I have had at least two experiences that showed me the value of being somewhat of a skeptic at times in a classroom situation. In my younger years, a grade school teacher told the class that it was wrong for people of different races to intermarry because the children would grow up confused about their "real" identity. Although it seemed wrong at the time, because I was so young and impressionable, I thought that the teacher must be right because he was the teacher. Looking back now, I realize just how wrong he was and that a healthy skepticism even at a young age can be a valuable tool in education. In another example of the value of questioning a teacher, we had an inexperienced first-time teacher teaching our second language class. Although she tried very hard, it became obvious that she was making many mistakes. I began asking questions (in a helpful manner) and found out that the book that she was using was full of mistakes. She appreciated the feedback and we all had a better learning experience by watching for mistakes from the book. Without a little skepticism, we would have been pronouncing and using many words incorrectly.

         There is of course a fine balance between a student having a healthy skepticism and just being a downright cynic. But with the proper attitude toward learning and a little skepticism, both the student and the professors or teacher can improve upon the learning process and maximize learning efficiency.

修路的

使用道具举报

robinii
UID：136348

元老版主

Rank: 11

声望: 173
寄托币: 13742
注册时间: 2003-6-6
精华: 12
帖子: 27

板凳

发表于 2004-4-18 09:53:12 |只看该作者

argument174

AWA - Argument174
The following recommendation was made by the president and administrative staff of Grove College, a private institution, to the college's governing committee.
         "We recommend that Grove College preserve its century-old tradition of all-female education rather than admit men into its programs. It is true that a majority of faculty members voted in favor of coeducation, arguing that it would encourage more students to apply to Grove. But eighty percent of the students responding to a survey conducted by the student government wanted the school to remain all female, and over half of the alumni who answered a separate survey also opposed coeducation. Keeping the college all-female, therefore, will improve morale among students and convince alumni to keep supporting the college financially."


                  This argument discusses the proposition whether a century-old, all-female college should change its admissions policy and allow men to enter into its programs. Although a majority of the faculty members voted in favor of the change for coeducation, the president and administrative staff note that eighty percent of the students that responded to a survey conducted by the student government wanted the school to remain all female as did over half of the alumni who answered a separate survey. The arguers then state that keeping the college all female will therefore improve morale among students and convince the alumni to continue supporting the college financially. This argument is unconvincing due to several critical flaws.

         First of all, the main support that the president and administrative staff rely on is the two surveys conducted by the student government of the current students and alumni. It is possible that the survey itself was flawed, perhaps asking leading questions that subliminally led the respondents to answer in favor of keeping the current all female admissions policy. However, even assuming that the survey was neutrally worded, it remains problematic to rely on it as evidence that there is widespread support for continuing as an all-female college. Firstly, the people that actually take the time to respond to surveys usually have a strong opinion one way or the other. In this case, it is likely that those that feel that the tradition of the school is being threatened by the possibility of admitting men to the college are the ones who would respond to the survey. Those that have a neutral opinion, or that would actually like to see the college opened to men, may not have a strong enough opinion to take the time to respond to the survey. The total number of surveys conducted by the student government is not mentioned in the argument. It is possible that very few people actually responded to the survey, which would indicate that most students actually don't care one way or the other. Similarly, with the alumni survey, the arguers only mention those who answered the survey, but don't mention how many total surveys there were or how many people did not answer the survey. For these reasons, the argument is not well supported by the surveys.

         Secondly, by surveying only current students and alumni, the pool of those sampled is limited to those who previously accepted the all-female admissions policy of the school and thus are much more likely to support its continuance. Current students and alumni applied to and attended the school with its current policy in place, thereby prejudicing their own opinions as to what is best for the school. Additionally, with the survey limited to only current students and alumni, the student government did not poll those whose opinion matters the most - potential students. A college cannot survive based on its past successes - it is the future that will determine the long-term viability of the college and potential students are the most important part of that future. It is much more important to determine how many students would attend the college if the policy were changed. Furthermore, the arguers ignore the opinion of a vital part of the college, that of the majority of its faculty members who probably have a better overall view of the situation than students or alumni.

         Finally, there is no evidence presented to show that keeping the college all female will improve morale among the students or keep the alumni donations coming in. This statement has no causal relationship demonstrated in the argument, whether the results of the survey are accurate or not. Had the question been asked in the survey- whether keeping the admissions policy the same would improve students' morale and keep alumni financial support intact - there may have at least been some basis for this statement, but without it the statement is groundless.

         In summary, the argument is based on only two surveys of a limited sample of people with a built-in bias towards keeping the status quo. Without further evidence and a more fairly distributed survey, the argument ultimately fails to deliver on its premise.

修路的

使用道具举报

robinii
UID：136348

元老版主

Rank: 11

声望: 173
寄托币: 13742
注册时间: 2003-6-6
精华: 12
帖子: 27

地板

发表于 2004-4-18 09:56:33 |只看该作者

issue154

AWA - Issue154
"Both parents and communities must be involved in the local schools. Education is too important to leave solely to a group of professional educators."

         Local schools are an integral part of a society and of each individual community. Much of what happens in a community is directly tied in to the local schools, whether the members of that community's children are of school age or not. The quality of the local schools also depends a great deal on the community. If the schools are well supported, they generally will be good quality schools. If the community ignores or contributes to the school's problems, the schools and students may not perform to the best of their abilities. Without the involvement of parents and the surrounding communities, professional educators cannot do their jobs properly. Additionally, the involvement of the parents ensures that educators will keep the school children as their first priority, rather than focusing on maximizing personal profits through teachers unions and the like.

         Traditionally in years past, the parents and communities cooperated to set up schools to serve all the children in a particular location. As the United States has become larger, local, state and federal governments have become further involved, thus lessening the responsibilities of the parents with regards to the schools. Parents cannot and should not abdicate all of their responsibilities to the various governmental bodies, however. It remains incumbent upon the parents and communities to remain involved in as many aspects of the local schools as they can.

         First of all, the most fundamental responsibility of the parents is that they must ensure that their own children are properly dressed, on time and actually behaving themselves in the classrooms. Professional educators cannot properly teach children that don't know how to behave while at school. Other children are distracted or maybe even misled to misbehave themselves by children who are chronically disruptive. Parents must control their own children and not leave the job of child behavioral training to the teachers at school.

         Secondly, parents and communities must make sure that they contribute financially to their local schools, and not only by the mandatory payment of taxes to the government. School groups are always trying to raise money for some beneficial school projects. It is important that parents do not turn their backs when school children come door to door asking for money, even when (and maybe especially when) it is not their own children who are asking for help.

         Furthermore, parents have more than just a financial responsibility to the local schools, they also have an obligation to give generously of their time whenever possible. Attending their own child's sports games and recitals are certainly important. Volunteering to coach, referee or to help organize activities for the school children are also extremely important. Local schools seem to never have enough help to accomplish all that needs to be done or to accomplish all that should be done. Just ask any teacher or professional educator, they can probably find a place for any volunteer that desires to help.

         Finally, parents and communities must be involved with local schools just to be sure that the professional educators are indeed "professional" and are giving the children the proper educational basics that they need. Direct and continuous communications with a teacher or principal can sometimes give parents all the information that they need to decide whether he or she is properly fit for the job. Powerful teachers unions have developed over the years that sometimes tend to put the teachers first and the priorities of the children second. By staying involved with the local schools, parents and the communities can show the educators that they are committed to the children and the schools, and that they should always remember whom the schools were built for in the first place.

         The success or failure of a local school depends almost entirely on the involvement of parents and the local community. The parents and others in these communities must be willing to make sure that their own children are properly behaved, that they support the school both financially and with their time, and that the professional educators always put the well-being of the children as the number one priority.

修路的

使用道具举报